Hope this thread goes well- exactly what I am looking for..interested in 1oz and 7/8oz favorites.

 

***Disclaimer - I am not a seasoned loader. I have been loading for a little over a year and have ~15k reloads under my belt***

I only reload 12 ga at this time. All loads are in STS/Nitro hulls:

12 ga Skeet and Sporting events -
Win209
16.5 grn Red Dot/Promo
DR XL-1 or CB1100-12
1 oz magnum #9 (skeet) / #7.5 (SC)

5-stand/Sporting practice -
Short stuff:
NobleSprt209 or Fio616 (Win209 for cool/cold temp)
13.5 grn ExLite
CB1075-12
5/8 oz reclaim

25 yrd +:
NobleSprt209 or Fio616 (Win209 for cool/cold temp)
15.8 grn Promo
DR XXL or Grey CB
7/8 oz chilled or Magnum #7.5

Skeet practice -
5/8 oz reclaim load listed above.

***these are slow, a bit dirty, and are probably not good in terms of SD and ES. They work good for me though and I shoot an O/U***

 

I've tried a few different powders and primers but I've never deviated from hulls and wads. With that said:

Remington hulls (sts prefered but GC work just as good)
1 1/8 oz #8 Lawrence magnum lead shot
Claybuster 8118 wad
17.5 gr Alliant clay dot
Win 209 primers

I guess I lucked out and found a load early in my reloading career that I really like shooting.
Though with the price of lead, I'm going to start looking for a 1oz load once my 8118s are used up

 

I guess the gun you shoot would also be relevant.
Here is my 7/8's oz load for long range trap games.
Loader: Mec 9000GN
Hull: Win AA HS
Primer: Win 209, sub NS 209
Shot: 7/8 oz of 7.5
Wad: WAA12 SL, sub CB 1100-12
Powder: Hodgdon International 22.5 grains
FPS: 1400
PSI: 10,200

I shoot this in a Browning XS Special, 30 inch barrels. It has a 1/4" brass butt plate spacer for added LOP and weight for nearly 8 lbs total wt. I shoot Comp N Choke XX full and Browning Midas Full chokes. I patterned the load at extended yardages and it did not look that good. It just continues to crush the clays, so I keep using it.

Maybe a mod or sharp computer person can get us a format to list the components and comments. It is easier on my mind.

 

If you will post your load speed and pressure, others can relate and evaluate the load for their personal use, ie that will be too fast for me, or I need more pressure for my semi-auto, anyway,...

 

For the 12 ga:

Win AA hull
PMC/Fiocchi/Nobel/Win 209/Rem STS
18 grs of Promo
Win WAASL/WAAL or equivalent wad
7/8 oz of #8 shot

Nominal velocity 1250 fps

This covers about 95% of my use whether skeet, trap, or sporting clays

When this is not applicable I use

Rem STS or Gun Club hull
PMC/Fiocchi/Nobel/Win 209/Rem STS
18 grs Promo
Win WAASL or equivalent wad
1 oz of 7.5 shot
Nominal velocity 1220 fps

This is used for Handicap and the second shot for doubles when shooting trap or when shooting sporting clays for rabbits on the ground or especially when tossed as chondels or for edge on or those showing dome targets beyond 35 yards. An once of 7.5 is just slightly fewer in pellet numbers than 7/8 of #8 shot so pattern density is adequate. I learned how effective an ounce of shot can be at longer range when FITASC switched to that as a maximum load. Since then my choice of payload dropped greatly.

Edited: I don't recall pressures off hand but they both operate my wife's 30" barreled and my spare 28" barreled Beretta 391 with no trouble. Before that they worked fine in a 26" barrel 390 except in sub-20 degree weather when I used a yellow spring I picked up from Cole Gunsmithing.

 

My skeet load is:
AA hulls
17.1gr Promo or Red Dot
CB0178-12
Noble Sport 209
7/8 oz #9 magnum lead

I've used this load for several years now and it works great for me.

 

My practice load is as follows:

Hull: Remington STS type (Nirto gold, premier, black beauty, gun club...
Primer: Fio 616 or for new hulls Cheddite
Wad: CB-1100 (winchester 1 oz clones)
Powder: Alliant Claydot 18.4 Gr.
Shot: 95% of the time 7.5 shot because it will break anything further than #8

I shoot LM/LM or M/M and focus on my shooting not what's screwed into the end of the barrels. I prefer smoke balls from good hit rather than chippy shots. Also when shooting tight chokes you can tell from the breaks where the center of the shot pattern is IE: taking the front edge off.

 

AA hulls
18.0 gr 700x or Promo
CB1100-12 or Green Dusters
Win209's
1 oz. 7.5 shot for Sporting Clays or 8.5 for Skeet
*I'll be dropping down to 7/8 for Skeet...

