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156-497: The term handloading is the more general term, and refers generically to the manual assembly of ammunition cartridges. Reloading refers more specifically to handloading using previously fired cases and shotshells . The terms are often used interchangeably however, as the techniques are largely the same, whether the handloader is using new or recycled components. The differences lie in the initial preparation of cases or shells — new components are generally ready to load straight out of

312-453: A 1 ⁄ 12 pounder. Thus, a 10-gauge shotgun has a larger-diameter barrel than a 12-gauge shotgun, which has a larger-diameter barrel than a 20-gauge shotgun, and so forth. The most popular shotgun gauge by far is 12-gauge. The larger 10-gauge, once popular for hunting larger birds such as goose and turkey, is on the decline with the advent of the longer, "magnum" 12-gauge cartridges, which offer similar performance. The mid-size 20-gauge

468-663: A handgun . In using autopistols for hunting or competitive shooting, improved feeding of softnose or hollowpoint bullets is also an issue; the bottlenecked .45/38 , for instance, was created because the straight-cased .45 ACP had trouble feeding hollow points. Wildcat cartridges are generally developed because: Some methods used to develop a wildcat are: In terms of sheer numbers of varieties, there are more wildcat cartridges than there are production cartridges. Most wildcats are custom made, therefore are not generally well-known. Some wildcat cartridges, however, are produced commercially in small quantities by small manufacturers. This

624-500: A rifled slug barrel ). The casing usually consists of a paper or plastic tube with a metallic base containing the primer . The shot charge is typically contained by wadding inside the case. The caliber of the cartridge is known as its gauge . The projectiles are traditionally made of lead , but other metals such as steel , tungsten and bismuth are also used due to restrictions on lead , or for performance reasons such as achieving higher shot velocities by reducing

780-434: A slug , for hunting large game such as deer . As the shot leaves the barrel upon firing, the three-dimensional shot string is close together. But as the shot moves farther away, the individual pellets increasingly spread out and disperse. Because of this, the effective range of a shotgun , when firing a multitude of shot, is limited to approximately 20 to 50 m (22 to 55 yd). To control this effect, shooters may use

936-426: A smoothbore barrel, as "shot" would be spread too wide by rifling. A rifled barrel will increase the accuracy of sabot slugs, but makes it unsuitable for firing shot, as it imparts a spin to the shot cup, causing the shot cluster to disperse. A rifled slug uses rifling on the slug itself so it can be used in a smoothbore shotgun. Early shotgun cartridges used brass cases, not unlike pistol and rifle cartridge cases of

1092-416: A 25 lb. bag of lead shot can only reload approximately 355 shotshells. At 7/8 oz. per shotshell, a 25 lb. of lead shot can reload 457 shotshells. At 24 grams per shotshell, a 25 lb of lead shot can reload approximately 472 shotshells. Stretching the number of hulls that it is possible to reload from an industry-standard 25 lb. bag of lead shot by 117 shells has significantly helped mitigate

1248-409: A cartridge technically has to not be developed commercially to be considered a wildcat, some commercial cartridges were developed by ammunition and firearm manufacturers by modifying existing cartridges – using essentially the same process used to make wildcats. Cartridges that are modified by being made longer (usually to make them more powerful) are for the most part only created commercially because of

1404-510: A case will stretch depends upon load pressure, cartridge design, chamber size, functional cartridge headspace (usually the most important factor), and other variables. Periodically cases need to be trimmed to bring them back to proper specifications. Most reloading manuals list both a trim size and a max length . Long cases can create a safety hazard through improper headspace and possible increased pressure. Several kinds of case trimmers are available. Die-based trimmers have an open top and allow

1560-434: A certain make of reloading press, while modern dies are standardized and will fit a wide variety of presses. Different shell holders than those used for dies are also required for use with some hand priming tools (e.g., Lee Autoprime tool.) A precision weighing scale is a near necessity for reloading. While it is possible to load using nothing but a powder measure and a weight-to-volume conversion chart, this greatly limits

1716-476: A charge bar to drop precise amounts of shot and powder. Most commonly, these charge bars are fixed in their capacities, with a single charge bar rated at, say, 1-1/8 oz. of lead shot, with a switchable powder bushing that permits dropping precisely measured fixed amounts of different types of powder repetitively (e.g., MEC.) On the other hand, some charge bars are drilled to accept bushings for dropping different fixed amounts of both shot and powder (e.g. Texan.) For

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1872-447: A commercial firearms maker begins offering a weapon chambered in the cartridge. Once popular enough, funding is generated for SAAMI standards development. After SAAMI standards are in place, any firearms or ammunition maker can be sure that any products manufactured to the SAAMI standards can be safely used. Some examples of custom cartridges that became commercially accepted are: Though

