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#11958209 04/08/17
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Anyone use Longshot for 12 gauge heavy loads?

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Make sure tou use copper plated shot so it doesn't deform and blow out your pattern

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I loaded up some loads for pheasant hunting using Hodgdon's longshot for 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 oz loads. Longshot did not improve the patterns I was looking for so I stayed
with Alliant Bluedot and the now discontinued IMR-4756.

Longshot is surely "Speedy" but pattering is everything. I stopped using copper plated shot which is just soft shot that is copper plated. High antimony magnum shot I feel out performs most copper plated shot.

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Make sure to buy high antimony copper-plated shot.

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I have used Longshot extensively in 12 ga 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 ounce loads for pheasant hunting, for years. I have never patterened it on paper but I seems to perform very well on pheasants. I shoot some copper plated, some nickel plated and some plain lead magnum shot. I have not chronographed my loads but the load data says 1400+ fps.
I also use it in 20 and 28 ga loads.


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Maybe I'm just wrong headed. I see "magnum" velocity shot shells as causimg increased recoil,more setback, deforming even hard shot, and increased air resistance to slow the shot faster.

A 1200-1250mv has killed well for me with #s6,5,4.

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I've shot a lot of buffered loads with it at very high velocities, but ended up having to go to a more open choke because the patterns were TOO tight. I could kill varmints at 80 yards using the full choke on a 1.5 oz load of 4's without trying hard......

Biggest problem I have is that it's LOUD.


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My favorite pheasant load for many years has been 1&1/2 ounce of magnum 5s, a remington STS case, win red wad, win 209, and I think 29g of longshot. It chronographs at 1260 fps from my 26" beretta A400 and patterns very well with a modified tube.

I have taken many pheasants at extreme ranges with this load. I tried some of the faster 1400 fps plus 1&1/4 once loads but always came back to this 1.5 ounce load. It's been the only shotshell load I've loaded in about 15 years. I had an old guy take me with him on a guide pheasant hunt one year. He paid so he asked me just to back him up and let him empty his gun first. After I dumped multiple birds without a mis at longer range the guide finally came up and said' "I just got to ask, what the hell are you shooting?" He said he does this every day all fall and has never seen anyone drop birds like that. I handed him a shell and he said this must be a reload, no trap load weighs this much.

The company I worked for for 13 years had a corporate membership at a pay for planted birds place. They would buy 100 birds a year or more and every year but one no one came out and hunted so they told me to go shoot them all towards the end of season. I'd bring my brother because he had two dogs he was training. We shot hundreds of pheasants mostly with my 1.5 ounce #5 load.

I also love longshot in pistols. It's amazing in 40 and 10mm and great for midrange 44 and 357. It's a powder I buy bulk and always have on hand. It meters pretty good too.

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Run longshot in 28 gauge and 20 gauge. Have not found a load I really liked in 12 gauge. Patterns opened up to much in heavier payloads. HS7 seemed to produce better patterns but not FPS.


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Loaded it for fast, 1 1/8 loads for shooting Eurasian Doves. Load should have been running over 1400 fps. Worked fine, smacked them real good.

I picked a pound of it up on clearance somewhere, so thats why I tried it. Had no complaints but wouldnt do it again.


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We use the Fiocchi clear hull and longshot to make the finest 1 1/4oz Nickel #5’s pheasant load around!
Kills birds dead in the air and our lost bird rate has dropped considerably over the last few years!
GREAT powder!

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Originally Posted by Barbarosa
Make sure tou use copper plated shot so it doesn't deform and blow out your pattern


The copper plated pellets are just copper washed and add very little to increase penetration. Winchester offered "Lubaloy" copper pellets years ago which were electrolysis
plated which hardened the pellet, the plating process became to expensive so eventually discontinued.

Those shor manufacturers offering copper plated pellets don't disclose the antimony content of the plated pellet so you don't know whether the pre-washed pellets are just 3% antimony or 5 to 6% antimony. Always chose a "Magnum" or a "Nickel" pellet to fill your bird limit with less bird lose.

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Not in a 12, but I load a lot of 28 gauge target loads using AAHS hulls and Longshot.

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Probably should start a new thread, but I saw this one so I thought I would throw in my .02

I switched to Longshot last year after running out of SR4756 which is no longer produced. I started reloading for pheasant hunting about 12 years ago with some old components I bought from a friend who never used them. It included a 4 lb can of 4756 which I used to make 1 1/4 oz #5 shot loads in Fed plastic hulls. They worked well until I ran out and couldn't get more. Longshot looked comparable from the data I saw so I bought a jug and loaded up a dozen. Shot them at a patterning target and the load seemed Ok so I loaded up 10 boxes. About 1 in 5 or 6 are duds. The primer (Win 209) goes off, but the powder doesn't light so it just pushes the wad down to the choke and makes a mess. I know they are not missing powder because it will still be in the barrel and pushed into the mid section of the wad. Has anyone else had issues like this? I talked to Hodgdon, but they were not helpful. Just said that Longshot was a slow burning powder and maybe wasn't good for cold temperatures.