 

7/8oz shot #8
Rem STS
Win 209
17.3gr Clays (looking to go to claydot soon)
Clear Duster
1200fps
9600psi

This is my clays load for skeet and sporting. Usually shot in an O/U or SxS but will cycle some autos. Very low recoil but breaks clays as well as anything if you do your job.

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7/8oz shot #8
Rem STS
Win 209
17.3gr Clays (looking to go to claydot soon)
Clear Duster
1200fps
9600psi

This is my clays load for skeet and sporting. Usually shot in an O/U or SxS but will cycle some autos. Very low recoil but breaks clays as well as anything if you do your job.

Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire

If you buy Extra-Lite, you can get similar performance with 15-15.5 grains of powder and your gun is cleaner after shooting than before you started. :roll: :lol:

 

I suspect a lot of us assemble loads based on powders we could obtain economically and/or easily and if they performed well, we settled in with them and aren't anxious to experiment -- IOW, an if it 'aint broke don't fix it mentality.

So that said, I am a sporting clays shooter and shoot factory AA light handicap's labelled 1oz at 1290 for competitions. Hence I purchase and assemble practice loads to run at that same speed, and of course use the AAHS hulls to reload as I have a couple garbage cans full of empties. I load both 7/8 and 1oz for practice, using 7/8 simply to stretch shot. I did load 3/4 for a while to stretch it further, but the recoil is so notably reduced that I find it is not a good comparable practice load. So all that said, here are my favorites:

1oz: AAHS hull, 21.2grs GreenDot (MEC bush #36 in my 9000 progressive with red PC baffle) WW209 primer and DRA12-1 wad -- load gives 1300 FPS over my chrono (same as the AA factory) and very good consistency (like 10FPS ES) and is clean burning.

Secondary if GreenDot is not available: AAHS hull, 20.1grs AmerSel (MEC bush #34) WW209 primer and DRA12-1 wad -- this load gives 1280 nominal, and is not as consistent as the above load (30FPS ES), but does burn even cleaner. It is also a tad more economical due to being higher energy.

7/8 load: AAHS hull, 17.8grs ClayDot (MEC bush #32) WW209 primer and Green Duster wad -- this load burns very clean and gives consistent (20FPS ES) velocities averaging 1290 FPS over my chrono.

 

7/8oz shot #8
Rem STS
Win 209
17.3gr Clays (looking to go to claydot soon)
Clear Duster
1200fps
9600psi

This is my clays load for skeet and sporting. Usually shot in an O/U or SxS but will cycle some autos. Very low recoil but breaks clays as well as anything if you do your job.

Posted using Outdoor Hub Campfire

If you buy Extra-Lite, you can get similar performance with 15-15.5 grains of powder and your gun is cleaner after shooting than before you started. :roll: :lol:

I wish I could find jugs of that!! Been looking for months like everyone else. Thank God I have other powders to use.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

I have been reloading for 54 years and my bird gun is a #2 AyA in 16 Ga. and after many years on the pattern board using a chronograph my favorite 3 loads are as follows:
Shot wt. Velocity pwd. grs. PSI
7/8 1202 Unique 16.5 ?
1 1328 SR4756 32 " 7440
1 1/8 1325 SR4756 32 " 9620
All use Win. 209 primers with card and fiber wads in RMC ALL BRASS hulls.
Unfortunately, SR4756 is being discontinued and when I run out of powder in a few years I will search for another great load.

 

If you buy Extra-Lite, you can get similar performance with 15-15.5 grains of powder and your gun is cleaner after shooting than before you started. :roll: :lol:[/quote]

I will have to try a pound of Extra-Lite some day when I run out of Clays and Claydot. Thanks for the tip, Curly!

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Anyone that has been reloading for 54 years sure has seen a lot of shot go down the barrel. I wish you had a favorite 12 gauge load to post. We may need to consider a sub gauge thread if this gets too integrated. I have 525's in all the sub gauges, so it will definitely have a following. Oops not in 16, yet.
While I have the window open, here is my present SKEET load. It is straight off the Claybuster label inside the wad bag of CB-0175.

Loader: Mec 9000GN
Hull: Win AA HS
Primer: Win 209, sub Nobel Sport 209
Wad: CB 0175
Powder: Extra Lite 16.0 grains
Shot: 3/4 oz 8.5, sub #9
FPS: 1300
PSI: 7600

I shoot this in a Browning 725 Sporting with 32" barrels. Needless to say, recoil is very light. I shoot factory DS sk/sk chokes. The wad has a bump in the bottom of the shot cup, which takes a little time to get in the wad guide. I modded my drop tube to clear the bump. This load will not cycle 100% in my SX3. No crimp issues with this load. I thought Tite Wad was my powder for 3/4 oz skeet loads, until I tried Extra Lite. Tite Wad will cycle my SX3.

