Before I start, a hello to everyone. I have used this forum for information but have rarely participated with replies or posts. My 16 gauge interest is in hunting upland birds behind my English Setters. We are in the Finger Lakes region of NY but travel all over the east through to the western states to hunt. I was going to post this as a rely to a prior thread, but realized it might stray away from the original poster's question so am starting a new thread. The hull on the left side of the photo I attached is from a box of black Herter's loads bought at a Cabelas this fall. 1280 fps, size 5 shot, with two stars stamped into the base. The next hull is a Winchester Super X, size 8 shot, 1165 fps, purchased at a Walmart a couple of years ago. There are no stars stamped on the base, but the plastic hull and separate red base wade are identical to the Herters hull. Both the Herters and Winchester boxes are labeled made in France. Can anyone advise if this qualifies the Herters and Winchesters as cheddites? I am not familiar enough to be sure.
The hull on the right is a Federal, bought this year. The plastic hull is appears to be the same as the other two, but the base wad is made of multiple compressed layers of paper (or something similar??). The Federals are made in the US. Is this hull specific to Federal or does is it a product with use across several brands? I am looking for recipes to reload with bismuth, one formula for grouse and woodcock, and another with a little more vigor for prairie birds. If I cannot identify these hulls properly, I will probably go to buying empty cheddites or rios, as that seems to be what the few bismuth recipes are I can find call for.
