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Joined: 29 Jul 2013 Posts: 61

New to 16 reloading and trying to find a load with the available components (not much out there) The problem I'm having is that when I load a hull the lead is 5/8" below the top of the hull, so when I crimp it just dives down into the hull. If I weigh the pellet drop then add some to exactly 1oz then it will crimp ok (slightly concave). But I then have to weigh and add lead on every hull. when I use a remington hull it crimps OK, (I only have a few Rems)
Any advice would be appreciated !

from 16ga spreadsheet
Win. poly hulls,
win 209,
17.5 PB.
BPI sg-16,
1oz mixed.

The problem is the PB, you aren't able to use enough powder to bring the wad column to the proper height.

PB is an iffy 1 oz. load powder. Unique and Universal are better choices.

With PB you are probably going to need a felt wad or nitro card filler to bring the wad column heightup to the proper level. 5/8" is too deep for a 16 gauge, 5/16" to 3/8" is a better wad column height, measured from the hull mouth to the top of the lead pellets.

I understand that you might not have a choice of powders........just saying.

Yes +1 for Mark Very Happy

OK, going to start a cat fight.
Some kind of a filler would be indicated as you
post your set of applications.

Some use a 20 gauge card wad, I find plain old Cheerios
(yes, breakfast cereal) to be ideal.
I place it or them in the bottom of the wad cup before adding shot.

Then drop shot and crimp as normal.

Upon firing the set back crushes the Cheerio into a fine powder
and you never see or notice it and the Cheerio is bio-degradable.

Let us know how this works for you if you decide to try it.

Of course, the best advice is to get the proper wad, powder, shot, loading
for that particular hull and not have crimping issues Smile

Mike

Joined: 29 Jul 2013 Posts: 61

Thanks for the help !
I would prefer to use unique or universal, but I have had no luck for quite some time getting my hands on either. I did see a jug of 800X on the store shelf last night but wasn't sure if it is good for 16 ga ??? (only a few recipes available)
I will look into getting some shot cards at BP and see how they work.
I have read about the cherrio trick also, some have said it works well and others have said its not good...
Sounds like it can't hurt anything.
I was thinking of buying a couple cases of Rem 16 ga shells and then reloading them. When I look at the 16 ga spreadsheet it shows three different rem hulls. I have the black hulls with green plastic basewad.
Which are they (on spreadsheet) and which is the preffered hull Win Poly or Rem black ????

All Remington hulls may not be the same length, but they all use the same load data.

The Winchesters are the better hull overall.

Joined: 09 Sep 2006 Posts: 863 Location: NoDak

Member Joined: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 1338

Joined: 29 Jul 2013 Posts: 61

I'm using the BPI SG-16 wad on top of 17-5 gr of PB in a Win poly
When I weigh the lead from my 1oz bar it is around 385gr... ?
My RCBS scale says it should be 427.
When I weigh each individual load and add lead to get it to 427.
it crimps slightly concave, I just compared it to a Winchester factory load and it looks the same !!!
I guess I'm now in the market for a UCB, any recommendations there....
In the meantime since I have three 1 oz bars I will try taking a file to one and see if I can get it to drop 1oz.

Joined: 29 Jul 2013 Posts: 61

I just got finished loading a box (25) of my first 16 ga rounds !!!
Just took a file to one of my 1oz bars and got it to drop 437gr consistantly.
The winchester hulls loaded nicely. I cant wait to bang out some more and hit the range. The recipe calls for 17.5 gr of PB but my #26 bushing drops closer to 18. The recipe also says that at 17.5 it keeps pressure around 7600 which is fine for my old (1927) Fox SXS, and it should cycle my sons Rem 1148 on the light load setting... we'll see soon enough.
Thanks for all the help, this forum is so great for us 16 lovers.

P.S. I did take a close look at the once fired Rem black hull I have and a lot of them are torn or split on the crimp end. Quite surprised as it seems the rem. 12 hulls are very durable ?

Member Joined: 16 Nov 2006 Posts: 1338

Joined: 29 Jul 2013 Posts: 61

Without choke tubes we have to buy more guns.... I like it !

Joined: 12 Sep 2010 Posts: 1973 Location: Maine

Just to clear up the MEC charge bar issue.

MEC charge bars are calibrated to drop the correct amount of #6 soft lead shot, not to be confused with chilled shot. Who the heck knows why, but it must be a throw back to the 1950's when you could buy pure lead shot.

On a side note. Published data always has weighed powder and shot payloads, so if you expect good crimps from published data, then you have to actually drop the correct amounts of powder and shot, with shot payloads having more effect on the crimp.

I hate the MEC bars (the bushings are fine).

I know Mikey C. doesn't like the adjustable bars, but the Universal bars hold their settings, are durable, and if you keep records, once you find the setting for either powder or shot the setting is repeatable.

I can normally dial in a new setting in 2 or 3 tries and I don't have to take anything apart to get it done.

The Universal bars aren't for everyone, but they are a nice addition to a MEC machine, single stage or progressive.

My Universal bars are all over 14 years old, the only thing that has ever gone wrong is the shot side rubber inserts need to be replaced every 25,000 rounds or so.

as you are finding out , the scale is the #1 priority for getting started . As the other guys have pointed out , there are old variables which can creep in ! It's interesting , but around here , 20 yrs ago it was TOUGH to get Mag lead ! I just saw my 1st soft lead in ages at Bass Pro the other day . AS it used to be most common , that's why the old bars are set up that way ... One of the tips Mark likes (I don't usually ) is setting the wad just onto the powder - no wad pressure . This and setting the crimp bar down gently will help your dish problem . The reason I usually pop the wad is then when I set the crimp , there is less resistance to the cam pressure and eliminates caved cases or volcano crimps . This would not help you in this case - better to just set the wad down easy !