2 1/2" 12 ga loads

[Harold Lee Pickens]

What load do you shoot in your 2 1/2" 12 ga. I have plenty of Cheddite shells I can cut down and also AA's and Gun Clubs. I have plenty of CB 1078 wads, the gray 7/8 oz. I have Red Dot, Green Dot, Universal, International, 7625, and Unique powders.
I have been loading 2 1/2" 16's and 20's, and thought I might just load short 12's also. I can get other wads and powders if necessary. I will be shooting these in my WW Greener sidelever circa 1875 and in my Fox pin gun( don't have a Parker 12). I have been shooting 7/8 0z, 2 3/4" low pressure loads thru them.

[Rick Losey]

we have had a couple threads on this

here is one

http://parkerguns.org/forums/showthread.php?t=1589

and the Hodgdon site lists some 2 1/2 inch loads

plus some Cheddite 2 3/4 loads i have found fit into 2 1/2 hulls

[Bill Jolliff]

Harold,

I load 2 ½” 12 gauge shells using RST hulls that I scrounge from the hull buckets at the NE Shoot at Ernie’s in Friendsville PA in June plus from the guys I shoot with. They are straight walled hulls with 6 point crimp and I think they may be Cheditte’s (sp?).

I use Clay Buster CB6100-12 wads that are for 7/8 and 1 ounce lead loads and use Alliant Extra Lite Powder. I only load ½ and ¾ ounce loads.

My load data:
½ ounce: RST 2 ½” hulls; Winchester 209 primer; 14.0 grains of Alliant Extra Lite powder (MEC #26 bushing); CB6100-12 wad; 0.125” card wad in bottom and ½ ounce lead shot.

3/4 ounce: RST 2 ½” hulls; Winchester 209 primer; 14.3 grains of XL powder (MEC #27 bushing); CB6100-12 wad; no card wad in bottom and 0.72 ounce lead shot from a MEC 302 75 Charge Bar.

I use a MEC Sizemaster for my loading and for the crimp start and final crimp stations, all that I did was use a 1/4" thick wood spacer at those stations to raise the hull to the 2 3/4" height. (In the pictures below, note that I have my MEC Sizemaster sitting in a low walled box to contain those inevitable lead shot spills.)

I get those 1/8” thick card wads from Craig Smith who operates Circle Fly wads in PA. Cost is about $15.00 per 1000 including postage but Craig sometimes shoots at the NE and if you pre-order, you can pick them up from him there and save the postage.

Those CB6100 wads are just a little long for 2 ½” hulls so I trim a little bit off the end of the petals. Probably not necessary tho.
I have not tested these but I load basically the same load in 2 ¾” hulls and had Tom Armbrust test them. For both ½ and ¾ ounce lead loads, they run around 5000 – 6000 psi at about 1300 fps.

Sorry about this long winded response but I hope you find it helpful. And if you have any questions, just let me know.

Happy New Year.

http://https://i.imgur.com/C7KRxFS.jpg?1

http://https://i.imgur.com/zPD0NQB.jpg?1

http://https://i.imgur.com/wLGtEGy.jpg?1

http://https://i.imgur.com/JtX5xOk.jpg?1

[Rick Losey]

And Bill's little loads bust a clay bird very nicely when he points that old Fox in the right direction

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Thanks Bill and Rick, looks like some good info. I also found a couple pounds of Win AA Lite that I forgot I had, and there are some nice soft loads listed for that. I may see if they will fit in the 2 1/2" RST hulls I have, plus I have a lot of once fired Herters and they are both cheddite hulls.
I have a short kit plate for my 16 Mec 600, and it fits just fine on my 20 ga Mec, and bet it will fit on the 12 also. Might play around with it tomorrow.

[Paul Harm]

I use Claybuster wads and CB-1138-12 is meant for a 1 3/8oz load so the cushion height is shorter - what you're looking for. Any low pressure 1oz or under will work with the 1138 wad. At one time I called CBers and ask about subbing wads with low pressure loads [ 7500psi and less ] and they wouldn't give me an official ok, but he said if it was him, he wouldn't worry. The 3/4 through 1 3/8 all have the same skirt so the pressure isn't going to change because of a different wad. The ones that do have a different skirt look different - like a figure 8. Anyways, that is the way I load and get everything to fit with plastic wads. The shot will set down in a bit but the wad fingers will fold over with the crimp. If you're going to use fiber wads to get the correct pay load height you'll need .125 hard OP card and some 1/2" cushion wads you can cut to the correct thickness. Good luck - Paul

[Gary Laudermilch]

Harold, before they discontinued it I used AA Lite for 7/8 oz loads. I liked it a lot. However, after I could no longer get it I switched to Alliant Extra Lite and I think I like it a bit better as it seems to burn somewhat cleaner. Pressures are similar between the two and the powder bulk is also similar. Currently loading 14.7 gr of XL in 2-3/4 hulls using the grey Claybuster wads. For 2.5 you will have to find a wad with a shorter cushion section.

