BPI and Precision Reloading both sell 10ga new empties.I like Remingtons so I go to PRing. They ain't cheap - $44/100 if I remember. Then you cut them down to what you want. A band saw or a single edge razor stuck in a wooden dowel at about a 15 degree angle. I bought a used Mec 600 and then the dies for a 10 and converted it. I had a Parker with 2 5/8" stepped chambers so I cut all my shells, to keep it simple, to 2 5/8. Then I needed a 1/4 plate to raise the shell in the crimp stations. You can use fiber wads from Circlefly.com or buy plastic wads from BPI or PR. If using plastic wads you'll need a filler wad to get the correct load height for a good crimp. A 1/2" 16ga cushion wad is what you want. It can be cut for proper height. I left the 12ga drop tube in the press. The 10ga one was sometimes allowing the 16ga filler wad to get stuck up in the drop tube. You let the handle up and the shot would make the stuck filler wad come loose - shot all over everything. You'll learn about the little things that work or don't. You don't need any skive tool or a metal start crimp from BPI. That crap is all hipe. I've been loading the short 10 for about 10years and have never had to use any of that stuff. The Mec plastic start crimp works just fine, and I never found a use to thin the hull. I have a Parker, Remington, and Lefever 10ga guns. The Parker is kind of heavy, the Lefever doesn't have any chokes [ someone must have cut the barrels ], so my Remington is my go to 10ga. It's not too heavy for SCs, and has Mod/Mod for chokes. After I twice bought 10ga shells, a friend who cleans up at a DNR range must of given me 150 once fired 10ga hulls. I now have more than I'll use [ but they are all loaded up ]. Go here and get on their reloading forum - there's plenty of the short 10ga loads.
www.parkerguns.org . I and others feel if a load is safe in a 12ga, it's safe in a 10. The chamber is bigger in diameter so the pressures will be less. If you choose mild - 7 to 9000psi loads - everything will be fine. If you sub in fiber wads over plastic the pressures will go down. Good luck. Paul