2028-406: A constriction within the barrel of a shotgun called a choke . The choke, whether selectable or fixed within a barrel, effectively reduces the diameter of the end of the barrel, forcing the shot even closer together as it leaves the barrel, thereby increasing the effective range. The tighter the choke, the narrower the end of the barrel. Consequently, the effective range of a shotgun is increased with

2184-469: A crimp. Special crimping dies are often used to apply a stronger crimp after the bullet is seated. Progressive presses sometimes use an additional "die" to meter powder into the case (though it is arguably not a real die as it does not shape the case). Standard dies are made from hardened steel , and require that the case be lubricated, for the resizing operation, which requires a large amount of force. Rifle cartridges require lubrication of every case, due to

2340-433: A cylinder bore choke. Likewise, shotguns intended primarily for use with slugs invariably also are found with a choke that is a cylinder bore. "Dram" equivalence is sometimes still used as a measure of the powder charge power in a cartridge. Today, it is an anachronistic equivalence that represents the equivalent power of a cartridge containing this equivalent amount of black-powder measured in drams avoirdupois. A dram in

2496-488: A die, there are stuck case remover tools that are available to remove a stuck case from the die, albeit at the loss of the particular case that became stuck.) Powder should always be stored in original containers since they are designed to split open at low pressure to prevent a dangerous pressure buildup, and any cabinet they are stored in should similarly prevent pressure buildup by allowing venting and expansion. Shotshell A shotgun cartridge , shotshell , or shell

2652-401: A different ogive shape. It is only by measuring from a fixed diameter point on a bullet ogive to the start of a bore's rifling that proper spacing can be determined to maximize accuracy. A modified case gauge can provide the means by which to achieve an improvement in accuracy with precision handloads. Such head space gauges and modified case gauges can, respectively, permit greatly increasing

2808-410: A firearm owner to tailor fresh ammunition to a specific firearm, and to precisely measured tolerances far improving the comparatively wide tolerances within which commercial ammunition manufacturers must operate. Recurring shortages of commercial ammunition are also reasons to reload cartridges and shotshells. Store-bought ammunition may be unavailable at when commercial supplies are exhausted, but having

2964-427: A given context. Higher velocities, greater energy, better efficiency, greater consistency (which yields greater precision), and complying with a minimal permitted caliber or bullet weight for the legal hunting of certain species of game in a particular jurisdiction are the top reasons. The sport of metallic silhouette shooting, has given rise to a great number of wildcats, as several rifle rounds are adapted to fire from

3120-413: A hardness greater than that of plain lead shot, and will deform less as well. Reducing the deformation will result in tighter patterns, as the spherical pellets tend to fly straighter. One improvised method for achieving the same effect involves pouring molten wax or tar into the mass of shot. Another is a partial ring cut around the case intended to ensure that the shot comes out tightly bunched along with

3276-587: A hardness under 100 HV1, but, even so, steel is known to wear the barrel excessively over time if the steel pellet velocities become too high, leading to potentially harmful situations for the user. As a result, the measurement of pellet velocity is also an additional obligation for cartridges in 12-, 16-, and 20-gauges in both standard and high performance versions sold in Europe. The velocity of pellets must be below 425 m/s (1,390 ft/s), 390 m/s (1,300 ft/s) and 390 m/s (1,300 ft/s) respectively for

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3432-436: A hunter in a family already has a full-power rifle and a new hunter in the family wishes to learn the sport. This technique also enables hunters to use the same rifle and caliber to hunt a greater diversity of game. There are three aspects to ballistics : internal ballistics , external ballistics , and terminal ballistics . Internal ballistics refers to things that happen inside the firearm during and after firing, but before

3588-468: A month, progressive presses are often chosen. A single-stage press can typically reload 100 hulls in approximately an hour. Progressive presses can typically reload upwards of 400 or 500 hulls an hour. Shotshell presses are most commonly operated in non-batch modes. That is, a single hull will often be deprimed, reshaped, primed, loaded with powder, have a wad pressed in, be loaded with shot, be pre-crimped, and then be final crimped before being removed and

3744-508: A more equal distribution of flame from the primer to ignite the powder charge, resulting in consistent ignition from case to case. Bottleneck rifle cartridges are particularly prone to encounter incipient head separations if they are full-length re-sized and re-trimmed to their maximum permitted case lengths each time they are reloaded. In some such cartridges, such as the .303 British when used in Enfield rifles, as few as 1 or 2 reloadings can be

3900-412: A motor (electric drills are sometimes used) and special dies or fittings that hold the case to be trimmed at the appropriate length, letting the motor do the work of trimming. Primer pocket cleaning tools are used to remove residual combustion debris remaining in the primer pocket; both brush designs and single blade designs are commonly used. Dirty primer pockets can prevent setting primers at, or below,

