16ga.com ~ View topic

Joined: 06 Jan 2012 Posts: 4 Location: Northeast Ohio

My interest is loading fill bore round ball and slugs for my 16 ga Ithaca M37 equipped with a 20" smoothbore "Deerslayer" barrel. Here I am looking at low volume reloading for experimentation and hunting in "shotgun only" areas. In a way I am harking back to my benchrest rifle shooting days. I am not at this time interested in high volume reloading of shot.

I have a spare RCBS Rock Chucker press already taking up bench space just waiting to be used for something special...like loading 16 ga slugs one at a time. But first I need dies. Option 1: The "gun accessories" outfit lists for sale the the RCBS shotshell dies (even though they are not shown in the RCBS website or catalog). Option 2: CH4D list a two die set for shotshell reloading, but list these for brass cases.

So do any of you have experiance, advice, recommendations about these options...or...any other options?

Thanks in advance...Sincerely,

Joe

This will assist you in starting your research

http://castboolits.gunloads.com/showthread.php?t=140424

http://www.magtechammunition.com/store/p14details551.php?pagePath=00000000,00000102itemList=

http://www.midwayusa.com/Product/474364/magtech-shotshell-hulls-16-gauge-2-3-4-brass-box-of-25

Mike

OK!!! Aside from the fact that you have a Rock Chucker reloading machine, and factory loaded deer slugs are pricey, why do you want to invest money for equipment to load deer slugs you will only use once in a while.

It seems to me you are digging the ditch from the water's edge of the pond. With the investment you are about to make, you can probably buy all the deer slugs you want for a lot less money and aggravation. JF

If you buy new primed hulls, the cheapest way into reloading is with a roll crimping tool. You won't need a press.

Gentlemen, Gentlemen,

the real trick to all this is to find a FRIEND that has 16 gauge reloading equipment and have him do all the work in sizing and priming.

The rest is easy, with Lee Dippers, hand seated wads and slugs and roll crimping
Mike

Joined: 06 Jan 2012 Posts: 4 Location: Northeast Ohio

skeettx, Doggai and Gil S: Thanks for your replys...they are appreciated.

Doggai...I have done a lot of rifle cartridge reloading, including wildcats BR competition cartridges. And now I would like to expand this activity into shotshell reloading using (at least to start) with 16 ga. full bore round balls and slugs. Here I want to combine casting where possible with the reloading and shooting. While I will not shoot many of these reloads in hunting I hope to shoot a fair amount at paper in the course of experimenting.

skeetix...Thanks for the references. While I plan on starting with plastic shotshell hulls, I sure the time will come when the lure of brass hulls takes hold of me. I hear you about friends with reloading equipment, but that is not the case for me...which is why I am inquiring about reloading options for the low volume loading I anticipate. I seaching ebay some options I did not mention in my initial posting include the Lee Loader and I even saw an old Lachmiller die set. Then again a fellow responding on another site suggested for the money to be spent I might want to consider a used MEC 600.

Gil S... Your solution works for the first round of loading. But I will still need to equip myself for reloading those primed cases after their first firing.

Thanks again...any and all commnets welcome.

Joe

Joe,
100 primed hulls cost between $11-13. How many slugs do you plan on shooting? Reload the test loads, and for hunting loads, use unfired, primed.
http://www.ballisticproducts.com/16-gauge-hulls/products/77/

I do use the ch4d dies to reload 16 ga. magtech brass hulls. Both the sizing/depriming and crimping die would be of little use with non-brass hulls. The internal diameter of the 16 ga. magtech hull is 0.710 inches. You would need to adapt some type of "holder" for your slug or round ball to fit in the brass hull. If you use rocky mountain brass hulls, the internal diameter is close to plastic hulls; and you could use plastic wads to carry the slug. Dave at ch4d had told me the dies do work for rocky mountain brass. Only you know how much money and time you want to expend to pursue this project.