I have been talking a lot about how to reload for a shotgun, and the benefits. Now before doing more blogs on how to reload for shotgun I want to share some of my experiences.
I hunt a lot of small game as I am not really supposed to eat store bought food because it screws with my heart. So I depend on my hunting handloads to perform exceptionally. Also when I shoot Handicap Trap or Sporting Clays on a league or a 1 off competition I want to take home the money dang it which in turn means my target loads have to perform well.
I have developed many loads over the years. From 1oz extremely light recoil loads and 3" 2oz lead loads, to 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz high velocity lead loads that recoil as much as a magnum 3 1/2"steel round.
Now in the Handicap Leagues I shoot at allow you to use anywhere from 7/8oz to 1 1/8oz loads though velocities are limited with lighter loads allowed higher velocity then the heavier loads. People who are better then me which is a lot of people use 1oz loads up to about the 24 yard line. Others like myself use 1 1/8oz loads from the 20 yard line to the 27 yard line. Some guys use pricey commercial loads, and others such as myself reload. Now a lot of people don't reload for Handicap Trap or Sporting Clays because if you don't buy reloading supplies in bulk the savings is just mere pennies over the cheap commercial ammo. Which the guys using that are just shooting for fun, and aren't concerned about winning money.
Sporting Clays I have never heard of anyone using anything other then 1 1/8oz loads for a 12 gauge. Which actually works out well because I use the same loads for Sporting Clays as I do Handicap Trap.
I spent a lot of time developing these loads. Which I originally developed them with the same powder I was using for hunting, The reason for being is I started loading for sport shooting during the Obama Administration. Which everything dried up then. I had picked up a 4lb keg of Winchester WSF a few months before because it was the only powder I could find to use in my 12 gauge hunting loads, and .45 Auto loads. There was really nothing else to be had.
I started digging through all my recipe books, and searching on Hodgdon's Website (Hodgdon bought IMR, and Winchester ) as on their website they have a reloading data center with all kinds of load information for their powders.
I found some loads that were within the load weight, and velocity limits. Which was a good thing (WSF is a field powder, and gives the same ballistics as Winchesters Super X 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz loads in Winchester AA hulls so it is not typically a sport powder), but all I had were hunting wads. I ran to Graf's to buy some different wad types. Luckily the Graf's St. Charles location is about a 10 minute or so drive from my house which as usually back then I was the young guy in the shop as I had been for awhile. The only time I wasn't the youngest guy there is when my hunting, and high school buddy was there too. Which he is only a year younger then me. So I grab a couple bags of different wads. Even though a lot of none hunting, and standard hunting loads come in bags of 500 they aren't expensive $9.95 to $10.95 a bag . I went home, and developed some loads, patterned them, and then loaded a bunch up.
I went to my first league match ever. Which I got there hours early to see what I was supposed to do. I only shot trap on occasion with a couple buddies, and it was never anything serious. I had signed up for a league because I knew it would force me to become a better shot which would greatly help me when hunting. I was like a little kid in a room of adults. Nervous, quiet, kind of staying in a corner to myself. Then I finally got placed on a team who was short a shooter. I went, with them to our spot, and we shot our rounds which when you are shooting an 11, 12, or 13 your new team members aren't to happy when they are shooting 21 to 22, and you are dragging the whole team down. Now this day I was using a couple boxes of Federal rounds I had. I figured use up my factory rounds I had first. The next week rolls around, and time for another match. I took a box of AA shells, and a box of my handloads. I did a little better with the AA shells a straight 13. Next round rolls around, and it is time to use my handloads. I started at position 2 which I do okay at, and BAM 4 out of 5, move to position 3, and I get 4 out of 5, keeping my cool even though I was jumping for joy inside I moved to position 4, and get a 5 out of 5. Now I am excited, and pumped. Move to station 5, and I am so excited I rush my shots, and get a 3 out of a 5. My own fault. Then I move to station 1. Which I normally have a hard time at. I turned around, and got 5 out of 5. Which I was very excited about. 34 out of 50 for my second time shooting on a league with guys who'd been doing this longer then I had been alive. The next we rolls around 42 out of 50. That week I took home a little money. The rest of the league my scores ranged from 42 out of 50 to 48 out of 50. I never got a straight 25 due to rushing shots or distracted when the bird came out. I didn't win a ton of money, but I won enough to cover my all the expenses (gas, reloading supplies, food, and drink at the clubhouse), and walk away with a little bit of money in my pocket. Not to bad for a guy's first time in a league. I haven't been able to got on a league for a couple years, as my wife and I had 2 more daughters. Having babies around (now 1 & 3), a teenager, my wife working in management, me being a professional musician, and hunting and fishing for food since I really can't eat store bought food left very little free time. Which is still the case with my wife recently taking over as GM of a multi million dollar restaurant, and me getting sick and falling behind in getting my ballet finished.
Now my hunting loads have been my mainstay in reloading for shotgun for years before I started shooting sports for shotgun. I have become very confident in my loads, and my shot. A lot of people will not push a 12 gauge squirrel hunting beyond 25 or 30 yards. Especially if the trees aren't bare. I know my loads, and what they can do. I have spent a lot of time in developing them. Heavy brush, middle of the summer trees I would do about 25 to 30 yards, and the middle of fall and winter I would push it to about 40. I then spent a year developing a high velocity load. I wanted a 2 3/4" 1 1/4oz load that was going to reach out, and still hit like a sledge hammer. I am not hunting for fun. I am hunting for food, and I need to bring in anything, and everything I can.
The load development took a long time. It actually took me a year to get it all figured out, and a working load. I tested 2 different magnum lead sizes #6, and #4. I went through I don't know how many different powder charge weights. I had finally got the charge weight figured out, #6 shot due to the size was a no go. I was still having issues with #4 shot having lots of flyers which was caused by the pellets deforming going down the barrel or being set back in the shot cup during powder ignition. I did more research, tweaked things here, and there but still kept getting flyers. So I really dug deep, and actually ended up calling BPI to discuss buffer usage. I talked with them for about half an hour, and then ordered buffer. Sure enough put buffer in the load, and bam everything tightened back up. I did patterning from 10 yards to 30 yards, and the pattern held tight. I now had a hunting load I had a 100% confidence that it would reach out, and touch someone or punch through brush with no issues. 1 1/4oz of #4 shot at the muzzle going around 1,440fps will grab your attention.
I finally got to test out my load on a cool fall day here in Missouri. Brisk, cold, and all the trees had lost their leaves a couple weeks before. So I am hiking a creek on public land I normally do when I don't feel like driving to my wife's family's property. This public hunting land has bluffs, steep hills, thorns, and all that fun stuff. I wear upland hunting pants so the brush was no issue. Hiking along off big fox squirrel runs. I couldn't get a good swing on him so I waited to see what tree he was going to, and then I would wait a few minutes and see if he pops out. Instead he keeps running up a big hill. Then stops on a log, and continues to eat his nut. Over 50 yards out. I line up my 870 with a fiber optic bead with his head, and pull the trigger. Down he went. I grab him, and keep hunting. When I get home, and clean him he had 6 pellets in his main torso, a couple had hit him in the face, and head and he had 5 or 6 in his outside legs. Great pellet count for any kill especially that far out with an improved modified choke.
Reloading is so much more then an addictive hobby. It can be an extremely useful tool in your hunting or competition shooting.