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Joined: 25 Feb 2012 Posts: 40 Location: NE Kansas

I am pretty sure I have this correct but I wanted to ask and make sure. I am looking at buying some RMC brass shells I was wondering what size would be best. RMC has shells in 2 1/2", 2 5/8", 2 3/4", and 3" 16ga. I was thinking it is like roll crimping in that a smaller OAL shell contains the same amount of shot vs a fold crimp. In this case it would seem that a 2 1/2" brass shell would be best since plastic 2 3/4" shells measure a little bit under 2 1/2". So shouldn't I be able to fit any 2 3/4" straight wall smokeless load data (RMC shells are designed for straight wall smokeless load data) into a 2 1/2" brass shell given there is no crimp?

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2349 Location: West MI

Whats the chamber length in the gun?

RMC brass hulls are not crimped, instead the shot is contained in the hull by an over shot card (OSC). I use a 1 gauge larger OSC and glue each card to the hull. Have your barrel(s) measured before placing an order.
It is important to note that if you shoot a double gun or a gun with multiple barrels, the bores must have identical dimensions or you run the risk of having some or all of your hulls expanding to the largest bore size and thus making them unsuitable for smaller bore size(s). RMC can make a full case resizing tool if your bores are not dimensionally the same.
According to RMC any published gauge appropriate load found in reloading manuals or powder manufactures web sites will work in their brass hulls because they have the “same inside diameter” as plastic hulls. In my search for the perfect load, I have loaded and patterned many published loads using 1-piece wads with success ranging from poor to outstanding. My 16 Ga. and 28 Ga. favorite loads and best patterns use card and fiber wads and 1-piece plastic work very well in 12 and 20 Ga.. When patterning shotgun loads, barrels often have a mind of their own.

Reloading brass hulls takes more time to load than plastic or paper because hand tools are necessary, not a press.

A picture is worth a thousand words.

Joined: 25 Feb 2012 Posts: 40 Location: NE Kansas

Sorry about not post the chamber length it slipped my mind until I got to bed my gun has a 2 34" chamber. Jschultz I have read several of your posts on SGW about the RMC hulls I found then very informative. Actually by my calculations reloading brass hulls should be faster for me then what I currently use for plastic hulls (hand reloading tools) being that I don't have to put a crimp on them.

My RMC brass hulls had to be re-turn because the chambers in my AyA were tighter than standard. RMC did this at no cost to moi. Contact RMC with your dimensions at:
rmc@rtconnect.net
307-347-4547

Sorry, I didn't address your OP question.
MY chambers are 2 3/4" and I load and shoot 3/4,7/8, and 1 1/8 oz. loads. Yours are 2 3/4 also and depending on the wad, you should be able to load all of the above + 1 1/4 oz. loads.

Go with 2 3/4 length, it will give you more room for the 1 1/8 loads.

I have 80 or so RMC brass shells all 2 1/2 and i will soon be ordering 15 or 20 2 3/4 shells for the few times A year I want more space.

2 1/2 is good for 7/8 and 1 oz loads but get a little tight with 1 1/8. Especially if using plastic wads.

If you do not intend to shoot many 1 1/8 loads then go with 2 1/2 or 2 5/8

When i started with RMC i had many 2 1/2 16's now i have only one short chamber and the one i shoot the most is 2 3/4.

I cannot say how much I love the All brass shells, they have become my standard and i rarely hunt with anything else in 16

I also find i prefer the cork wads over plastic, though they do seem to be dirtier in the barrel cleaning side

old colonel wrote, "I cannot say how much I love the All brass shells, they have become my standard and i rarely hunt with anything else in 16".

I agree with the old colonel would add a few of the reasons why I prefer RMC brass shells.

Brass hulls can be loaded over 3000 times.
I have been told that the extra volume in a brass case (no crimp) contributes to great patterns, which may or may not be the reason. But, I can't deny that brass hull have given me the best patterns that I have ever seen.
Brass hulls can be loaded with any published gauge appropriate recipes for straight walled hulls.

Joined: 11 May 2012 Posts: 20

I have to get some 16ga brass hulls.... Certainly are pretty. Also, I am limited to buying difficult-to-find once-fired hulls, since 16ga loaded shells are unavailable where I live, and even shipping in primed hulls doesn't work, due to HazMat considerations.

Since I have been hand-loading shotgun shells for a couple years, using hot-glue to seal the over-shot card on the plastic hulls, doing the same thing with brass hulls should not be difficult.... After going through two hot-glue guns, I gave up, and heat the glue sticks in a steel cup on a hot plate.... since I had been cutting the plastic hulls off at the crimp line, and not bothering to re-crimp the hulls, the hot glue gave me a very tough plug for the hulls. Of late, I have been using a roll crimper to roll the plastic hull edges inward a tad, not that it really seems necessary...

Since I favor break-action, single-shot, exposed hammer long guns, these sort of reloaded shotgun shells work just fine.... I just bought a Lachmiller shell-saver with the 16ga die, after looking for 6 months, and can size the brass base of once-fired hulls so they eject properly from my 16ga single shot gun....Use a Rockchucker for rifle & pistol, and Lachmiller for shotgun.... heavy, sturdy, single-stage stuff... KISS.

xzqzq wrote, "Since I have been hand-loading shotgun shells for a couple years, using hot-glue to seal the over-shot card on the plastic hulls, doing the same thing with brass hulls should not be difficult.... "

I have used Ducco Cement, Fletch Tite and Sodium Silicate with good success. Glues don't seem as important as I originally thought after I began using one gauge oversized OSC's. EG: 15 gauge osc for a 16 gauge hull.
All of my glue failures have been a result of cold weather. Having never used a hot glue gun, I can't give you advice other than test the glued OSC in your freezer over night. If all is well, I'm sure that a small amount of hot glue will work for you when securing OSC's. A Clean Hull is a Happy Hull.

Joined: 11 May 2012 Posts: 20

'No hazmat fee on the shipping of primed hulls.' Not in the continental USA. I live on Maui.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Because fold crimp loads tend to have a bit more pressure and speed than roll crimp loads, and because RMC loads aren't even roll crimped, but just have a card glued on top, is there an issue with pressures being too low for the kind of performance you're after, i.e, hunting loads? Do you have to overcompensate a bit, or is it not even an issue?