Reloadable hulls??

[krod47nw]

I have been reloading metallic cartridges for many years, but never got into loading shotgun shells.  are all shotgun hulls reloadable?  If not, what do I look at to determine if they are or not.  I am not wanting to reload what I have, but rather sell them in the classifieds.  I just need the information so I can list them accurately.


thanks,
Kevin

[rickyp]

yeah you can reload shotgun hulls. some hulls are better then other. some hulls like the remington  gun club are reloadable but not worth much money

[Graybeard]

The only ones that really carry any value to speak of are Winchester AA and Remington Premier. Some folks seem to like the Federal equivalent but I'm not one of them.

In 20 ga the cheap Federal hulls load as good as any but only for about 3-4 times max and might not make it that long. I happen to like the RP Club hulls also but they like the cheap Federal hulls aren't gonna last many loadings.

There is almost a glut of 12 and 20 gauge hulls and you can go to most any skeet, trap or sporting clays range and get all you want for free. Some times you'll even be able to pick up the AA and Premier free in those two gauges.

Now 28 and .410 are another story entirely. They are hard to come by at best and impossible at times. I generally just buy Winchester AA HS or RP Premier at Wal-Mart for the hulls in those two. That is the only two I consider worth the effort to reload but some folks do load the cheap Federal and RIO hulls. Estate is now a part of Federal and uses the same cheap hull.

As a rule of thumb 12 and 20 AA HS and Premier hulls are worth about 8 cents each from places that sell them once fired. If more than once fired they really have no resale value. The 28 and .410 AA HS and Premier go for about a dime to as much as fourteen cents WHEN they are available at all. Often at skeet ranges you can get them cheaper especially after a registered match. Most everyone at our club reloads so the better hulls seldom are available but the lower priced ones are availble in huge boxes for anyone who wants them.

Back when I was shooting 20 gauge more I found a load for the cheap Federal and took lots of them home to use once then toss. My shoulder won't take the recoil of 12 or 28 anymore and even the 28 gets to me after a couple rounds so I'm pretty much limited to the .410 these days. My first choice is the AA HS but I load the Premier as well. I've tried RIO, Estate and Federal and decided in .410 they are really not worth the bother.

[Val]

Although Winchester AA are OK, the Remington Premiers STS, The Remington Nitros and the Remington Gun Club shells load better. Especially in 20 gauge. I end up with much fewer sloppy crimps with the Remingtons than with the AAs. This is on the same presses with identical recipes.

[hunt-m-up]

I don't shoot my shoot my shotguns much anymore, but when I did and reloaded for them I liked the Win AA and Fed Gold Medal hulls. The Fed hulls were harder, but didn't deform with the simple Load-All loader. Gold Medal hulls, Fed or CCI primers, Unique, 12S4 wads, and hard 5's--a pheasants worst nightmare.

[Graybeard]

I end up with much fewer sloppy crimps with the Remingtons than with the AAs. This is on the same presses with identical recipes.

That prolly explains why you have the sloppy crimps. Different brands and types of hulls really should use different recipes. Ya might use same powder and powder weight but a different wad or at least wad pressure might be needed.

I do agree that in the 20 and especially the smaller 28 and .410 you really do need to adjust the press and/or the recipe when changing hulls. This is such an issue in 28 ga I have two presses one set up for RP Premier and one for Win AA HS hulls. In .410 I'm able to load both types with same settings on press but use different recipes entirely.

I find the 20 less of a problem in switching hulls but some minor adjustment or change in recipe is often needed to get perfect crimps. With the 12 it just seems a whole lot easier to get good crimps than with the smaller guns.

I too like the RP Club hulls OK in 20 but have more difficulty getting a proper crimp on them than most others. Federal's cheap stuff loads to perfection on my Sizemaster 77 20 ga press but does need a different recipe than the RP Club hulls.

[PowPow]

At a dove shoot the other day, I picked up my Winchester Super X and Remington Shur Shot (both are the bulk dove shells at Academy), with the intent of trying shotshell reloading some time in the future.

I was told these hulls are not reloadable. Is this true?

[dynomike1x1]

The old super X hulls were fine, but these new ones arent that good. The old ones were compression formed these new ones are poly formed 6 point. They dont crimp good and loads are limeted. I have found any hulls that are ribed are no good. Just my opinion.

[Graybeard]

All Remington hulls are reloadable and load well. The older Winchester two piece hulls were about as near to unreloadable as they came in my opinion but all Winchester compression formed hulls load well as do the new AA HS hulls. In Winchester ammo if it isn't the same construction as the current AA of the time I wouldn't bend to pick one up.