Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Finally took the plunge...to 7/8 oz loads

I been shooting 1 oz loads at every thing clays since 1994. I shot a some 7/8 oz loads loads at 5 stand and could not tell the difference from my 1 oz loads on targets. Time to make a change.

After re-adjusting the powder drop for Alliant E3 powder and using Winchester AA-HS cases I ran off 200 rounds off my Hornady 366 for Wednesday 5 stand shoot.

I am taking my Parker Brothers VH #2 frame. With the recoil-less 7/8 loads the Parker gun will be a joy to shoot.

Doc

7/8's are a lot if fun to shoot. They obviously recoil less and the even patterns will have less stringing. More shot will arrive on target at the same time. Point well and you will crush targets.

However, if important your long term average will go down because there is less fringe when you are off a little. If it wasn't so, the top guns would all be using 7/8"s.

Good plan, Doc. I have an old Smith SxS 12 that weighs 6.5 lb and I love it with light loads. Heavier loads and heavier guns are what you need when the stakes are high, but the light guns are a pure pleasure to tote in the field and to shoot for fun and practice.

7/8 oz loads are great. Almost makes me want to get another 9000H just for them, almost....

I would like to say my first afternoon with my newly loaded 7/8 oz reloads in my Parker Gun went well....it didn't.

I loaded 400 rounds with NO powder in them. I did not have the powder ON/OFF lever all the way on for the powder drop.
I use three Hornady 366's and the first time I have loaded so many shells with no powder. There is nothing more frustrating than having shot pushed out of a barrel with a win 209 primer only to it the ground 20 feet in front of you.

Now I have 400 shells to break down. OH CRAP!!!

Doc

Sorry to hear that Doc. You aren't the first and won't be the last to have done that. Any way to save the cases?

The cases are toast but I have a few thousand AA's so no worries.

Doc

Reloading is trying to balance the joys against the sorrows. The other day I got a case stuck in a resizing die due to not enough lube no doubt.

the guy who taught me to run a MEC told me to weigh the charge every 10th shot - just dump it on the scale, then back into the case. that's probably excessively cautious, but I guess weighting the 10th round of a run of 400 wouldn't be a bad idea.

Oh, you use progressives. Never mind. Those tools save a lot of time, usually.

OHDANG!!!
That is NOT good, Sorry about your misfortune!
Cat

I load a 24 gram charge quite often with 15.5 grains of 700X and a Federal 12S0 wad .
This makes a nice light low pressure load ( 5,400PSI) for my vintage doubles and it works very well for skeet and pointed birds.
Cat

This season I've been playing with an 11/16 oz of 9's in my 12ga for skeet and close birds(about 1/2 of them) on the SC course. Works great. I load 7/8 oz of 8's for long SC birds and trap. I bought a used Mec 600 that had the 11/16 bar in it, and it throws a weighed 11/16 oz of 9's. That sure streches a bag of shot out and feels great in a sub 6# 12ga sxs.

...not to mention how kind they are to the gun.

The international clay games are mandated to use 24 gram loads- not saying that they are better, it's what they have to use.:>)
Cat