 

I was hoping to see, someone's do all load. I guess 1 1/8 would, but I think 1 oz should do anything if on target. I am trying some different powders to shoot about 1300 fps in a AAHS hull. I did find the the Jammer XL-1 gives you a little more room for a nicer crimp, compared to CB and WinAAs. Does anyone have input on the 8 petal vs the 4 petal in the XL-1, other than 8 petals get stuck up the shot drop tube?

 

I only reload one load for both 12 and 20. Each is 3/4oz with the appropriate CB 3/4oz wad in Remington hulls. The 12 is now being loaded with Titewad and the 20 with Universal - both of which are current unavailable. I was able to come into several sleeves of Fiocchi 616s at a sub-$100 price and I like them; otherwise I'll use Nobel or Cheddite - again once they run out it will be whatever is available. These loads are purely for fun practice. Registered shoots I use factory ammo. For small birds like pen-raised quail or decoyed dove, they will also work. Otherwise I have a few boxes of factory hunting loads for those times I can get a chance to go - which is nowhere near as often as I used to living out West.

 

I only reload one load for both 12 and 20. Each is 3/4oz with the appropriate CB 3/4oz wad in Remington hulls. The 12 is now being loaded with Titewad and the 20 with Universal - both of which are current unavailable. I was able to come into several sleeves of Fiocchi 616s at a sub-$100 price and I like them; otherwise I'll use Nobel or Cheddite - again once they run out it will be whatever is available. These loads are purely for fun practice. Registered shoots I use factory ammo. For small birds like pen-raised quail or decoyed dove, they will also work. Otherwise I have a few boxes of factory hunting loads for those times I can get a chance to go - which is nowhere near as often as I used to living out West.

Well, we got everything, but the powder wt. I would be interested in how fast you like to shoot em and what guns you use. I am going to guess you load #8 shot with the 3/4 oz. I could probably look up the load and guess, but I am sure you don't mind divulging where your confidence lies. Thanks,

 

1 1/4 oz of No. 6 Magnum with 30 grains of Longshot in a Federal Gold Medal hull is my favorite pheasant load.

7/8 oz of No. 8 or reclaim with 17.5 grains of Promo or Claydot in a STS or AAHS hull with DRXXL or TGT12S wad for Trap.

I tinker quite a bit and test a lot of different loads. If I find a decent supply of e3 I will stock up on it. I loaded up a pound of it recently and I really like it.

 

12 gauge load. Have been reloading for seven years.

Loader: Mec 9000
Hull: Remington STS/Nitro/Gun Club
Primer: Fiocchi 616
Shot: 3/4 oz. of 8
Wad: Downrange DR-XXL Pink
Powder: Extra-Lite 16.0 grains

This is about all I use for sporting clays practice. Breaks targets if I do my part. Low recoil. Clean burning. I live in Georgia and don't shoot below 40 degrees, so I don't know how it performs in really cold weather. If I run out of Extra-Lite, I will use Promo.

 

Because of screwy component availability my quick answer is "whatever I can get that works somewhat ok with 1 oz. of shot".

When the powder pipeline was more reliable:

Rem. hull
17 gr. Red Dot or Claydot
Win. 209
Claybuster CB-1100-12 pink 1 oz. wad
1oz. #8 shot

The above load was my go to load for a long time. And when I can get the stuff to load it again it will be again.

 

I've tried a few different powders and primers but I've never deviated from hulls and wads. With that said: Remington hulls (sts prefered but GC work just as good) 1 1/8 oz #8 Lawrence magnum lead shot Claybuster 8118 wad 17.5 gr Alliant clay dot Win 209 primers I guess I lucked out and found a load early in my reloading career that I really like shooting. Though with the price of lead, I'm going to start looking for a 1oz load once my 8118s are used up

I shoot a 12 ga. 3/4 Oz load for trap 14. 5 grn of titewad with 7.5 shot and a ched. Primer low recoil low pressure less kick also great for new shooters

Well, we got everything, but the powder wt. I would be interested in how fast you like to shoot em and what guns you use. I am going to guess you load #8 shot with the 3/4 oz. I could probably look up the load and guess, but I am sure you don't mind divulging where your confidence lies. Thanks,

 

Yikes! This is a thread from 2014. Well duh! I wasted too much time with a long reply.

Gone now.

 

Railroad, if you're still around here's my two cents to your question...

My favorite loads might give crappy patterns out of your gun.

So, attempting to use what I use because it works well for me is not something you should do, especially if you can't get the same components I'm using.

Rather, you should look up a few loads online that utilize readily available components and then try them in your gun on a patterning board.

Using a recipe that works well for someone else will not give you a leg up on the competition.

You will need to put in the same amount of effort developing loads that shoot well from your gun if you want the same results as other accomplished shooters. Good luck!