This is just my 2 cents worth, a little different than Williams. I have bags of Federal paper shells and more than enough plastic shells. The paper shells will get pin holes around the base - you have to look carefully. It doesn't matter to me which I use because they all get thrown after one shot. I haven't really noticed this problem with plastic, but then I don't remember checking them too close. The paper just look cooler than plastic when shooting smoke. So does a roll crimp if you want to take the time. I've used both a Mec single stage and a progressive presses to load BP. Been doing it for over 10 years without a problem even when using the press to drop the powder. I have two 46 bushings, one cut in half. They throw about 70grs and 84grs - or 2 1/2 and 3 drams. And I also use a bar with no bushing for around 95grs - when I want to make a lot of noise. If you use 3F the powder charge can be reduced. For skeet I use 70grs of 3F and 7/8 or 1oz of shot . The 84 or 95 is with 2F and 1 1/8oz of shot. Always use paper wads unless you want a really big mess to clean up - the plastic wads melt in the barrel - after a 100 or so shots it looks like spaghetti growing in the barrel - don't ask, I know. I never carry a cleaning rod, just one more thing to worry about, and it doesn't take all that long to clean at home [ although the squirt bottle sounds like a good idea ]. For clean up I use two one gallon buckets - hot soapy water and hot clean water. Put the barrels in the soapy water, pour some water down the barrels, and use a tornado brush 4 or 5 times up and down. Rinse the brush in the bucket and switch to some wet cotton cleaning patches on a jag to pull the water back and forth in the barrel. Then put the barrels in the clean water and use some new wet patches again to swab up and down in the barrels. Then I use a couple of dry patches, a couple with WD-40 and then one with Rem-oil. Takes about 10 minutes. Most shoots are a 100 to 150 birds in one day, so they get a bit dirty, and when shooting 5-stand, because it's so fast, the barrels get hot enough a glove is needed on the hand holding the barrels. Had to get one by station #3 - couldn't open and close the gun. Anyways, it's lots of fun shooting smoke a events. Oh,
www.circlefly.com is where you can get fiber wads probably cheaper than anywhere else. You'll need a .125 nitro card, the 1/2" cushion wads, and a .028 OS card only if you roll crimp. Don't use thicker OS cards - with me it blew patterns if I went thicker. Have fun - Paul