16 gauge 2 1/2” reloading issue

[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...1#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 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.