So far this season

So far this season

Postby dog walker » Sat Dec 08, 2012 7:49 pm

Well this is the first year that I have used my reloads from the beginning.

For teal season I started out with LS # 5 loaded with 5's. I loaded up a case of them and they were fine. I wound up letting my brother and another buddy shoot the boxes I didn't use. For teal I really like to use my 20's and I still had almost 2 cases of teal loads for my 20's. Maybe after I run through all of those I'll be able to start using my 20 gauge reloader.

For the regular season RSI 75 loaded with 3's has been very effective on everything I pointed my gun at. It wasn't until the last week of the first split that I had to change up my loads.

The lack of weather and new birds forced me to start hunting a WMA that has a lot of large bodies of open water and nice concentrations of gray ducks. The problem out there is they don't play nice. Our first shots were often 30+ yards. For this area I switched to a 1 1/4oz load of 1's with an lbc wad in a 3" cheddite hull. In my sbe with a Carlson long range choke I average around 105 to 110 hits in a 30" circle at 40 yards. These loads worked great on the grays out there at long ranges.

The only problem I had is the saltwater rusting the hell out of the cheddite hulls and one gold metal shoot off.
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Re: So far this season

Postby jehler » Sat Dec 08, 2012 10:35 pm

dog walker wrote:Well this is the first year that I have used my reloads from the beginning.

For teal season I started out with LS # 5 loaded with 5's. I loaded up a case of them and they were fine. I wound up letting my brother and another buddy shoot the boxes I didn't use. For teal I really like to use my 20's and I still had almost 2 cases of teal loads for my 20's. Maybe after I run through all of those I'll be able to start using my 20 gauge reloader.

For the regular season RSI 75 loaded with 3's has been very effective on everything I pointed my gun at. It wasn't until the last week of the first split that I had to change up my loads.

The lack of weather and new birds forced me to start hunting a WMA that has a lot of large bodies of open water and nice concentrations of gray ducks. The problem out there is they don't play nice. Our first shots were often 30+ yards. For this area I switched to a 1 1/4oz load of 1's with an lbc wad in a 3" cheddite hull. In my sbe with a Carlson long range choke I average around 105 to 110 hits in a 30" circle at 40 yards. These loads worked great on the grays out there at long ranges.

The only problem I had is the saltwater rusting the hell out of the cheddite hulls and one gold metal shoot off.

How are you slitting those lbc wads?
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Re: So far this season

Postby goosepit2007 » Sun Dec 09, 2012 12:44 am

i usegame shears stainless basically stronger handled then fabric shears...long process but works make 3 petels..cut 2/3 way down works perty good that way for us patterns perty good....i am interested if there is eisier way to slit them also....faster way would be nice anything to save time...
I like the rsi load #75 also very good compromise for speed and amount of powder that have to use ...we also load b,1 and 2's in that load with good results...

is there a reason why like your 20 gauge over 12 gauage 5 loads? what load do you like in the 20 might have to pull the old 20 out and give it try..basically quite shooting mine after steel was mandated for waterfowl.
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Re: So far this season

Postby dog walker » Sun Dec 09, 2012 1:12 am

I'm slitting the wads almost to the bottom with 3 slits. I tried running the slits not as deep but I wound up with shot sticking in the wad and traveling down range. In all honesty they were too high but I was trying to see how tight I could get them to pattern.

I tried those 1 1/16oz BPI loads for lbc wads in my xtrema and the percentages were too low for me. My xtrema seems to like everything around 1550 and under on velocity.


Goose I have always liked using a 20 for teal season since most of our shots are rarely over 30 yards and its a lot of quick snap shots. As far as what I shoot I have been shooting kent 3" 4's. Before that I would use whatever I could find in 4's. Now I will use a 20 sometimes during regular season if I know the birds are going to be working close. Those 3" Kent's at 1550 fps are pretty impressive.

When I shoot the rest of my stock up I will load up some in 5's. I tried an RSI load that was averaging 1420 fps and 65% at 40 yards with a fixed mod choke on my browning. There are a couple other recipes I'm looking at checking into this summer.
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Re: So far this season

Postby jehler » Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:51 am

3 slits all the way down are what I do with the lbc's a well. I mark them with a 3 blade broad head and cut with heavy duty shears. 4 slits on those wads with a LM or IC choke had produced some if the most even patterns I have seen at 30 yards, just not high enough percentage at 40 for me. Food for early season though.
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Re: So far this season

Postby jehler » Sun Dec 09, 2012 9:52 am

Dog walker I'll ask jr what loads have been the best killers for him in his 20, I know he hardly shot any hevi this season and he out shot me!
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Re: So far this season

Postby dog walker » Sun Dec 09, 2012 10:54 am

Jehler sometimes I bring out my 20 just to make the younger guys I hunt with that shoot 3.5" shells realize sometimes its not the shell it's the shooter. With the right load they are fine for anything under 35 yards. I really don't try to stretch the range any further than 40 yards.

