Does anyone here load shot shells? I have a request.

[TauPhi111]

So my girlfriend's dad has an old Fulton side by side shotgun in 20 gauge. It's in great shape and working order, and I recently just cleaned it up for him. He's open to letting me hunt with it, but the only thing is that it has 2 1/2 inch chambers.

I know you can get 2.5 inch shells from several specialty companies, but the only shot sizes I've found from them are #6 and down. That's fine for a lot of birds, but I really plan on hunting squirrels and rabbits with it, and for that I really prefer #4 or #2 (especially for squirrels)

If anyone on here loads shot shells and would be so kind as to load me some 2.5" 20 gauge shot shells to the specs I need, I will pay you for components and your time. I'd also be willing to reciprocate with some custom hand loads for your rifle or pistol.

Her dad was shooting standard 2 3/4 inch shot shells in it, but I quickly convinced him that that was not a good idea and all and could be really bad, for both him and the gun. I think he'd like to see it be hunted with again.

 

[Jakeb]

I use 6's and 7 1/2's for squirrels and rabbits all the time. Going much bigger tears up the meat pretty bad.

 

[TauPhi111]

I tend to disagree. Less pellets in the meat and with the lighter loads i like the greater energy and mass per pellet that you get with #4 & 2. Ive had squirrels run off after a dusting with #6

 

[Glendon Mullins]

I load for shotshells, let me do some research on how I would be able to get a crimp on those short things lol not sure if I would have to roll crimp them of if my loader would need to be set up differently etc.

where r u located in Ohio?

 

[Glendon Mullins]

look's like a $25 part is all i need for my MEC to go from loading 2 3/4 inch to 2 1/2 inch, new hulls appear hard to come by, but i can cut 2 3/4 inch hulls down to size to use

 

[MThuntr]

You could buy standard 2-3/4 shells, trim them down and do a roll crimp. Ballistic Products Inc sells everything you'll need to do this. Cost per shell is relatively low but the roll crimp technique can be tough to master.

You could just buy 2-1/2" shells from RTS...cost is about $12 per box.

A word of caution: loading ammo with intent to sell requires manufacturing permits

 

[Glendon Mullins]

You could buy standard 2-3/4 shells, trim them down and do a roll crimp. Ballistic Products Inc sells everything you'll need to do this. Cost per shell is relatively low but the roll crimp technique can be tough to master.

You could just buy 2-1/2" shells from RTS...cost is about $12 per box.

A word of caution: loading ammo with intent to sell requires manufacturing permits

I didn't plan on charging him for time, lol, he lives in Ohio, so I was gonna trade loaded shells for big buck info!! hahahahaha

But seriously at $12 per box on the site this guy just mentioned, after looking at it, I would just go that route rather than having someone reload for you, that price hard to beat. Unless u are looking for something very very specific

 

[MThuntr]

Yeah I was just poking fun about the permit things.

For what RTS charges for their ammo it is definitely not really worth reloading such a small amount of ammo. Heck the roll crimper tool is practically the cost of 2 boxes of shells. If you were to dive into non-lead ammo like Bismuth or ITX for those old doubles then the cost of reloading gets economical.

 

[TauPhi111]

I didn't plan on charging him for time, lol, he lives in Ohio, so I was gonna trade loaded shells for big buck info!! hahahahaha

But seriously at $12 per box on the site this guy just mentioned, after looking at it, I would just go that route rather than having someone reload for you, that price hard to beat. Unless u are looking for something very very specific

I live in Dayton (Greene County). Big bucks here for sure if you can get access to land or find them on the limited public land.

I did look at RST but the biggest they have is #6 lead shot. I know you can kill squirrels and rabbits with that, but I prefer #4 or bigger especially for squirrels.

I appreciate the offer greatly. I think I might try to cut back and roll crimp some standard 2 3/4 #4 or #2 shells first and see how that works. I understand you can roll crimp with a simple hand drill and the tool from BPI. If that fails, I'll pony up the money for some components. Thanks a ton!

 

[N2TRKYS]

I skipped the hand drill route. I went and bought a drill press. I make great looking crimps with it and I can always use a press.

 

[TauPhi111]

You could buy standard 2-3/4 shells, trim them down and do a roll crimp. Ballistic Products Inc sells everything you'll need to do this. Cost per shell is relatively low but the roll crimp technique can be tough to master.

You could just buy 2-1/2" shells from RTS...cost is about $12 per box.

A word of caution: loading ammo with intent to sell requires manufacturing permits

Other than the roll crimping tool and overshot cards, what else would I need to do this?

 

[MThuntr]

You'll need a scale for powder and shot...yes weigh your shot

If you're buying primed shells you'll only need something to trim the shell down a little. Ballistic Products makes a trimmer that takes 1/4" off at a time. You could probably make a jig for this process too. Ballistic products has the wads and reloading data you'll need too though Precision Reloading may also have what you need.

If you plan on reloading spent shells then you'll need a method to deprime and reprime the shells. That is really the only portion of the process that requires some ingenuity. Don't try to roll crimp previously folded (star) crimped hulls...cut the end off first.

 

[Billy Goat]

Probably cheapest thing for you to do is order primed Hull's and wads at the same time. I can't imagine you will go through that many. 100 primed Hull's will last you a good while. You can order everything from ballistics products or precision reloading, including a roll crimper and vise. Biggest thing is going to be finding the correct powder locally.

Shotshell reloading is completely different than metallic. Don't deviate from the load at all. Only used published data. Don't substitute one hull for another. They all create different pressures. This includes wads and primers. I don't have any data for 2.5- 20 ga. Roll crimp and fold crimp create different pressures.

I have used rst loads. My vote would be to just get a couple of boxes of 6's. Those should be plenty effective for squirrel and rabbit. Unless your really reaching out there. I think your best bet would be to to use rst #6's unless your in a situation where you really need something bigger, then take a different gun. Thinking the idea with this is to get the gun in use again. Not make it necessarily a go to gun.