T and F shot for the 8 ga

[Milton C Starr]

My T and F shot from BPI finally came in today the nickel shot is extremely smooth and round so is the super buck. I think the super buck is perhaps harder but im not sure on that. I know it is generally around 12bhn I havnt seen anyone report on the nickel plated shot. However the super buck can be heat treated easily to 20bhn if so desired. I decided to do one shell with a SP-8 wad as I have about 250 of them I havnt ever used. A 10 ga 1/4" fiber wad fits perfectly inside the SP-8 wad almost like they were made for each other. It puts the shot column at the perfect height for roll crimping, I didnt plan to use these too much because I dont know if they are going to be available again but I think it makes for a nice and simple load. Maybe next week I can get to the range and do some testing.

[charlie cleveland]

how many buck shot fit in the shell..makes a nice looking load in that clear Winchester hull...should be a good load for deer hog or coyote...or even for geese....charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

how many buck shot fit in the shell..makes a nice looking load in that clear Winchester hull...should be a good load for deer hog or coyote...or even for geese....charlie

I did some reading recently about back in the lead days F shot was used on swans. Reason I decided to try it is because this nickel plated F from BPI specifically is what some of the coyote hunters use as a alternative to hevishot tss etc. I have seen it throw some great patterns out of the 12 and 10 gauge, actually further out than it probably should. For the deer and hogs I got some .358 round balls on the way and some .410" roundballs. The 358s for the 10 ga I believe these should be around 000 buck and the .410s for the 8 gauge I got the inspiration for those from Craigs posts about large buck in the 8 gauge.

I think the clear hull with the SP-8 wad and nickel plated shot makes for a pretty shell,Charlie heres a better look at the shell.

[6pt-Sika]

A lead .410” ball is about 90 grains a .415” ball is almost 100 grains . Either is loosely 000000 buck . Now I first started using the SP-8 wad and 8 pellets of .415” about 800 grains about 1 7/8 ounces . The loads I’ve been using recently hold ten of the .415” pellets or approx 2 1/4 ounces . To get ten in the shell I used the Gualandi wad it give a skoosh more room . And almost for got I put a scoop or two of Grex which “seems to help” . This concoction will probably work fine in the Winchester hulls but I’ve not tried it . I used brand new black REM hulls and roll crimped . Now bear in mind there isn’t any way in heck this is a quick operation and they’re always tight going in the gun . But they work ! To keep this from being a PITA when I do it I never load more than maybe a dozen shells .

[6pt-Sika]

Incidentally I have the Sharpshooter style mold that makes 16 of the .410” pellets at a time but after you get them out you need to go back when done and trim the sprue and I’m anal enough that I roll them to knock the edges off where I cut them with dykes . Yesterday I ordered two molds from a Russian based mold maker for .410” balls , each mold has four cavities with sprue plates . I’ve got a feeling while slightly slower initially they may save time in the long run not needing to use the dykes or rolling the pellets . Anyway the two molds from Russia are supposed to arrive here in mid February .

[Milton C Starr]

I wanted to ask about the Gualandi wads, im told they make 2 different ones the industrial wad and a sporting wad. I suppose thats why the ones bpi sells are .840 diameter and PRs I think PR .810. I have been staying at 1 3/4oz just to keep it easy on this old Belgian gun haha. First goal is to try and get a cleaner powder burn then see where im at with the patterns.

I bought 100 .358 and 100 .410 roundballs from track I dont need alot right now but I want to see how my 8 and 10 ga likes them. I will probably get a mould at some point since I havnt seen anyone with hardcast buckshot in those larger sizes. I read yesterday there are a few places you can send your cast buckshot to and they will nickel plate it.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by charlie cleveland

how many buck shot fit in the shell..makes a nice looking load in that clear Winchester hull...should be a good load for deer hog or coyote...or even for geese....charlie

Charlie I didnt count them but will tomorrow.

[Milton C Starr]

Loaded up some .36 and .410 round balls for the 10 and 8 gauge. I've learned thin overshot cards sit somewhat cattywampus on the larger roundball sizes. However a 1/4" fiber wad will sit and roll crimp on the larger sizes better. I've been tinkering around with homemade shot cups also, hopefully I can get to the range this weekend do some pattern testing.

[charlie cleveland]

looks like your still making some nice shells I really like the looks of those smaller buckshot loads...it should be perfect for coyotes and hogs and would be good on geese too...try one shot at 50 yards for me when you test them out....charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Well I had noticed the outside diameter of the 10 ga hulls are almost the same as the SP8 wads. So I took a few of my old fired 10 ga hulls and cut some 1.450" sections off of them and seated a 10ga fiberwad in the bottom of the hull section. I made them the length to hold 1 3/4 oz of the Ts. They seem to crimp better because the overshot card is sitting on top of the shotcup instead of the shot. Normally wads are slit but I noticed the SP8 wads arent and I have seen 10 gauge wads loaded like that. From what I read about slitting wads you want each petal to be cut a equal distance from each other, I have seen a tool for this. Its really just a dowel or pipe with 4 razors might look into getting one at some point or anything really that cuts a + shape pattern.

The only pattern testing I have seen with the nickel plated Fs were out of a 12 gauge and the guy was able to get them to hold a pattern out to 80 yards.
Im thinking I could make shotcups out of flexible filament, problem is that stuff can be extremely temperamental to work with. Doing the rough math it would cost around $25 worth of filament to make 280 wads. It would be time consuming but a option if you dont like waiting on them to hit the market. You could also order custom paper tubes and make you're own biodegradable wads, I was reading recently some farmers were tired of hunters leaving all their plastic wads in their fields and the cows eating them. Which a major concern I hear locally with farmers and letting people hunt their land is above all else not causing any harm to their livestock.