I am also new to reloading, using a MEC 600 Jr Mark 5 and am trying to find decent 1oz loads for a 28ga. I have new Cheddite primed hulls (209 primers) and SG28II wads. I also have a bunch of used Fiocchi, Estate and Winchester hulls. I have both L'il Gun and UNiversal from Hodgdon and IMR Blue as these seemed to the most broadly applicable powders for 12, 16 and 28 ga powders.

Figured it'd be easier to load the new hulls so I went about carefully measuring weights of powder. I started with a 7/8 oz recipe from Hodgdon that called for 23.5 gr of Lil gun under the SG28II wad. When filled and crimped, I had a significant "dish" in the crimp with about 1/4 inch of empty space....not what I was expecting. I then carefully measured out a 1 oz load of #8 by weight on the scale and lo and behold, perfect shell. I suspect that 23.5 gr will be insufficient powder - I've seen a couple of postings showing 28 gr of lil gun but I don't see that recipe anywhere. FYI I have an older shotgun reloading manual that has NO 1 oz loads.

So, more than half of the posts I read say "never substitute anything in a recipe" and the remainder say "pretty well all works so long as you aren't stupid about powder loads...." or something similar. I'd really like to understand why #1 my shell, following a published recipe, was "short loaded" and what difference it would be to load a "proper 1 oz load that fits would be a problem. To be specific, I would look to load the following:

Cheddite Hulls primed with 209
SG28II wads
Lil gun at 27 - 28 grains (as appropriate for pressure)
1 oz of either #6 or #8 lead shot (the #6 is nickel plated)

As mentioned I also have both Hodgdon Universal and IMR Blue as I intend to load 16 ga and perhaps 12 and 20 ga as well. Primary reloading will be in both 28 and 16 (which are obviously very different.....). Any thought re: this same load using the Estate, Fiocchi and Winchester hulls would also be appreciated,

FYI - my 28 ga is a 1970s vintage Mujica Spanish sxs - sweet little lightweight gun and nothing fancy but it sure is fun to shoot!

One last question - when I tried reloading the used hulls, the initial stage for punching out the primer and reforming the case left a "ring" around the base of the brass on every type hull. Is my press set too low or what am I doing wrong?

Any guidance or thoughts re: the above would be greatly appreciated. Perhaps the best answer will be to purchase a new reloading manual, and if so, that'd be great but I would really appreciate hearing from those of you who have reloaded for a long time.

Thanks in advance to responders.......