An acquaintance of mine who has been the National Sporting Clays champion, when asked about the difference in performance between premium shells (ie STS or AA) and cheap promotional shells said "None of us shoot well enough to see the difference. Buy cheap". I'm sure there is a difference using reclaimed shot (That's what I'm shooting these days) but the difference probably isn't that bad, and with the money saved with reclaimed shot, you can practice more

We get shot for 35/25lbs so that's 70/50 - not a big difference so I'll stick to the new shot. Roll crimping is easy. Get the ones from Precision Reloading - 1-800-223-0900-https://www.precisionreloading.com/ - [ MMRC12 ] they're cheaper and better - they have four " pins " inside instead of one like BPI's. You can use a hand drill or better yet is a small table drill press - I get a better even crimp. I made a clamp to hold the shell. A channel pliers would work. [ MMRCJB12 ] They can be reloaded again but you'll need something to open them up again. I had a cone shaped item with a 1/4" shaft to fit in a drill to use. BPI has one -SPINDOC - $20. Normally I shot em once and throw them away because shells are laying everywhere at the club.

If I were going to get into loading 12 gauge short shells today I would buy a flat of Federal Gold Medal paper shells and shoot them up in a 2 3/4 inch chamber gun, trim the empties to 2 5/8ths inches overall length and roll crimp them with an antique hand operated BGI (Bridgeport Gun Implement) roll crimp tool available on Ebay for about $20.00. For a load I would choose a published load in the 6500 psi range for the standard Gold Medal hull and adjust the wad height so there is about 1/8 inch from the top of the shot column and the case mouth, insert a .030 over shot card and close the crimp with the roll crimp tool. Total equipment and special reloading supplies (less empty hulls, primers, powder, wads and shot) about $35.00. For wads I would choose a wad designed for a shot weight 1/8th ounce heavier than the load I intend to shoot to compensate for the shorter case length and insure sufficient length for a good crimp.

Steve, I have three of the old roll crimpers - still like the new drill press models better. I have about 500 Federal papers and the plastic ones roll crimp much nicer. These are just my opinions - not trying to say you or others aren't right, just my personal experience and what works for me. If someone wants a old style roll crimper let me know - $20 + shipping.

I guess I'm a slave to tradition. The drill press models can produce nice looking load but require additional equipment not every new loader has such as drill press and holding fixture. My experience is that paper gives me a more astatically pleasing crimp than plastic especially when using RGL's and Winchester compression formed hulls plus the fantastic aroma of the paper loads, especially when using Unique powder, brings back great memories of my youth.

Dean, I'd think that shot would be perfect for spreader loads.

I recently ran across some homemade shot, not real uniform but ranged from 7 1/2 to 9 shot size, very soft, probably pure lead for $1 a pound. I got 250 lbs of it and see no difference in performance. Wish I could find more. Carvel