doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Reloading for the 16 ga

Recently started reloading for the above. I've got lots of experience with rifles, but shotgun shells are a new thing for me.

I had some Clays powder, loaded (sloppily) some shells with one ounce of shot and about 13.5 gr. powder. That is the nastiest powder I know of.

Anyone have any suggestions for powder for a 16? I'm thinking either Universal or Long Shot.

Both Longshot and Universal have some 16ga utility.

I shoot the 16 as my primary gun and Unique is my favorite powder for 7/8 loads

I recommend you check out 16ga.com for more details http://16ga.com/forum/

One of the posters on 16ga.com (spr310) post a google spreadsheet that is outstanding as a base reference. try a look at it: https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?key=twPtE--bpmSreSnuQt0i6XQ&output=html

I load the Federal purple shells with a Winchester 209, American Select, the DR-16 wad and 7/8 ounce of shot. Great clay target load. I load the old compression formed Winchester/Western hulls with a Winchester 209, 20.5 grains of WSF, the Clay Buster clone of the old WAA-16 wad and 1 ounce of shot. This is the load that had the asteric in the Winchester Ball Powder loading guide saying it duplicated the factory load.

The problems with reloading for the 16ga are:

1. No really good hulls, comparable to AA/STS or Gun Club for the 12 and 20.

2. The new DR wad makes it easier to work up lighter loads (like 7/8 oz) without filler, but they're expensive.

If you go over to 16ga.com and read the many, many threads on the ammunition and reloading page, you will get an education on reloading like nowhere else.

And I mean that in a good sense.

Ah but Larry one adapts. Federal, Cheddite and Remington hulls are good for half a dozen loadings and Gualandi wads are great in Federal and Cheddite hulls when trimmed to 2 9/16th inches and roll crimped for that classic look.

1. I load Rem 12ga STS or Gun Clubs 3 times and toss them on the fourth. I won't bend over to pick up a once fired AA hull.

I load Rem 16ga RGL's, Win 16ga Xperts, Fiocchi 16ga G&T's 3 times and toss them on the fourth.

2. From my distributor I can buy...
RemFIG8 wads for 2.3 cents each
WinAA12 wads for 2.4 cents each
CBAA16 wads for 2.3 cents each
DR16 wads for 2.5 cents each

Those "expensive" DR16 loads cost 3-5 pennies PER BOX more than my 12ga loads.

Can anyone pronounce "hyperbole"? It's a literary term often used to describe magazine articles and books about pheasant hunting.

Mike, most guys load STS/Gun Clubs a lot more than 3 times. Or at least I do. AA 12's, I couldn't say. Haven't loaded any in quite some time--although I like them in 20ga. But mostly you pitch 16ga hulls sooner because you have to (starting to split, etc), not because you want to. Of course you can also pick up once fired Gun Clubs etc some places for nothing if you dumpster dive or walk around the field, in 12 or 20ga. Harder to score once fired 16's for nothing.

I use mostly Claybuster wads in both 12 and 20. Around 1.6 cents buying them at club volume prices. That's almost a penny a shell advantage right there, compared to 16's.

I adapted by reloading only for the 12 and the 20, giving up completely on the 28 and picking up factory promo loads for the 16 whenever I spot them at a relatively reasonable price.

Okay, Larry. Now I get it.

A quarter a box makes reloading the 16ga problematic.

Makes more sense to pay $1-2/box more for 16ga promo loads than make premium handloads for 25 cents more.