FED. PURPLE 12GA HULLS

Keith Parrish · 06-28-2011, 08:08 PM

Last weekend I salvaged acouple 3 dozen of the purple federal 12ga hulls. I have heard these are great to reload. I have also heard that the paper basewad could become loose and get lodged in my barrel. The 2 that I cut to check out this basewad looked tight and no chance of becoming a problem.

Anyone ever reload these hulls?

Should these be ok to put a 7/8 oz to 1 oz load in??

Steve Havener · 07-03-2011, 02:59 PM

Keith the Federal purple shells are usually 16 gauge while the 12 gauge promotional loads are maroon and some of the higher end target loads are maroon, gold or silver. Yes Federal hulls are great for reloading and the paper base wad should not be feared unless they become brittle form age or water soaked. I have gotten as many as six reloading from Federal 16 gauge hulls without any signs of splitting or base wad separation, however, after 6 reloads I start check the bore for any base wads that may have come loose after each shot on all of my reloads. Several years ago in response to a dust up on another forum over the quality of Federal shells I contacted the Ballisticians at Federal and inquired if they had ever had any damage reported due to a dislodged base wad and while affirming that shells that had been water soaked should not be re-loaded they had never received any customer feedback pertaining to dislodged base wads causing damage to guns

Blind Dog · 07-03-2011, 06:56 PM

All else being equal, paper base wads will yield lower peak pressure.

Keith Parrish · 07-03-2011, 10:29 PM

YEA I'M GOING TO WATCH THEM CLOSELY AFTER THE 3RD ROLL...

AFTER ONE ROLL THEY FEEL GREAT JUST LIKE I WOULD ASK FOR

John Farrell, Charter Member #33 · 08-16-2011, 05:05 PM

I have reloaded the same bunch of Fed 16 hulls for the past 6-7 years with 1 and 1 1/8 ounce and they work like a dream. Cut some short to use in my 0 frame Parker, too. Never had one crack, show seam tears or crimp tears. Go ahead and use them. It's a good idea to look down the barrel(s) between loadings if you're using a SxS . Auto's present a different problem. JF

Keith Parrish · 08-16-2011, 09:22 PM

I use my reloads in various shotguns, no load is for one particular gun. I may choose to reconsider using these hulls for reloading for I have heard this dislodged basewad happening before now. I would hate to damage a barrel on my Parker or for that matter my Rem 870 Wingmaster. It sure doesn't sit well with me that these are an inconsistent hull being as though they make beautiful crimps on my BGI roll crimper.

Bruce Day · 08-17-2011, 11:15 AM

I have had problems with Fed hulls, 16ga , sticking in the chamber after firing due to expanded brass. This is after several reloads and I have not have the same issue with Remingtons. I wonder if the brass is softer. Anybody else?

charlie cleveland · 08-17-2011, 02:49 PM

bruce ive had trouble with the 12 ga sticking in a single barrel h r gun also had trouble with the 20 ga sticking in a lc smith double...i like youthink it is the swelling of the hull... but i have a old american double that the same shells sticking in the single barrel will not stick in the old double...i think maybe the chambers on the two sticking guns may be a little tight...what do you think.... charlie

Bruce Day · 08-17-2011, 03:03 PM

I maybe should mic the shells that stick and compare them to new shells. Haven't done that yet. I really like the plastic in the Fed hulls, stays supple unlike Rems that get hard and crusty, but get several reloads before sticky shells and that is about it. I get 10 or so reloads off the Rems and Wins, all with light loads, so I am not reloading heavy.

Steve Havener · 08-17-2011, 10:59 PM

Thats strange Bruce. What type of gun are you having problems with and what type of resizer are you using. I use a MEC Sizemaster and have never had a problem with any hull sticking in the chamber of any of my Parker, Fox or Syracuse Lefever's and believe me I have shot some pretty ragged looking reloads through all of my 16s.