Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Where to start????

Well I have some questions... But first a little background. I recently was given a MEC sizemaster SM82. I have read the instructions and I understand how the machine works but I am not sure where to start from the reloading stand point.

I cant seem to find components anywhere. I am familiar with centerfire rifle reloading and those components are very avaliable. Where is the best place to find hulls for reloading and what are some recommended brands?

I need to reload for my wife as she has purchased herself a used benelli legacy 12ga and wants to start to experiement with trap and skeet. So with that information what is a recommended powder/wad/shoot size combination that will work for that need. I have close to 1000 winchester 209 primers that came with the press.

My wife is small so I think a #8 1oz or 7/8oz might be a decent option for her and also help keep the recoil down. However Im not sure and that is why I am looking for some direction.

Thanks for the help.

I get most of my components from Ballistic Products. They do all their own recipe developement for their proprietary components and publish load books.

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

I highly recommend their Trap Commander wad for trap and game loads.
If your wife is recoil sensitive you can e-mail them for low pressure load recipes.

Ask your local gunshop & see if they can get shotgun components for you. Lead is heavy (expensive to ship), powder & primers get a Hazmat fee. Wads are about the only thing I mail order any more.

A 1oz load of #8 shot at 1200 fps will do fine for you. 7 1/2 shot is better for longer range targets.

I reload about 10k hulls a year at this point. Advice...like all reloading, buy components in bulk.
Frankly, though, with the price of lead shot being what it is, unless you are going to be shooting regularly....lets say once a week shooting fourb or so boxes of shells at a clip.....you may be better off just buying the cheap sales shells at Walmart. You save a few pennies per shell - maybe - loading your own. It is not like metallic cartridges,not with shot at $35 - $40 a bag.
Ten cents for shot, two/three cents per primer, about two cents per wad, and three to five cents for 18 grains of powder.....at least seventeen cents per hull....more like twenty for most folk. At my club, a flat of shells costs $57 for 250 shells...23 cents each for 1 1/8oz at 1200fps. And no work ordering components or assembling shells. Walmart Federals or Winchesters are a few pennies more than that.
If, however, you are shooting a lot, those pennies add up.
Pete

Thanks everyone. Im not sure how much she is going to shoot as she is just starting. I was going to reload well because I can and metallic reloading is something I've really started to enjoy. I am close enought about 45 minutes from cabelas and bass pro so and closer to a few other shops that carry powder and primers. I have about ~700 win 209 primers that came with the press. Im not sure of their age but they look good and I loaded a few empty hulls that were with the kit with just a primer and they still go bang so they seem to be just fine. I am going to the club today to see what I can find from last nights skeet night. So I may have some hulls. It seems like people like the rem sts and some estates. I will report back with what I have found.

http://www.recobstargetshop.com/browse.cfm/2,190.html

http://www.gamaliel.com/

Above are links to two good reloading suppliers. They will have many of the most popular components for shotshell reloading. There are other online retailers who are also good. Shipping cuts into your savings but occationally you might find free shipping. Big shoots often attract component vendors who offer bulk purchases and save you not only shipping but also haz-mat fees. Local clubs may be another good resource for components.

Hulls are easy to accumulate at local clubs. Most shooters save the premium ones but you will find many of the "economy" type hulls free for the taking. Experiment with different brands, you will eventually settle on one readily available. Once this is established your MEC can be fine tuned and you can stock up on components.

I strongly recommend Lyman's Shotshell Reloading Manual 5th Ed. It gives detail explanations of the process. Shotshell reloading it quite different from metallic. This book give a solid foundation to the beginner.

Alliant and Hodgdon both host web sites with loading data. Together with the Lyman book you will find many safe recipies using a variety of components to find a safe loads that suits your needs.

Initially savings might seem minimal but as you settle on a few loads you like they can really add up. Your loader was free (nice gift!) so that's already factored out. Look for deals and buy in bulk. Often hand loads are better than factory as they are tailored to you specific likes/needs.

Good luck and be safe!