I have some sam 1's and csd 20 wads in stock,let me know what jr says. Thanks
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Re: So far this season

Postby goosepit2007 » Sun Dec 09, 2012 8:53 pm

good point for 20 gauge have to order some kents 3" with 4 in the shop and give them try...might try have to try 20 gauge rsi load number 121 with 328.1 grains shot going 1490 fps that would be good load
with either 3 or 4 and even 5 for that matter. have you tried that load or have better number load that you like to use in 20 gauge?
most shots that we take are close and would be good light gun to shoot again...well thats it going to dust of the old 1100 20 gauge and have it in blind all season for ducks next year and have 12 or 10 in there for geese

good shootin
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Re: So far this season

Postby dog walker » Sun Dec 09, 2012 10:48 pm

The load I patterned was RSI 118. I never tried it in the field just because I have so many Kent in the closet.

BPI has a couple of 328 gr loads for 3" hulls that run from 1400-1540 fps with pressure ranging from 10-12,000 psi. The only one using steel powder is in a federal hull runs 1540 @ 12,000.

This summer I need to put some more together and put them on paper.
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Re: So far this season

Postby goosepit2007 » Mon Dec 10, 2012 9:37 am

thanks over looked that load in rsi load book 7/8 oz would give guy some extra density out few more yards over the 3/4 oz plus velocity is perty close to 3/4 oz load
....will try that load and pattern and see looks like i might have to get the new balistic products load manuel.... well if balistic products goes up to 12000psi then going to have to cut down the wads so can get more powder in them and not even use the spacers and see were pressures are at and velocity a guy can get up too and still hold patterns well...right now i am wating on some extra time to take an extra 20 gauge bbl for my 1100 and turn it into a 16 gauge tube with the 20 gauge receiver adapted to the 16 gauge tube and see how that will work for steel that way i could shoot larger steel shot through the 20 gauge....i been doing some loooking on net and have seen topics on subject that can only go up to 2's in 20 gauge per manufactors but going to have to call up customer service and find out before i go to the trouble to convert the over bore for my 1100 20 gauge... have already done that same project about 20 years ago for 12 gauge converting factory bbl to 10 gauge tube so in effect have same over bore like mossberg has done with 835/935..
will keep ya posted on what i find out when i cut wad down and see were velocity and pressure gets to and how they pattern and pass info on to ya ...would be nice to be able to shoot the old 20 again when you age the heavier guns get little harder to swing at end of day of shooting and the little 20 would be a delight to shoot. its alot lighter... swings nice ect....


kent has there load going 1550 or ? i would think in 3" hull already going 1430 fps with rsi load that if cut wad could then in turn get some more space for powder. that way reloaders could match that load from kent but will have to see after I cut wad and see where pressure ect is at..
thanks again
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Re: So far this season

Postby dog walker » Mon Dec 10, 2012 10:44 am

I have the new status of steel, to be honest after I looked over the 12 gauge loads I blew it off. Looking at it this morning and they have some hot loads for the 20 in cheddite hulls. All of them 328 grs,some with buffer and some without.

The fastest is running 1700 fps @ 10,500 psi. I'd like to get that one closer to that kent load with 383 grs @ 1550 fps.
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Re: So far this season

Postby goosepit2007 » Mon Dec 10, 2012 11:46 am

max pressure is 12000 for 20 gauge per sami specs i believe so i think there is good possibility for a guy to get close to the kent factory shells with 383 grain of shot at the 1550pfs....keep ya posted will have to load some up and see what can get to for velocity ect i will try them with sam 1 and b and p wads and see were a guy can end up at... 1500 should be easy to get too but will have to see how it goes...that would be great load wfor ducks i would think 5,4,3,and even 2's would be good at that velocity i would think with right choke geese at 40 and under would be dead meat with 2's.

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Re: So far this season

Postby dog walker » Mon Dec 10, 2012 12:25 pm

I just loaded a couple of the 3" cheddites @ 1700 fps to see how they looked and they have way more capacity than the federal hulls I have.

The recipe calls for 32 grs of steel, csd 20 wad and 328 grs of shot. I had to us felt spacers to raise the shot and get the crimp right. Some of the recipes with less powder require a nitro card.

I'd be more than happy with a 7/8 oz load at 1500 and I don't think it would be far off looking at the cheddite loads in the new book. It will just be a matter of working one up and then getting it pressure checked.
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