Home Forums Reloading Shotshells Loading Steel Shot

Does anyone here reload steel shot for hunting? I have a fair amount of knowledge and experience (15+ years) and I'd like to share experience and data with those who do. Ballistic Products can't stay afloat on what I spend there so someone has to buy from them besides me

Chime in!

I don't load steel shot but I try to do my part keeping Ballistic Products in business. They are one of the few suppliers that stock components and specialty tools for loading the .410.

I've recently gotten back into reloading shotshells. Mostly I'm making steel target loads (7/8 oz steel #7s) because of some local range restrictions (shooting over water). In my previous shotshell loading-- many years ago-- I only used lead, of course, so I was concerned that loading steel would be difficult. But, really it's not. Once I hit on a load that worked, I've stuck with it and am pretty happy. I'm using a new off the shelf MEC 600 jr Mk5 for all my loading and it works fine.

By the way, instead of buying umpteen powder bushings and still sometimes not having the exact right throw weight, I've been using my Redding powder measure to dispense powder. I just skip the powder step on the MEC and throw the powder directly into the case. It's way more accurate than the bushings and it's already sitting on the reloading bench anyway. Anybody else do this? What about an adapter for the MEC powder station to mount a powder measure there?

Also FYI, in my experience, for target loads you don't need the steel adapter kit that MEC sells for steel shot loading. The 600 works perfectly with small steel shot as is. What about for bigger steel shot? Don't know, but I suspect the adapter kit might help avoid bridging of the larger shot in the drop tube.

Good shooting!

I use a Sizemaster for all my steel loading (might have said that). I use an adjustable shot/powder bar specifically so I don't have to mess with powder bushings. I got spoiled early and prefer it over the MEC bars and bushings. So I use the powder section of the bar to throw charges then I seat the wads by hand, and then use primer trays to measure the exact # of pellets I need for a given load. If the load is 1 1/8 of 3;s, that equates out to about 170 pellets, so I "tape off" a Winchester small pistol primer tray so that there are 42 dimples that catch the shot. I get 168 pellets with 4 "scoops" and put that into the shell manually. I then place a 12 gauge .030" card wad on top and crimp. I choose to use an overshot card so that if the crimp is funky, I won't have loose shot spilling out.

In my case I'm not loading for target loads but full on high velocity hunting loads. I'm trying ot match Kent Fast Steel and am getting to within about 50 fps. These are some snappy loads. Thanks for the input!

Shoot us some data of what you are using.... I need to start again, stuff is getting high and I"m down to one case of shells, of course our hole is bone dry..... but there is the future.

lots of data out there. i mostly use ballistic products status of steel #12 for data. my loads are mostly 10ga, but with 12ga i'm shooting #1 steel. 130 pellet loads over steel powder, pushed at 1450 fps +. very effective pass shooting big ducks and close geese.

Spiffy, someone else loading using the bp data manual. They have a #13 now. I was looking at older data books and I have them going back to the first edition when all you could get was the 10 gauge BPD and the BP12-TUFF. I have a later one, I think IV that had data for the Range wad, and then VI with the Ranger Plus. I recently chrono'ed some of my old 7/8 ounce # 4 loads utilizing Fiocchi hulls and Blue Dot powder and they only clocked out to 1325 fps.

My current stuff is clocking at about 1500 fps utilizing Federal 3" Plastic based hulls and Steel Powder. Do you think it would be prudent to try to match the load that Kent is getting (1550 fps) or 1500 is good enough?

I chrono'ed the Kent Fast Steel and my low velocity was 1555 fps and the highest was 1602 fps with 1 1/8 ounces. My load was 37 gr of Steel, LBC43 wads, Winchester 209 primer, and 1 1/8 of 3's. At 40 yards the pattern appeared to be about 3.5 - 4 ft wide. I'm throwing 168 ish pellets of 3's. I'm debating loading some up with BBB's and T for geese. Opinion?

Yes, I'm doing exactly that with a Lyman 55. Just started loading steel and an older MEC 600 Jr is working fine for me with small steel shot which is required where I hunt dove. Get BP's Status of Steel, the latest Lyman Shotgun Manuel has a pretty good steel section also.

It's funny. I just opened up a new 10 pound bag of #3 shot from BP. I was throwing 170 pellets = 1 1/8 ounces before, this new bag has slightly smaller pellets still rated as #3's but now I'm getting 180 pellets per 1 1/8 ounces. Hopefully the small difference in weight does not diminish the long range utility of the load but I wonder? My pattern did just become 10 pellets denser

what's it end up costing you to load a box of 3.5 12ga ?

i've been reloading for years never tried loading steel
maybe it's worth it
plab

Regarding cost of reloading steel--

I'm reloading target loads, but the components are similar. Including the cost of once fired Remington Nitro 27 (gold) hulls the cost of a box of 25 7/8-oz steel #7s is $8.08-- just under the cost of a box of Kent steel shells in this area (about $8.50). Subtracting the cost of hulls for subsequent loadings, the cost goes down substantially to $6.19 per 25 rounds. These hulls last a long time, so overall cost is significantly lower than factory.

Good shooting!

Steel is costing $.1275 per ounce - 1 1/8 = $.1434 (50# @ $102 shipped from Ballistic Products)

Hulls I have = free

Primers are $30/k, $.03 each

Wads are $.065 ea

Powder comes out to .0938 per 36.5 gr charge (Alliant steel, $18/lb)

Per shell that comes to $.3322 each x 25 = $8.305 a box.

This is for full power hunting loads. Velocity approx 1500 fps.

