High cost of shot

[wayne goerres]

Hay I was gust curious if anybody was shooting recycled shot. Any pro's or cons. Where is the best place to order some ? Is it sutable for hunting? Also I was wondering about chedit hulls. I read that they don't seal well in the chambers and the escaping gasses erode and pit the breach face on the guns. Any trouth to that? Some of the stuff I've read on other sites is not very realiable.

[Mark Ouellette]

Wayne,

Recently Paul Harm posted about the success which he and others have had with 3/4 ounce 12 gauge reloads. Reducing the shot weight per round is one method to reduce the cost of shooting.

Recycled shot may be a mixture of hard and soft shot. This shot may also be somewhat deformed by being compressed upon ignition when first fired. It theory recycled may produce patterns which are not as tight as would be produced by hard shot. I've read posts on this and other sites that many have found it breaks clay targets just as well as new shot.

I cannot imagine why recycled shot would not be suitable for hunting.

RST uses Cheddite hulls for 12 gauge and smaller. That should be enough said.

Keep reading and analyzing what you read. Even paid professional writers and researchers make mistakes in their facts and hypotheses. The average Joe on the Internet types without worry of such.

Mark

[wayne goerres]

Thank you for your reply. I thought the stuff I read about cheddit huls was bull. I can buy 2 1/2" cheddit hulls from precision and not have to cut them down to lenth. I read some of pauls threads, but I did not see where he listed what kind of hulls he was useing. Dos'e anybody knoe what heat rang cheddite primers work in, low, medium, high?

[Mark Ouellette]

Wayne,

The primer pressure table has been provided in this reloading forum more than once. Please do a search for it and read the information. Low, medium, of high "heat" has NOTHING to do with primers except for possibly magnum rifle and pistol primers. Primers explode rather than burn.

FOLLOW the reloading EXACTLY. DO NOT SUBSTITUTE components. Pressures can spike violently if you do!

[Paul Harm]

Win, Rem, Cheddite and SOME CCI primers are all what would be called mild. Fed and some CCI's are what would be called hot. I use Rem hulls - there are so many laying at my club and all of them reload the same. The Federal and I believe the Cheddite [ not sure ] are a straight wall hull and should use a wad meant for them. The Remington and Winchester are a tapper hull and use a different wad. I know Claybuster claims some of their wads can be used in either and yet they make wads for each. The tapper wad will fit a straight wall hull, but it doesn't seal as good as the wad intended for a straight wall hull. After looking at some of my reloading manuals a change in mild primers could change pressures by as much as 2000psi. After talking to Claybusters awhile back I feel safe useing Cheddites in place of Winchesters. Just my opinion, take from it what you will.

[John Campbell]

The issue in using reclaimed/recycled shot is two fold: relative shot size (remember this stuff is mostly mined from trap and skeet fields) and cleanliness. In other words, if the process happens to let a scrap of sand or other such material through the system and into the shot bag, you could get a scratched barrel. With today's shot cups that might be a small chance, but with an expensive classic double gun, it's not one I feel comfortable in taking.

Best, Kensal

[timcornish]

I have been using recycled shot for doves and cant tell the difference. Many of the pellets are flattened and deformed and, of course, there are several different sizes, the biggest is usually 7 1/2.

[John Farrell]

You can invest in a set of screens to separate different size shot and they are not expensive. As Kensal Rise states, most of the shot is mined from trap and skeet fields so you can expect #7.5 to #9 shot in the offering. Depending on how long the shot has lain in the ground around the trap and skeet fields, there will be oxidation on the shot. Some sellers of reclaimed shot profess to having cleaned it, but I would be cautious of that claim. Ask if you can scoop a cup full and look at it in daylight. Then grab a small batch in your hand and scrunch it together and see if any dust is left in your hand when you return the shot to the cup, bag or drum. If there is dust, you can make up your mind how clean it is. Don't breathe in the dust.

As to the shootability of the shot, I make my own shot and publicly refer to it as "mostly round" because that is what it is. People at the club that have used it break good scores and get a lagniappe to boot. They can avoid taking any blame for missing a target by loudly proclaiming that the MRS has cost them another championship trophy and a ton of prize money. So far, I have cost one person a new Bentley and another moans daily about what he would have done with the new Purdey he was going to order. C'est la vie.

[wayne goerres]

Mr harm. Witch primers did you use in your light 10 ga 2 5/8 loads. I just put together some for my lifter gun useing your information. you didn't list your primer so I used win 209. would this be incorrect?

[Paul Harm]

Those would be fine. As Mark said, substituting could lead to high pressures. If a powder needed a Fereral primer [ or magnum primer like the CCI209m ] to ignite, going to a milder primer like Win or Cheddite wouldn't give you higher pressures, but you might get bloopers or poor shells. If a formula called for a Win primer, you wouldn't want to use a Fed primer. Yes, I've read where Cheddite primers blow through and some have had problems with their firing pins. I haven't yet.

[wayne goerres]

Thank you for your reply Mr Harm. I put togeather about 8 rounds. Cant wait to try It. Also purchased a hull vice from precision. Should be easer on the hand when roll crimping.