paper hulls

[OH Osthaus]

my guess from the limited information is the the reenactor powder is not what you would want to use, it says it is meant for reenacting and recreational shooters - low pressure

as a reenactor - all you care about is that it makes noise and smoke. since there is no projectile, pressure and consistency don't matter.

all the load information i have seen for shotshell loads specifies 2F - the granularity ( the number of F's) relates to the size of the grain- the more F's the finer the powder.

changing F ratings with the same volume will affect the pressure the load generates

[Paul Harm]

You're right - I just called them and was told it's just for show. I know 2F is normally used for shotguns but most of the guys at my club shoot 3F in the Tradegun matches - that's a smoothbore flintlock with no rear sight - and usually a 20ga - I shoot a 12ga. With ball or shot, they seem to shoot just fine with 60 to 70grs of 3F. And over on " Doublegunshop.com " a couple of the guys recommend 70grs of 3F and 1oz of shot. It's what I've been shooting for years at clays - at pheasants it's 85grs of 2F and 1 1/8oz of shot. As you stated, the smaller the grains, the more pressure and that's why less powder is used [ 70 instead of 85 ]. 15grs less powder means it's cheaper to shoot. Back in the 70's when shooting at Frendship [ the national range for the NMLRA ] we could buy powder for $3/lb - now it's from 16 and up. The only reason I still shoot 2F is because I still have some. Now being retired, I try to save where ever I can.

[Paul Harm]

Paul, I load BP on my Mec Jr. I know many guys say not to because of static electricity, but I've been doing it for years with no problem and when I ask if anyone knows of someone who's had a problem no one can answer. Anyways, a 46 bushing throws about 70grs [ by volume - the way BP is measured ]. You can deprime, prime, add powder with the machine or by hand if you're worried about using the machine, add wads and shot with machine, and then crimp or take it off and roll crimp. If you're fold crimping use a 6 point start die - or if previously crimped use a smooth start die [ which Mec sells ]. I've also cut off a 46 bushing to get 84grs, or don't use any bushing to get 94grs. In my Layman BP Handbook they list for 2F with a 1oz load and paper wads anywhere from 75grs to 102grs which gets from 1079 to 1442FPS. For 1 1/8oz the same powder and wads gets from 1017 to 1353FPS. That 70grs of 3F would be about the same as 85grs of 2F for pressure and velocity. You can load BP with a lot less worry about how much is used. All those loads were below 6000LUP [ or about 7000PSI ]. I would think about 75grs of 3F will get about 1200 to 1250FPS - a nice clays load.

[OH Osthaus]

yes Paul, like everything to do with shooting - saving powder is a help

I was a reenactor for years, and bought my powder supply ahead of time each year. I stopped reenacting right after resupplying - so all set - at 100 70 gain loads a pound, all good here since it's mostly BP just for fun. I'll stick with low pressure smokeless for most shootingt.

[Paul Harm]

Same here, just for fun. We shoot the Freeland shoot every year with smoke. At my club, we shoot till 9PM on Tuesdays. On still nights in the winter it's fun to shoot skeet. The other guys wine about the smoke - say they can't see. I tell them try shooting doubles - it's hard to see the second shot - kind of a poke and hope.

[wayne goerres]

I have bin to freinship several times. It has been about twenty years since the last time. Are they still doing it.

[paul stafford jr]

I loaded some 2.5 in shells with 62 grains of FF and 7/8 oz of #8 and shot a couple of rounds of skeet, that had me smiling the hole time scored 22 twice. so now you got me thinking I should try FFF. I will use the same 62 grain charge and it should pick up the performance. on the 3 4 5 position crossers I did have to lead them quit a bit the FFF may do the trick. thanks for pointers paul

[Paul Harm]

I used to have a trailer I kept down there in the first row by the gate. Ya, they still shoot twice a year for the main shoots. My first spot was next to the pistol range along side the trap range. We would shoot pistol all day and trap at night. Did that for about 20 years. Paul, with your light loads you will have to lead em more. For a bit I was shooting 95grs of FF and 1oz of shot. Boy it sure did boom, but the leads were the same as shooting nitro. Think that was a bit more than needed. One night while shooting under the lights with nitro, a friend was shooting twice whenever he missed. About station 6 he was running short of shells, so I gave him one of mine. Now he was shooting a Browning O/U with ported barrels. I kind of got behind him because when he touched off that shell with 95grs of smoke the flame came out the side of the barrels and he almost threw the gun up and away. I was called every name in the book as everyone else was laughing their a** off. He finally said, " damn it, I should have known better than to ask you for a shell, I thought I blew the gun up ". I still get one or two guys a year out in sporting clays.

[edgarspencer]

Originally Posted by Rick Losey

I cut and roll crimp them .

Rick, whose roll crimper are you using? I have a Ballistic Products 16 ga. roll crimper, but am not satisfied with the rolled edge. It only has one ball, but they sell another with 2.
I have an old one that has 4 balls. It's the old bench top type that you crank.
I have to see what the heck I did with it.

[OH Osthaus]

Originally Posted by edgarspencer

Rick, whose roll crimper are you using? I have a Ballistic Products 16 ga. roll crimper, but am not satisfied with the rolled edge. It only has one ball, but they sell another with 2.
I have an old one that has 4 balls. It's the old bench top type that you crank.
I have to see what the heck I did with it.

I have the old bench mount ones for 10, 12 and 16, all in good shape. I like the way they work on the federal papers, and they do OK on the plastic, although a second load takes some heating and straightening of the hulls' mouth on the plastic ones.

I will post some pictures later of the results - we have family coming tomorrow - so I'm busy between getting some cooking prep done, and trying to get the dog hair out of the hidden corners