16 gauge 2 1/2” reloading issue

[Matt Buckley]

I am reloading 16 gauge 2 1/2 inch Cheddite hulls on my Mac Junior and I’m having issues with the hulls buckling on the hulls that I have cut down. The factory 2 1/2 inch Cheddite hulls that are newer are crimping fine as you see in the picture. I have my cam set up on the highest position on the last station. Has anybody run into this situation before. Are my older hulls that I have cut down weakening in the walls and causing this issue.

The center hull in the picture is a newer factory 2 1/2” and you can see that loaded fine. Sorry about the orientation of my pictures. I can’t seem to get them uploaded of my phone in the upright position anymore.

[Mike Koneski]

You're not alone with having hulls buckle under pressure in your press. I had to adjust my crimp-starter and final crimp dies up and used less pressure on the handle while crimping to keep the hulls intact. I don't load many 2 1/2" hulls anymore so I don't have that problem now. If the hulls would be supported by a die such as Spolar or PW, that issue would most likely be solved. I'd have the same issue, though rarely, loading 8g hulls on the MEC, but never on the PW.

[Jeff Sweeter]

Hi Matt,as Mike stated I would start with adjusting my final crimp die up and you may have to adjust the cam back down a little to get a nice crimp.Also if your stack height is a bit high can cause this issue, try using more wad pressure.If the wad is pre squished more it is easier for it to adjust back down verses very little wad pressure.Some wads are pretty stiff.Of course non of this explains why one hull loads nice and the others dont.Not knowing your load recipe,if you can't get it to work I've got quite a few tested loads one of which might work better.Jeff

[Craig Larter]

You have almost no crimp depth on your finished hulls indicating a problem with stack height. As Jeff mentions try more crimp pressure. What wad are you using? Ballistic products has a SG-16 and a SG-16 short (less overall length). If your using the SG16 try the short and I bet your issues will be solved.

[Mike Koneski]

You have almost no crimp depth on your finished hulls indicating a problem with stack height. As Jeff mentions try more crimp pressure. What wad are you using? Ballistic products has a SG-16 and a SG-16 short (less overall length). If your using the SG16 try the short and I bet your issues will be solved.

The SG-16 Short wads are the trick for the short 16. They allow for proper crimps.

[Matt Buckley]

I’m using the sg16. It just seems that the plastic on the purple herters hulls seems weaker and is buckling easier. I have played around a lot with the final station to no avail. It’s probably just easier to not bother reloading those anymore and getting some new hulls. I’m loading a 7/8 oz load with universal powder. The load height is not the problem. There is plenty of room in the hull

[Chris Riley]

I just loaded 150 2-1/2" RST 16ga hulls on a single stage 16ga MEC sizemaster with a short kit and used the BPI 16ga Sporting 16 wad, #072SG17, with a 1/8" cork wad filler in the cup under the shot. The pre-crimp, crimp height, and cam all needed to be adjusted. MEC has a helpful video on youtube at https://youtu.be/Kd5NiYk1TLU, which also addresses buckling. I also found some helpful guidance from a post on the trap shooters forum at https://www.trapshooters.com/threads/troubleshooting-bulge-in-hull.847479/?post_id=7994771#post-7994771. The guidance is basically summarized as follows:
A) For a hole in crimp, lower the cam; if cam can’t be lowered, adjust your starter crimp.

B) For a swirl or buckle, move cam up.

C) If crimp is too deep, raise the crimper by turning the punch counter clockwise (or clockwise to bring the punch down).

Hope the above helps.

[edgarspencer]

Make certain all the hulls you are using have the same base height. If you're buying NPEs in 2.75",and trimming, you may find you are trimming off too much (or too little). I have also seen different base heights in RST hulls compared to the NPE.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Matt, I've cut a lot of Herters shells down to 2.5" and not had that problem in a while, forget what I did to stop that. I usually load those Herters with 3/4 oz to differentiate them from the 7/8 oz loads using RST hulls.
Hey Chris, I have tons of the Herters purple hulls if you want some to load or cut down--Chris just lives over the hill from me.