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<  16ga. Ammunition & Reloading  ~  PB Or 800-X And Why
gjw
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2018 8:58 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Sep 2006
Posts: 863
Location: NoDak

Hi all, I posted this over on SGW, but thought I'd do the same here. Anyway, I have both of these powders and have used 800-X for my 12ga low pressure hunting loads, but I also have about 3lbs of PB which can be used for the same purpose (I can get about the same pressures with either one).

My question is, which powder do you think would be better suited for a straight walled hull (Fed. Gold Medal) and Windjammer wad and why.

Thanks so very much!

Greg

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skeettx
PostPosted: Sat May 26, 2018 9:09 pm  Reply with quote
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Use the PB, it is not made anymore and you might as well use it up.
It will be sorely missed by the low pressure folks and 10 gauge.

800-x is like loading pancakes, it it large and does not meter well.
That being said, I use it in my 9mm cast bullet loads, go figure Smile

Mike

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16GAwaterfowler
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2018 2:46 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Dec 2005
Posts: 287
Location: missouri

skeettx wrote:
Use the PB, it is not made anymore and you might as well use it up.
It will be sorely missed by the low pressure folks and 10 gauge.

800-x is like loading pancakes, it it large and does not meter well.
That being said, I use it in my 9mm cast bullet loads, go figure Smile

Mike

800X for some reason I always found lacking as a shot shell powder, PB on the other hand as Mike stated will be missed, some of my favorite 1 1/8 oz lead hunting loads used PB in them.
800x I use more for pistols than anything else, very accurate in 357 Magnum and 44 Magnum Mid Range loads.
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Hootch
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2018 7:33 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 28 Mar 2008
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Location: Eagle, Nebraska

I found PB to be difficult, migration issues at least with straight wall hulls.
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JNW
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2018 10:02 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Jun 2010
Posts: 1358
Location: Twin Cities, MN

Load up the PB - excellent 16 gauge powder. It is fine grained, but it is super consistent. The 800X is best used to make fireworks or burn out stumps. If you don't hand measure each load you will get enormous, possibly unsafe, variation from shell to shell. 800X is great for 12 gauge hunting loads when you just need 1 or 2 boxes, otherwise not a useful powder for volume shotshell loading.
What kind of 16 gauge loads are you looking for? 3/4oz, 7/8oz or 1 oz? What wads do you have?
Jeff
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Dogchaser37
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2018 10:08 am  Reply with quote
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I would recommend NOT using PB with Windjammer wads in Federal Gold Medal hulls.....you will get powder migration. If you are very careful not to bounce the shells around it might be OK.

Folks are split on 800-X because of the metering issues, but I believe they are a bit overstated in many cases.

If these were my only choices I would load the 800-X and keep the PB for an application that doesn’t allow powder migration.

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Byron Whitlock
PostPosted: Sun May 27, 2018 10:42 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 27 Jan 2016
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Location: Oswego, Kansas

My past experience using 800X was very good for what I used it for which was 1oz loads in my 20ga. It loaded well using my Mec 600jr with regular bushings and broke a lot of trap targets with my 20ga. I only had a 16ga single shot at that time so I never used it for that. Of course this was back in the early 90's so I can't say how the powder works now but I doubt if they changed the formula.

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byrdog
PostPosted: Mon May 28, 2018 9:17 am  Reply with quote
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PB is as clean burning a powder as there has ever been. it was always my go to target powder. it is just nitrocellulose and very consistent. I never had any migration problem with it.
800 x on the other hand does not drop well in loading machines.

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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 5:35 pm  Reply with quote
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I like PB because it is more expensive per pound than Unique/Universal/20-28, plus it's bulkier and you even get to use more of it per shell! The more money you can spend for a given level of performance, the "bigger" you feel, right? Burns clean?? Hell, I like a dirty bore. What else would I do with all those cleaning rods and brushes, etc.

I like 800-X because I can give my powder scale the workout it deserves, hand weighing every charge. Kinda gives the scale a purpose, if you know what I mean. Feels good, doesn't it. I suppose I could just simply pay less and use Blue Dot, but then I'd have every Tom, Dick and Harry telling me my shells would all go bloop when the mercury drops below 60 degrees F. Even though such assertions are as far from the truth as we are from MACS0647-JD ( https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MACS0647-JD ), I just couldn't have that kind of pressure -- hard to keep Blue Dot a secret. So I use 800-X. I'm pretty fast loading with it now -- around 25 per hour!

Happy Loading!
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Dave In AZ
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 6:21 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 13 Oct 2015
Posts: 348

LOL... on a roll today.
You know there's going to be some humor challenged folks take umbrage to your wit...
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Brewster11
PostPosted: Tue May 29, 2018 9:16 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 08 Feb 2009
Posts: 1301
Location: Western WA

We've been using 800-X with good success for some time (a couple jug's worth) in 1 oz loads. The performance is very consistent with respect to FPS and PSI, the loads are compact and fit comfortably in 2 1/2" hulls, and they stay put exactly where they belong: below the wad.

Yes one must take some care with the metering, but in the Mec 600 jr it works quite fine. The bushing must be initially calibrated by weight and not by load table. The first one one or two drops in each session are recycled back into the bottle.

I should add that we use a metal powder baffle in the MEC.

We weighed multiple sequences of 10 drops through the MEC and they didn't vary more than one or two tenths of a grain after the initial startup drops. If a gun is at risk of a burst or even a bulge from that amount of load variation, then maybe it is better suited as a lamp stand or window prop.

Good Luck,
B.
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gjw
PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 3:24 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Sep 2006
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Thanks all! I've been using 800-X for few years now, it does meter like crap and like MS said, I weigh each drop. I use this powder for low pressure hunting loads, so hand weighing isn't that big of deal.

Guess I'll save the PB for some other time and look around for some good LP recipes.

Thanks again!

Greg

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JNW
PostPosted: Wed May 30, 2018 6:53 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 15 Jun 2010
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Location: Twin Cities, MN

PB makes a great 16 gauge load. It’s perfect for 7/8 oz loads. Straight wall hull with a DR16 wad.
I have made low pressure 1 1/8 oz 12 ga loads in Federal hulls with Windjammer wads. They worked great, but I didn’t carry them around for years. The beauty of PB for pheasant hunting where GJW lives is that they work fabulous in the cold, even below zero. I chronographed them, so I know. If you’re worried about powder migration use a Federal wad.
Jeff
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