doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Anybody besides RST for 2-inch shells?

All I'm finding is RST, which is fine. They are roll-crimped so reloading is complicated if not impossible.

No importers of British stuff?

Try an old fashioned table top roll crimper ( the swinging arm will probably adjust to the shorter case.)?

Nothing like that is impossible for reloading, Lloyd. Parabola's suggestion is workable. But, if you have a drill press, or access to one, shell length is moot. I have even heard of roll crimping with a hand drill.

BPI hull vise

I roll crimp using a hand drill and it works ok for me. A hull vise is very handy too.

Ruh-roh.

Best,
Ted

I find roll crimping easy.

I use gaep heads, cheap harbor freight drill press, federal paper hulls.

Once you get the touch on roll crimping it is a pleasure.

This is my setup for roll crimping. Drill press and a MEC Super Sizer. The SS does double duty. It resizes the case heads then, when bolted to the drill press table, it is the best case holder imaginable.

Why not finish shell with a fold crimp?

Roll crimping loses less of the hull volume to the crimp, which is my reason for roll crimping 2.5-inch shells. This would be even more useful for Lloyd’s 2-inch shells.
Roll crimping may also lower the peak pressure.
Another advantage is that it gives you more flexibility with stack height, since you can shorten the hull a little to compensate for a shorter stack.

Just buy a gun with 2 3/4in. chambers, ''Bingo'', problem solved !

Dirty Harry

Another doofus joining the "I know what you should shoot, when you should shoot and how you should shoot better than you do " club.

How about you shoot what pleases you and Lloyd does what works for him?

Lloyd, 2" shell, paper or plastic are reloadable in my experience either with fiber or plastic wads. I prefer roll crimping to press, but have both setups. Tabletop drill press works best for plastic but vintage hand cranked roll crimper is my set up for paper. Brent, borderbill and I have had success with 2" loading for our doubles.

A source of paper hulls for me in addition to fired rst shells was a flat of federals which I use for late season doves and cut down to 2" after firing. Ebay provided a 2" jig for use on a small $80 chop saw 2" blade (more or less) for quick trimming. The saw does double duty for making turkey yelpers. Harbor Freight has the saw. Gil

Ted:

Yeah, hope my 16 forgives me.

Time will tell of course, comperable dimensions but this one is reportedly very light...

Couldn't help myself, I've wanted one since the first time I held one, probably 25-years ago.

I actually find roll crimping easier than fold... I roll crimp all my water fowl loads so even in the dark I can tell a non-tx from lead..

Having a hull vise is handy but I've used a large slip pliers with a piece of leather belt to hold them in a pinch.

I think many 2" 12G guns have chokes tending to improved cylinder and a tendency to produce uneven/patchy pattern distribution. Fibrewadding and o/s cards will contribute to that. Plastic wadding and formation of a crimp closure will help to minimise that effect.

If anyone wants some free Federal paper 20 or 12 ga cases PM me. I save them but don’t reload. Just seem too nice to throw away.

That is one of the most kind offers I have seen posted on this forum in a long time.

Stephen Howell

Will someone be so kind as to walk me through the actual process / procedure that happens in this picture?? I am not a reloader but I am aware of the procedures. But, this drill press has me totally confused in regards to crimping the case. Any help to my understanding would be greatly appreciated. Thanks.

Going back to Lloyd's question:

Does anyone import 2.5" shells like Gamebore for example?

I posted the pic, Perry, and I will gladly explain it.

Wha you see is a .410 case being held in a MEC SuperSizer, a tool that was intended to resize the metal heads of fired shot shells, in a separate operation from the resizing station on reloading presses. It utilizes a collet that squeezes the metal all the way around at the same time. Some presses have this feature themselves, but many have a ring that the case head is pushed through, with quite some effort required sometimes to resize and eject it. When you buy one it will come in the gauge of your choice, but extra collets are available for other gauges.

In use, to resize cases, the tool is bolted to a bench top. I get extra duty out of mine by bolting it to the table of my bench top drill press, and carefully aligning it with the roll crimper which you can see in the drill press chuck. The pic above shows a case that has just been roll crimped. I have a foot switch wired into my drill press which allows me to turn the drill motor on and off while keeping both hands free.

Start to finish goes like this: a loaded but uncrimped shell is placed in the SuperSizer and my left hand gently pushes on the lever which causes the collet to grip it tightly. My right hand lowers the quill on the drill press, while my left foot has the switch depressed causing the crimper to be turning at a fairly low speed. When the crimper contacts the open case mouth I pause there a few seconds while the friction warms the case mouth, then I steadily lower the spinning crimper until I get the roll crimp completed. Then, my foot releases the drill motor switch as I release the lever and allow the collet to release the case head.

Sounds like a lot going on I know, but in practice it only requires a few seconds per round.

Thank you for the explanation Stanton. I now see the roll crimper in the drill chuck that I had not noticed before. Your procedure makes perfect sense now!! With the roll crimp you use an over shot card wad or something like that I suppose?? This makes me think back to the days when all shells had the shot size and weight, etc printed on a piece of paper / cardboard covering the shot and held in place by the roll crimp. Oh, and while remembering this how could anyone ever forget the intoxicating aroma of freshly fired paper shells. Such little pleasures that mean so much these days!!

Clay Shooters Supply offer Gamebore and Hull cartrides in 65mm or 67mm length..

Thankyou for that Sir.

However...2-inch shells are only 51-millimeters in length.

Lloyd,

I have some Lyalvale 2” cartridges. They are a bit snappy compared to RST 2” shells. Buy what you need from RST.

Ken

Ken: Appreciate that.

My roll crimping set up for my drill press. I made a simple spring loaded shell holder from some nylon blocks.


Simple shell cutter, from copper pipe, no adjustments needed as it indexes off the rim and not the base wad.


RIO target hulls cut to 2.5" for duck hunting

Most of the English loadings I tried, fell into that category. 2 1/2” 16s that hit me like a 12. They were CIP for Damascus barreled 16s, but, damn, they were punchy. Eley, Westley Richards, Lyalvale, Kent, they all had that in common.

Never had a 2” 12 gauge loading, so, can’t comment on that. But, the 2 1/2” 28 gauge were ‘kinda stiff, also.

Fiber wads in all of it, but,don’t know if that was the cause.

Best,
Ted