Anyone have a suggestion regarding best 16 gauge hulls for reloading/crimping? I haven't found any AA or STS hulls, not even sure if they exist, most shells I have purchased are the Remington Game Loads-black hulls, don't know if they're any good for reloading, but at current prices, there is a great incentive to load for the two 16 gauges now in my collection. I am mostly looking to load trap/sporting clay loads.
Powercrater,
I know a little bit about the 16ga, I have eight of them and l reload for them and shoot them a lot. Winchester used to load all their 16ga stuff in a compression-formed hull but never listed it as a 'AA'. Those were discontinued in the early 90's but are sometimes available on Gunbroker or E-Bay, but at exorbitant prices.The STS was never made in 16ga. The current Remington black 'game load' is only good for a couple reloads, the case mouth gets very brittle after that and splits easily. I wish they had produced that in their 'Gun Club' type one-piece hull, but no dice.
The purple Federal and Estate are ok. The best current production hull in the 16ga is the Cheddite and even that is only good for 5-6 reloads. The Herter's line from Cabela's is a Cheddite hull, as are the Winchester Super-X in the gray box marked "Made in Australia". That may have changed, I've not bought a box in a few years. Ballistics Products sells new Cheddite hulls in 16, and the Gualandi SG16 wads.
Have you checked out the 16ga.com forum? Lots of good info on the One True Gauge over there.
Glad to have a fellow 16ga guy here! Stay in touch.
Bill
Thanks guys! Looking forward to putting lots more 16 gauge loads downrange this spring, especially when I get set up to reload for this gauge. I inherited one and picked up another this winter. Also, may sweet talk Pops into loaning me his Ithaca 37 16ga for the summer.
I took my Ithaca 37R 16ga to shoot Sporting clays yesterday. To me, the pump is no handicap on sporting, but then, I've been shooting this gun for 55 years now. It was my Dad's gun, and the first real gun that I ever shot.
#87 off the Ithaca assembly line in 1941.
You need a 16 to fill that hole in your collection between the 20's and the 12!
I have my 16 pictured above, which is a solid-rib gun made in early 1941, a 20ga solid-rib also made in early 1941, and a new 28ga.
They are fun!
Pops has a really nice 16 that will some day be mine I can borrow it all summer as long as I let him shoot it once in a while. I'd just as soon not inherit it for many years yet. 3 of my 20's are deerslayer slug barrels, and the 12 is the gun I shot my first ever 25/25 at trap.
Getting back to my original topic, has anyone had experience with the Magtech brass hulls available from Midway USA? I am thinking they could be a feasible option, not sure how many times they can be fired, or any of the pros/cons so I'd appreciate any insight to this option.
At the price of those, and with the time and effort involved in loading them, they might be viable as hunting ammo, but not for clays, at least IMHO - and that is all I shoot, so, YMMV.
There is at least one guy over on www.16ga.com that uses them, he could give you better info than I.
Re. the 16 reloading. Have a bunch (7) of them... I reload every 16 ga. hull that I can find. New Cheddite primed hulls from Ballistic Products is a good hull utilizing their 16 ga. wads. Have settled on #7625 for the best powder ie. has low pressures and uniform burn. Normally 22.2 gr. w/ 1 Oz. of shot. #9, #8, and 7 1/2. These loads work the action on my old FN A-5 W/Cutts. Great patterns. Loading on a single stage Ponsness Warren clone that is home made from surplus ordinance steel machined in old dirt floor machine shop. Press weighs 100 lbs. utilized full length resize 16 ga. PW die. Only press like it in the world. Massive with very close tolerances but can still 'feel' all of the operations. Will take some photos and post em. Keep feeding them 16's. Best all round gauge going. The Snookman, Tallahassee, Fl.
Welcome on your first post - and doubly welcome as a fellow fan of the One True Gauge!
That press sounds like a magnificent piece of machinery and a tribute to when this country produced the finest machine tools in the world.
Cheddites last longer than any currently made hulls, IMHO. Unfortunately, your favorite powder, SR7625, has been discontinued. I suggest you grab every pound that you can, it is disappearing rapidly from the shelves and is no longer made. Other powders are available, though! More than you might think.
Thanks guys for all the advice. I was at Cabela's in Owatonna, MN yesterday and picked up 14 boxes of Herter's with the Cheddite hulls, so in addition to all of my Federal, Fiochi, and Remingtons, I should be able to reload for a while. The Herter's were on sale for $6.99 a box, so far the cheapest shells I have bought in 16ga.
RKB: Roger on the powder. Have a good supply. in 5 lb. cans. I am going to try and post a photo/s of the press. Unbelievable.... Loaded some on today. Tried some Reo Hulls and even using an oversize Cheddite primer they still fell out. Will not be reloading any or the red Reo's. To get the right height on the wad column I use a home made Styrofoam wad cut from egg cartons. Works great.
I don't have a 16ga shotgun, but it is on my bucket list along with a 28ga. I have loaded several of the black, 12ga, Winchester hulls, with no problems, so go for it.........robin
28s for upland is great when the gun is built on the proper size frame. If for targets, get one on a 20 frame
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