Calvin, 82 grains measured by volume is not the same as 82 grains measured by weight. It is very important to keep this in mind when looking at black powder loads. The main thing is to be consistent however you decide to measure your black powder. With the amounts of powder that we are talking about here, it's not really a safety issue, but you do want to be consistent so it will be easier to develop successful loads. I always measure black powder by volume because I find it much quicker to do so, others may prefer a different technique.
I use my MEC shotshell reloading press to compress my nitro wads with about 30 lbs of pressure before adding my fiber wad. This could be done by had with a dowel, and millions of shells have been loaded that way, but again I like using the press just to be a little more consistent.
For the primers I use a small hard rubber mallet to gently tap them in. I've never had one pop yet, but make sure all powder is far away from the area when you re-prime like this. I believe there are a couple companies that carry a 12 ga shell holder (I think Buffalo Arms might be one) so you could re-prime in a common Lee, Lyman, etc...cartridge press. I might pick one up someday when I get tired of tapping in the primers.
Good luck.
|
01-06-2010, 03:47 PM
Hybrid Mode