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Joined: 13 Aug 2004 Posts: 33 Location: Illinois

Reloaders,
Can anyone point me in the direction where I can obtain any info on reloading Eley (Hawk Ltd.) 28 ga. hulls? I have tried the company in England, to no avail, however.
The heads are brass washed steel with ELEY and 28 on them. The hulls are medium red in color and slightly ribbed. There is a black plastic basewad in the bottom of the hull. The sides are stamped ELEY and Grand Prix - 21 gm. The Eley emblem is on the side, also. They are 2 3/4" in length.
These hulls retain their crimps so well, it's unbievable! This is the one reason I hate to throw them out and the fact that I purchased quite a few cases of them before the gentleman sold them all out.
Normally, I reload W-W HS 28 ga. hulls as they are easy to obtain wads, etc. for them.
Even though this is the 16 GA Society website, I had hoped that someone else shoots or knows something about this 28 ga. topic.
Thank you!
Wes Stueber
wstueber@charter.net Very Happy

*Last edited by Rabbitdog on Mon Jul 28, 2008 12:52 pm; edited 2 times in total*

Hi Wes,
I too reolad a lot of 28ga. I have never reloaded ( or even bought )
any Eley ammo. Here is my suggestion; I know a lot of serious minded reloaders will cringe when I suggest this but I have been doing it successfully for years on ALL gauges. When I have hulls with little or no reload data or available components, I experiment. I like to think I do it in an intelligent manner. First Build a known load, such as your Winchester load in in the Eley hull with your Winchester components. Just to see how it fits. Always start with the "Lowest Power" loads that you can make. Then work up, gradually, using fillers as needed. Watch for signs of high pressure
such as backed out or crushed or flattened primers. Tight or hard to extract cases. Brass that needs to be resized after one shot. Burnt or melted hull mouths. Even a noticeable increase in recoil. If any of these signs appear, back down until they go away.
Building, " experimenting" , new loads with caution and common sense is a way of life and half of the fun for those of us who reload for rifle and pistol. We work with a lot more pressure than shot gun loads will ever generate. If we all relied on just the loads listed in the manuals you might as well just purchase factory loads.
Building your own load can be SAFE and rewarding. Just approach it
with respect, caution and don't get in a hurry. Here are a few rules to follow;
1. Make sure that the components you select fit the hull properly. ( wad column height. Shot cups and wads that are neither too tight or loose.)
Use fillers as necessary. ( card wads over the powder, under the wad and over or under the shot as necessary) to get the proper over all height for the crimp.
2. Start with "Published" load data that closely resembles what you think will work.
3. Start with "Published" LOW POWER or PRESSURE loads .
4. Make sure your components are in a reloadable condition.
5. Use ONLY firearms that are in good condition and designed for modern
pressures and loads.
6. Load only "A FEW" of each trial load and watch for over pressure signs
after EACH shot. Record the results. ( If you have access to a chronagraph
to check the velocity this will tell you a lot ) You can buy a new "CHRONY" for about $ 100.
7. Last , Use common sense and work up SLOWLY !!!
There is no reason a shotshell reloader cannot have as much fun and satisfaction as rifle and handgun reloaders in CREATING your own loads .And be JUST as SAFE.
Good luck. ....Rabbitdog

Joined: 13 Aug 2004 Posts: 33 Location: Illinois

Rabbitdog,
Thanks for your assistance - I appreciate it! I do have a lot of reloading data, plus many varieties of all types of 28 ga. wads to try. Some are the older fiber and paper type, besides I do have a Chrony, which I can use.
Wes