The load was from their web site: Hodgdon Longshot Win. 209 WAA12F114 34.4 Gr 9,200 PSI 1,440 FPS

I thought perhaps the crimps were not holding well enough so I tried re-crimping a few and putting a dab of hot melt in the center to hold them shut, but it didn't seem to improve anything. I have heard that Remington primers may be hotter so I might try some of them. Anyway, so far I am not impressed with Longshot.

Regarding plated shot; I have tried some in the past and while it may or may not pattern better, it seems to give better penetration because it slips through the feathers instead of pushing a ball of feathers into the bird. I think this results in a quicker kill on straight away shots.where you need more penetration to get to the vitals.

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You are likely having issues due to the relatively low listed pressure and the chosen components. I had similar experiences with pressures under 9,000 psi in the past. This is especially true if the shells are left in an unheated area such as the vehicle or even gun for a couple hours or more. I've had this issue with target loads on up to hunting loads in 12, 20, and 16 ga guns.

To solve, it took changing to a load that produced pressures in the high 9000 range and preferably over 10,000 psi. I ended up using powders that were relatively fast burning for a given shot charge. Unique is a common powder I use for 12 and 16 ga 1 1/4 and 1 1/8 oz respectively. The 20 ga often gets Unique but Herco, WSF, Universal, and HS-6 are often used. Coupled with a Federal 209A or CCI 209M primer and using original factory wads rather than generic or clone wads I get good ignition to well below zero degrees.

DO NOT use Remington 209 or standard CCI 209 primers as they are among the "coolest" flame temp primers around. They are both notorious for poor cold weather performance. The same can be said for most of the European primers other than the Fiocchi 616 which is on the hotter side of the average but still not to the level of the Federal and CCI magnum.

The actual factory wads seem to not become brittle or otherwise have sealing issues which some of the substitutes do. Some of the clones are better than others in this regard but they all seem to be more sensitive than the factory OEM wads. I overwhelmingly use clones but for cold weather use I keep some original manufacture wads on hand.

As for Longshot use, I haven't loaded it in a shotshell in close to 20 years. I get bloopers and off sounding reports when I use Longshot in my 12-28 ga Chambermates. The same occurred with Remington STS factory loads of the era and was told that was due to Remington using Longshot for their factory loads. As I acquired a sizable amount of Winchester 540 and Hodgdon HS-6, that is what I am using for 28 ga. The Longshot is now used for mid-range 357 mag pistol loads. That is a good fit for now.

There was also mention of plated shot. As stated, copper "plating" is not really and the underlying pellet can be rather soft. Same goes for the nickel plated shot which often contains chilled shot. I stick with plain old magnum lead shot as it is a little more predictable in what one gets. It may pull in some feathers but I tend to use mostly 4 and 5 shot so I still get good penetration.

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Good information although it isn't encouraging with regards to using up the jug of Longshot I bought. Maybe I can find a pistol shooter that needs it. I think I have some Blue Dot which may work better.

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Look through data to find a recipe that calls for a Federal 209A or a CCI Magnum primer in that order. You might find it to work much better as the primers are designed to be very "hot" and are highly recommend for slow burning powders. I would also look at the published pressures and try those that are as high as possible. I like 10,000 psi at least for cold weather loads.

Other things I have discovered is to use OEM wads rather than clones as the original manufacture tend to remain pliable to lower temps. I also prefer to use Winchester AA or Remington STS hulls as they produce the highest pressures for a given powder charge and the slightly smaller powder charge is somewhat easier to ignite. The various Reifenhauser hulls are the worst as they are very capacious and the hulls are more pliable which might reduce pressures initially. A heavier shot charge also tends to promote proper burning as the greater resistance increases pressures.

You might also want to check your reloader to ensure the wad guide has all its fingers and/or is adjusted properly. If not, the wad skirt can catch on the end of the hull and cause a tear or dent. This can allow gas to escape which is at its worst during cold temperatures. If I feel the slightest hitch when reloading hulls, those shells get tossed into the "summer" bin as I won't trust them when temps get cold - around 20 degrees or less.

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I do have a bunch of the gray AA hulls. Maybe I will try to get some Federal primers and give that a try. I see the following recipe on the Hodgdon site:

Winchester HS hull Longshot Fed. 209A WAA12F114 27.7gr 10,800 PSI 1,330fps

I have had issues with those hulls wrinkling in the past but I should be able to get the crimp station adjusted to eliminate that. I will take a look at the wad guide too. I was recently given a second reloader that needs a few parts and some refurbishing. Maybe I can set it up for hunting loads and leave my original set for trap loads. That way I can just load a few and do more testing without having to switch back and forth.

Thanks,
Jerry


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I’ve shot I believe three right pound jugs of Longshot, out of 12, 20, and 28 loads. Used Win 209 exclusively. Never had a mis fire or poof load.


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Loaded up a few in the gray AA hulls and they all fired. I chronographed a couple and they were at 1350 fps so looked promising. I then loaded a couple of boxes and have been using them on pheasants in ND this week. Pretty good results and no bloopers so I think my issues are over. I think the wads must seal better in the tapered hulls and that builds pressure better for reliable ignition. At least that is my present theory.

Jerry


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