3" Kent Fast Steel @ 1550 fps = $13/box locally.

I figure you will increase the powder charge by up to 5 gr and the shot charge by at least 1/8 if not a 1/4 of an ounce. Wads are going to be comparable as is the primer. Likely about $10/box give or take a buck. Probably much cheaper than buying a box of 25 - 3.5" loaded ammo. New hulls will increase this a bit, but you need average it over 3 or 4 loadings. Target loads can get away with being loaded many more times than hunting loads since they are generally lower pressure and lower velocity. You also get to tune it to your liking.

3.5" hulls are hard to come by. I loose most of mine when hunting
as I hunt out of a boat my auto chucks 'em out pretty hard
so a supply of 3.5 hulls would be important.. but where can I find the data ? I I could load up a bow for around 10 bucks that would be great , good 3 and halfs cost 20+
can you point me to a data resource ?

thanks plab

Best place for all things shotshell reloading is

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

Or you could simply buy them (Federal) shoot what you have and reload the hulls you glean from there.

They sell either Federal or Fiocchi. They are also the supplier of data (Status of Steel 13) and anything you'd need to load them with.

Warning NEWB question!

I have been loading lead shot shells for some time. I have been reading lots of stuff regarding steel shot. I have not been able to find an answer to a simple question.

I know that steel shot takes more volume than an equivalent lead shot load. My press uses bushings to throw the shot when reloading. When using steel shot how do you know what bushing to use? Do you try many different bushings until it throws 1 oz., 1 1/8 oz., etc.? Do you measure the shot charge on a scale to determine if a thrown load is correct? I have read posts about guys counting pellets. I think I would go blind counting pellets!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Ericedeerslayer

They way I count pellets is not 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

I load ammo for pistol and rifle. I re-use the primer trays (Small pistol winchester). I know that in a given 1 1/8 ounces of steel #3's there are approx 172 pellets per load. I weigh out 1 1/8 ounces and then to make sure it is correct, I do countt out the number of pellets that one time. Recently I picked up 30 pounds of #3's from Ballistic products and noticed that their pellets were a little bit lighter as the count came out to 180 pellets. I simply put the shot into one of those blue bins that Dillon sells, and with the primer tray I "tape off" the holes in the tray so that it only has the capacity for 45 pellets. I simply dip that into the shot 4 times to get my 180 pellets then I hand drop that into the shell into the wads. It takes longer for me to do so, but I always get the same weight, and the same pellet count.

I never had any luck trying to drop steel shot greater in size than #4's (it jams my machine) so I developed this method. I should shoot some pics to show how I do things but I'm too lazy I don't use a bushing bar and choose instead to get the full adjustable shot/powder bar for all my shotshells reloading on my Mec Sizemaster and grabber presses.

Vince

Thanks! Great info. I now have another new hobby!

Ericedeerslayer

You probably have a MEC loader. If so, this applies to you.

Buy a charge bar that is specially made for throwing steel shot. They are specific to a range of shot sizes so make sure you get the one you need-- large shot or small. MEC steel charge bars are black, as opposed to the more common red colored lead charge bars. You can get steel charge bars from Cabelas, Ballistic Products, Midway, or many other common sources for about $14 each. They work exactly the same as the red lead charge bars.

The black steel charge bars take the same powder bushings you use for lead shot loading-- of course.

If you are throwing hunting size steel shot (larger than #7s), I'd also consider getting the MEC steel conversion kit (about $17 from the same sources). As I've noted here before, I only load target shells with size 7 steel, and the standard MEC 600 Jr Mk 5 works great right off the shelf with no modifications. But if or when I start loading larger shot, I'll certainly invest the few dollars for the conversion kit.

As with lead loading, decide on a load beforehand and gather the components at the same time. The Lyman manual and the Ballistic Products Status of Steel manual have some good loads. Although the BP manual shamelessly pimps its own products a bit much for my taste. Honestly, you can use steel specific products from companies other than BP without blowing up your gun and killing your whole family. Ballistic Products does have a good selection of steel specific components--especially wads. I like the CSD wads very much as they are pretty close to lead wad configuration and I've found them easy to load. Steer clear of the STS wads-- at least for me, they have been a pain to load. BP steel shot is of good quality. Also, you can trust BP once fired hulls to be more or less once fired. I have bought so called once fired hulls from Midway that were basically worn out-- a waste of money. You can also call BP and you might get some good info as long as you buy their products-- but it can be frustrating. Also, it's one stop shopping.

Good shooting!

I've never been a fan of the bushing powder drops for the MEC machines, but if you only load a couple things, then likely it is good advice to do the shot drop this way. Ihave the steel convesion kit for the Sizemaster, but I always had issues with bridging so I load the way I do for my "lack of frustration" sense I know what's going in there and though I load slowly, it works for me. I don't go hunting enough (read as I do not shoot a lot of steel) to warrant a large volume.

Chinook, I see you are in Sonoma.. where in Sonoma?

I do push BP quite a bit, but you are right, they do toot their own horn quite a bit. I'm partial to the LBC 43 wads for the hulls I use. Once I switch over to a different hull, I will likely re-evaluate my strategy. For one ounce loads I tend to like the older BP12-tuff, but I will likely change my tune later.

I'm in Boyes Hot Springs-- what they call "The Springs" these days.

I didn't mean that you were pimping their products-- I meant that BP does. I use a lot of their stuff too, and it is good. But their style annoys me sometimes. They have often been very nice to me-- as long as I make it clear from the start that I have a current order in with them. It's a kind of "what have you done for me lately" relationship.