10 ga. smokeless

[Jonathan]

I'm looking for help with a 10 ga. smokeless powder load I'm having problems with. I've been told that I might find it here. The load is a Remington hull, 1 5/8 oz. of an unspecified size of shot, CCI primer, Remington SP 10 wad, 43.5 grs. of Blue Dot and four .135 card wads(to be placed inside the shotcup).
The problem is that the shotcup is to small for the shot even without the card wads. The wad is very short. There is maybe 1/2" of unused space in the hull. Any ideas? I don't want to do anything that will create high pressures. 

[Dick Dastardly]

Howdy Jonathan,

I load for the 10ga and have several good loads that work for me.  One thing I need to know before I  can help is, what hull are you loading and what length is the hull.  10ga goes all the way from 2-7/8 to 3-1/2".

DD-DLoS

[Jonathan]

Howdy Dick Dastardly,
Thanks for the interest. The hull is a 3 1/2" Remington. the load is from Alliant.

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[Dick Dastardly]

I'll look it up tonite and report back.  I've got this very load somewhere.

DD-DLoS

[Dick Dastardly]

Sorry I took so long to get back to you Jonathan.

I found one load for that hull, folded crimp, CCI 157 primers and 47 grains of Blue Dot.  The wads are not the same.  The load calls for one Alcan P.G.S., One Alcan .135 card and one 3/8" Feltan Bluestreak.  Velocity is listed at 1365 and pressure at 9920 lup.  The load is in an OLD Lyman book.

I suspect that the Rem SP-10 wad would do fine, but if I were to work up a load on that basis, I'd start a good 10% lower on the powder and work up carefully.

Watch for signs of high pressure and take notes.

I load Fedral 3-1/2" hulls with a fine 2-1/4 oz payload buffered with BP buffer and the SP-10 wad.  The powder I prefer is SR4756.  She bucks and roars a bit, but it will drive #3 nickel plated shot through 2" lumber at 40 yards.  I use it on yotes.

DD-DLoS

[Jonathan]

Dick Dastardly,
Thanks for the reply. I have found it difficult to get information.
Can you tell me how to watch for signs of high pressure? Everything I've read says it can't be done in shotshell reloading.
Can you tell me the order in which the wads in the Lyman load are placed in the hull?
In your load with the SP 10 wad is there more shot than will fit in the shot cup? This is my complaint with the Alliant load I have bought components for, the wads shot cup won't hold all the shot, and that is only 1 5/8 oz..
If you worked that load up yourself I would be greatly interested in how you did it?
I have the third edition of the Lyman book.

[Dick Dastardly]

Don't worry about shot above the cup.  Be more concerned about the length of the total load column and whether or not it is the right length for a good crimp.

FWIW, I've found that a good roll crimp gives me more consistent pressures from shell to shell.  Ballistic Products sells a good roll crimper that fits in a drill motor or drill press.  Also,  if you have access to a wood lathe, make yourself a hull conditioner.  That's simply a truncated cone that starts out around .410 and tapers up to 10ga.  Put a pin in the center and spin it with a drill motor to condition the once fired hull mouth.  The friction of the wood tool will provide all the heat you need to make real pretty roll crimped ammo.

I like roll crimped ammo for my SASS shootin'.  It looks great, shoots great and has great style points.

Loading good shot shells is an art.  Each scattergun is an individual and you have to learn what it likes, and doesn't.

Here's an exercise that will consume a lot of ammo and one old bed sheet.  Hang the sheet up and spray a nice dot on it with spray paint.  Then, stand back about the distance you think you will be shooting game at and bang away.  Simply mount the gun, point and fire at the spot.  Don't walk up on it.  Keep on loading and shooting.  Pretty soon a ragged hole will begin to appear.  That's where yer scattergun is hitting.  Most the time you will find that it's not the spot you were pointing at, but some place else.  That's ok, now you know where your pellets are going when you shoulder yer gun and shoot by instinct.  You will be surprised how many more birds fall to your gun with that information.

DD-DLoS