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Member Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Ventura, CA

Hi folks - I'm new to the forum and don't see any posts on Cheddite hulls. Graf's sell them and I was wondering if anybody has any experience with them?

tpollard95124
You might want to look at the forum just below, ie. Remington vs. Fiocchi. I wrote this little ditty because I've had nothing but distain with Cheddite hulls (primered cases) from BPI. In essence I've lost 4 in 10 to crushed hulls I've played with the crimp and the load combinations.. NADA. I've got about 500 cases if you want them. I went out and ordered a flat of Fiiocchi and a flat of Remington to see which I like the best. I load with several MEC loaders I do believe if I could find an older PW loader with a total lenghth sizer I would do ok with these cases. Shooting is not as correct as some sports out west and the avenues of relief are not as easy anymore. I will still load for the 16 and I do own several of them. I haven't tried sceving the cases yet so thqat may be next. There are alot of real shooters in the forum that load cheddite and are very pleased with the results. Please refer to these notes don't get burned keep trying. Do look for some of the older subjects you might be able to find some informatrion
SPARKY

TPOLLARD'
sorry I'm not professing my entry but the information I got was fantastic. On the second page there is a real good presentation with pictures about the Fiocchi hull. Good luck. Sparky

Well, I'm at the other end of the spectrum re: the Cheddite hulls from Graf's.

Let me start with letting you know that I load mostly 2 1/2" [65mm] hulls on a MEC 600Jr. that I set up specifically for 65mm shells.

I have been shooting a bunch of Fiocchi hulls that I cut down from 2 3/4' [70mm] to 65mm. I had no crushing problems with them, but I did note that the crimps did not stay very long until the 2nd reload.

When I found that Graf's is selling the 65mm Cheddites, I ordered a bunch.

On Feb 21 I made up small trial lots of three different loads, one using IMR 800X, and two different IMR PB loads, with Gualindi wads and 1 oz shot.
Out of 60 shells loaded, I had no crushes. The crimps started to open up after about 2 weeks. After I restomped them, they are holding tight, here at the end of April.
I am quite pleased with them, seeing as how I did not have to cut them down first!

Member Joined: 21 Apr 2006 Posts: 3 Location: Ventura, CA

Thanks for the replies. I did a search later for cheddite and found a lot of info I didn't know. I'm looking for some loading info too in the lower pressure range i.e not using Longshot. Hoping to hook up with RWG to join the low pressure group.

Joined: 17 Nov 2005 Posts: 158 Location: NW Florida

Sparky, If these are the cheddite 2.5in red primed hulls, I am interested.
Bob

According to Dave M., these Cheddite hulls have an inside diameter of .675". I'm not very familiar with this case. howver, if Dave's measurement is accurate, then the walls on these cases are paper thin. Any plastic case wall this thin will stretch like crazy just behind the crimp folds. I'd be careful and limit the number of times I'd load these thin walled cases to one or at most two times. Otherwise, the crimped section could end up ripping right off. Frankly, given this info, I'd look elsewhere for a better designed case. Even the Fiocchi case wall is stouter than this by at least .010."

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

16gg, the hulls I measured were the new ones. I'm pretty sure of my measurements, used a dial caliper. The wad just falls in and out of the hull.
The first loads I did with just the R-16 wad were all bloopers due to powder migration. I have over a 1000 of the ARMUSA cheddite hulls, they seem to have a thicker hull, but I haven't measured them.

I'm not pleased to here about this. We need all the reloadable hulls we can get. I guess Cheddite is more oriented to a once fired throw away and not designed to be a reloadable hull.

I also think you are making a mistake dumping your R-16 wads because of one bad experience. These wads have been used in nearly everyones cases for decades. They work in Remington, Winchester compression formed hulls and older poly formed models, Federal and Federal/Estate, Fiocchi, B&P, and probably a whole bunch of European cases.

What happens if you find out these newer Cheddite hulls are poor for reloading and you start using a different hull? I'd reconsider before jumping too soon. Your R16 wads will retain their salability for some time to come iI'm sure. I'd hang on to them until you know for sure how things go.

PS: I just consulted my shotgun manuals and the nominal 16 ga. 2-3/4" chamber diameter is .745" just forward of the rim and tapers to .732" in front of the forcing cone. Considering that the outside diameter of the plastic tube of a 16 ga. shell is substantially smaller than th .740" nominal metal shell head, .675" I.D. leaves damned little room for an adequately thick plastic tube wall. its probably on the order of .035" at most in the Cheddite hull. That is very thin. I probably would not reload these cases at all. A ruptured case is all too likely if reloaded more than once.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

16gg. I've still got 5000 of the R-16. I ordered 10,000 to begin with.
All my 16 gauge guns are Damascus. Laughing

I have to shoot low pressure loads, and there aren't that many loads using the R-16 wad.

Well shoot Dave, we can help you out with that problem. Anyone got a good fluid steel 16 gun they want to sell Dave cheap so he can join the 20th century? Laughing

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

16gg, I guess I kinda lied. Laughing

I do have two 16 gauge model 37 Ithicas.
But I just can't bring myself to shoot a pump, after shooting these Fine Damascus Parkers. Wink

I am keeping my eye out for a Browning O/U 16.

You can't hardly go wrong with the Ithaca pump. I am tickled pink with mine. Besides, it gives me sojmething to do while I'm waiting on the second clay of a skeet pair to come in to me. Otherwise, I tend to get bored. Laughing

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

16gg, if you get bored waiting on the second clay of a skeet pair to come in.
You've got alot better eyes and reflexes then I do. Laughing

Half the time on station 1 or 7 I have to run around the corner of the house to take my second shoot. Laughing

Member Joined: 16 Aug 2004 Posts: 317

Dave:

Our group is working on new data for the R-16. Like 16gg says, don't give up on those wads just yet.

Do us all a favor. Please remeasure the internal diameter of those cheddite hulls again. And also the exterior diameter. This will give us the data we need to approximate the wall thickness of those hulls. Cheddite makes 16 ga. hulls in different thicknesses and out of different plastics. Some, like the ones RST used (black) split when firing the factory load and are not the best for reloading multiple times. Others, like the green kent cheddite are excellent to reload. The Red Winchester cheddite (AUSSIE) is somewhere in between the other two cheddites on the durability scale. Go figure. Russ