Guy at the camp had loaded some squirrel loads. He had not paid enough attention to column height, rounds had a flair at the crimp, wouldn't even chamber in a double gun.
I talked to him about needing to be extra vigilant about column height, otherwise the crimp won't work. Even different powders have different volumes. It's all gotta work. I loaded high brass loads in low brass STS cases which worked very well. My squirrel load is 1 1/4 oz #6 over 26.6 gr. Unique using an SP-12 wad, shooting a reported 1,220 fps. Crimps perfectly and has a punch. I tried that same combo in a Win AA hull just to see, and the MEC crimped it about the same as the STS hulls.
I think those type cases are strong enough for full house loads. I'm not planning to reload those after shooting them, most get lost in the woods anyway.
I spotted a tail hanging out of a tree, with my Kahles binocs, squirrel hunting in a breeze last Sat. That tail was connected to a coon. They're bad about eating deer corn, so I rolled him out with my #6 load at around 30 yds. I had a Mod choke in my Benelli. The Benelli is a comfortable gun to shoot, but I did feel some recoil with that load. That's not a low brass load...
DF
High brass - Low brass doesn't really mean anything. It is just how the manufacturers differentiate target ammo from hunting ammo. The internal shape and how the wad fits is important. Stick with tested combinations to stay out of trouble.
I am curious where you got that recipe though. It is 3 grains over what Alliant recommends on their website. Not surprising you felt some recoil.
Alliant dataJerry