[Mike Koneski]

Harold, I use the BP short shell wads for the 2 1/2" hulls. I also use the BP spreader inserts to make my short spreader shells. You can also make built up wad columns that don't use the plastic wad.

[Rich Anderson]

Harold I used International clays or clays powder when I was loading the 2 1/2 in 12's but to be honest I can buy factory shells from B&P or Cleaver so cheap it just doesn't pay to load them.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Thanks Rich, I have heard of, but not seen any of the cleaver products. I will check Cabelas to see if they are carrying any 2 1/2" BP's. May need to make a run to Dawson's in Massilon, Oh, a great place for reloading suppliies

[Paul Harm]

Rich, can you reload for 3.45 a box ? Granted, they're only 3/4oz loads but it doesn't take anymore than 3/4oz to break a clay bird. I buy from BPI only when necessary. They make their own after market wads and charge like factory wads from Remington or Winchester and that's what pi$$e$ me off about them. If Claybuster or Downrange can make and sell wads for close to half the price of factory wads, so could they. Ok, got that off my chest - feel better now. Anyways, that's why I use the 1 3/8oz CBer wad, it'll do the same thing and it's cheaper. Harold, our club orders about three or four times a year from Dawsons for reloading supplies - great prices. Think I'd have to quit shooting so much if it wasn't for them.

[John Dallas]

Dawson's is the best!

[Rich Anderson]

Paul I can buy the Cleaver 3/4 oz in 20 and 7/8 in 12 for about $5/bx maybe less. I don't shoot enough 12 ga to justify the cost of the press and the time it takes on my single stage press really makes it a non issue for me.

Harold I have bought the BP and the Cleaver shells at shoots such as the Southern and the Great Northern. I can get you a contact number to order the Cleaver's if you want to try them. I really like their 3/4oz 20 gauge load.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

Rich, are these 2 1/2' or 2 3/4" shells-- and are they low pressure? I was loading them to shoot in my hammer and other damascus guns. I really dont have much problem( in my mind anyway) shooting 2 3/4" shells in 2 1/2" guns with the light payloads and pressures I am loading. Yes, I would be interested in the info.

[Rich Anderson]

Harold If memory serves me the 20's are 2 1/2. They feel very much like my low pressure reloads do. A 3/4 oz of shot at about 1200 FPS. I think the 12's are 2 3/4 but I'll check. I'll get you the contact info. You should think about the shoot in WI it's without a doubt one of the best I attend.

[Harold Lee Pickens]

well, I'll look into it. I need to take time off--hell, I need to retire.
I have a case of Herters Low Recoil 12 ga that I haven't tried yet, I would shoot them in my Fox pin gun, or any steel barrel gun, but they are probably a little too high pressure for the Greener sidelever.

[Paul Harm]

Rich, maybe you could call someone and ask what the pressure is. A 20ga 3/4oz load at 1200fps should be somewhat low pressure, but they could be getting that with a high pressure. Recoil isn't how much pressure a shell is creating, but the weight of the payload and velocity is. You probably knew that. I just thought it a good idea to remind reloaders that recoil is not a indication of pressure.

[Rich Anderson]

I contacted the company in Italy via e mail and they wouldn't provide the information. One of these days I'll send some off for testing. The 20's are 2 3/4 not the 2 1/2 inch I thought they were. It's nice not to have to load shells:)

[Paul Harm]

NO, it's nice to be able to reload what I want, when I want. :corn: After all, we're in the reloading forum - aren't we ? :nono::rotf:

[George Davis]

Thanks everyone for your ideas on reloading 2 1/2 12 gauge shells. I modified a 12 gauge Hornady 366 to reload 2 1/2 shells. Using the following components:
RST 2 1/2 shells
Wads are either SRC 12ga wad or Claybuster CB6100-12
Lead will be 7/8 or 1 oz, mustly 7/8 oz
Remington STS Primers
Clays powder (still working on the grams going to be probably somewhere between 16.5-17.0)

I shot some yesterday with 17.0 grams and they absolutely crushed the targets.

[Bill Jolliff]

Clays powder (still working on the grams going to be probably somewhere between 16.5-17.0)

I shot some yesterday with 17.0 grams and they absolutely crushed the targets.

George,

I think you meant 16.5 - 17.0 grains of powder. I think about 15.3 grains = one gram.

Nice sounding load. Enjoy shooting them and thanks for letting us know.