I've ordered components from here:

http://www.conniescomponents.com/

Clays powder / DOWNRANGE 1 0Z. DRA-12 PINK/ any Remington hull/ Cheddite or WW209 primers

7/8 oz #8 shot load them to the book recommended speed of about 1225 - 1250fps

good load, hits hard, easy on the shoulder

well to get started out I was unable to find any hulls at the club that I recongnized so I purchased her 4 boxes of STS managed recoil and 4 boxes of STS Low recoil light target loads to see how they work for her. We intend to save the hulls so once those are used up I will have some quality hulls to reload. I also picked up 5 boxes of the Remington Premium Nitro Golds for myself to shoot becuase they where priced right. From what I understand all of the above should be good hulls to reload. Once they are all shot up I will have 125 nitro gold hulls and 200 sts hulls so that should give me a good starting point for components. Plus that gets her out shooting and gives me some time to get a manual and figure out the rest.

She did shoot her gun for the first time last night and insisted on trying the nitro golds which seemed to be a little much out of the gate for her. I think she was more in shock as the sound and recoil really suprised her and she was a little timid and wary of the gun going into it. But thats what I expected as she didnt grow up around guns and is still getting familiar with them. But she did blow up that milk jug filled with water and was really happy about that.

Those STS's and Nitro hulls will make excellent reloads. With light target reloading they should last 8 or more firings. I would suggest looking at 1 oz and 7/8 oz loads in the lower to medium velocity range. These are easier on recoil and might be more enjoyable for her to shoot. I have seen a few new to shotgun shooting quickly lose interest because of heavy recoil and/or a poorly fit shotgun.

BTW, don't forget to save your boxes. You will need them to hold your reloads.

Well,

The wife really likes the STS Managed Recoil shells. So after she shoots up what she has I guess I will need to figure out how to duplicate them.

They have 7/8oz of 8 1/2 shot and my guess would be a smaller charge of slower burning powder. Once I get the last two parts to the equation figured out I will be in pretty good shape.

I'd stick with 7/8 OZ loads for a while. I'd also do as someone else mentioned and get the lyman hoading manual. You'll find so much valuable information in that book you'll wonder why you didn't have it all along. Back when my son was young and shooting trap with me, I started him out with 7/8 oz. loads and they hit the birds surprisingly well. I've also used them in my doubles gun for the first bird...Here's something that may help you out:

Ballistics Products sells a wad, the Rex 24, that works very well with 3/4 oz loads in a 12 ga. Less recoil, less shot and will kill clays as well as any 1&1/8 oz load.

I shoot 7/8 oz loads for sporting clays as well. If I'm on, the birds will break.

They are so much more comfortable to shoot.

nomad_archer,

Get a copy of the Lyman Shotshell Reloading Manual and read it from front to back - There is a world of information that you will find useful to get started, and much that will be helpful down the road.
It will tell you about useful loads and direct you to the proper components to use and match together.
There used to be adds in the book for some sources as well.

Good Luck,
Ted

Nomad,
I hope you have found what you need and your wife is well on her way to having a great time busting clays with her new toy.
I will second the 7\8s 12 ga load as a great tool to train new shooters.
I have over 9 kids shooting skeet, trap and sporting targets and I encourage all of them to shoot the light 12 ga load instead of the 20.
It breaks targets and the kids go a lot longer at a practice. Most shoot 50 to 100 shells a session.
I am a fan of the progressive press due to the volume of shells we are going thru but the single stage is fine for a few boxes a week.
I load a Hodgden Clays load with the Winchester grey wad. I am now using the Rem. gun club hull because they are widely available at my club for free.
3 loadings and chuck them.
The Factory STS low recoil 7\8 1100fps load wont reliably cycle doubles in the 1100 Rem but the reload will. I am guessing it is 1200fps with the 17.5gr of Clays powder but I have not chrono tested the speed.
We did find the factory B&P 7\8 load to work very well in the autos. It is available from Cabelas and is the one I recommend to parents that dont reload.
I am a firm believer now in the lighter recoil shell keeping new shooters going longer at the range and it is worth the effort in the early target training to procure them in my opinion. Even if they are a bit more $ for the first 1000 rounds.
Later when they get to be target crazed they will not be as effected by the heavier loads. But many shooters find they like the lighter recoil and stay with the lower payload esp in fixed breach guns.