4056-399: A myriad of various measuring tools and accessory products on the market for use in conjunction with handloading. The quintessential handloading equipment is the press , which uses compound leverage to push the cases into a die that performs the loading operations. Presses vary from simple, inexpensive single-stage models, to complex "progressive" models that operate with each pull of

4212-406: A new hull being placed on the shotshell press at station 1. An alternative, somewhat faster method, often used on a single stage press is to work on 5 hulls in parallel sequentially, with but a single processed hull being located at each of the 5 stations available on a single stage shotshell press, while manually removing the finished shotshell from station 5 and then moving the 4 in-process hulls to

4368-408: A poorly understood equivalence of the powder charge power in a cartridge. To further complicate matters, "dram" equivalence was only defined for 12 gauge cartridges, and only for lead shot, although it has often been used for describing other gauges of shells, and even steel shot loads. Furthermore, "dram" equivalence only came around about 15 years after smokeless powder had been introduced, long after

4524-598: A press to remove military case primer pocket crimps. Shotshell presses are generally a single unit of the "H" configuration that handles all functions, dedicated to reloading just one gauge of shotshell. Shotshell reloading is similar to cartridge reloading, except that, instead of a bullet, a wad and a measure of shot are used, and after loading the shot, the shell is crimped shut. Both 6 and 8 fold crimps are in use, for paper hulls and plastic hulls, respectively. Likewise, roll crimps are in use for metallic, paper, and plastic hulls. The shotshell loader contains stations to resize

4680-503: A progressive press. Turret press , most commonly of the "C" type, is similar to a single-stage press, but has an indexed mounting disc that allows multiple dies to be quickly interchanged, with each die being fastened with lock rings. Batch operations are performed similar to a single-stage press, different procedures can be switched by simply rotating the turret and placing a different die into position. Although turret presses operate much like single-stage presses, they eliminate much of

4836-553: A purpose in military or law enforcement ; it is more a hobby for serious sport shooting , hunting , gunsmithing and handloading enthusiasts, particularly in the United States . There are potentially endless varieties of wildcat cartridge: one source of gunsmithing equipment has a library of over 6,000 different wildcat cartridges for which they produce equipment such as chamber reamers . Often, wildcats are commercially sold rounds that have been modified in some way to alter

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4992-436: A shotshell press often exceeds the cost of buying a new shotshell press outright, as shotshell presses typically come from the factory already set up to reload one gauge or bore of shotshell. Hence, it is common to use a dedicated shotshell press for reloading each gauge or bore of shotshell used. Likewise, the price of shot for reloading shotshells over the last several years has also risen significantly, such that lead shot that

5148-417: A single caliber of cartridge, although they can be, but are configured for reloading various cartridge calibers as needed. In contrast, shotshell presses are most often configured for reloading just one gauge of shotshell, e.g., 12 gauge, and are rarely, if ever, reconfigured for reloading other gauges of shotshells, as the cost of buying all new dies, shot bar, and powder bushing as required to switch gauges on

5304-681: A special swage anvil die that can be mounted into a standard "O" style loading press, along with a special shell holder insert with either a large or a small primer pocket insert swage that is then inserted into the position on the "O" press where a normal shell holder is usually clicked into position. This way, both small and large primer pockets on different types of military cases can be properly processed to remove primer pocket crimps. Both types of presses can be used to remove either ring crimps or stab crimps found on military cartridges when reloading them. Reamers for removing primer pocket crimps are not associated with presses, being an alternative to using

5460-437: A standard ammunition. These guns are especially effective inside of barns and sheds, as the snake shot will not shoot holes in the roof or walls, or more importantly injure livestock with a ricochet . They are also used for pest control at airports, warehouses, stockyards, etc. The standard definition of shotgun gauge assumes that a pure lead ball is used. The following formulas relate the bore diameter d n (in inches) to

5616-604: A third is added for crimping. This is an extra operation and is not needed unless a gun's magazine or action design requires crimped ammunition for safe operation, such as autoloading firearms, where the cycling of the action may push the bullet back in the case, resulting in poor accuracy and increased pressures. Crimping is also sometimes recommended to achieve full velocity for bullets, through increasing pressures so as to make powders burn more efficiently, and for heavy recoiling loads, to prevent bullets from moving under recoil. For FMJ bullets mounted in bottleneck cases, roll crimping

5772-586: A tighter choke, as the shot column is held tighter over longer ranges. Hunters or target shooters can install several types of chokes, on guns having selectable chokes, depending on the range at which their intended targets will be located. For fixed choke shotguns, different shotguns or barrels are often selected for the intended hunting application at hand. From tightest to loosest, the various choke sizes are: full choke, improved modified, modified, improved cylinder, skeet, and cylinder bore. A hunter who intends to hunt an animal such as rabbit or grouse knows that

5928-768: A time, before proceeding to the next processing step. This difference is largely a result of shotshell presses having 5 stations available for use simultaneously, unlike a single-stage cartridge press which typically has but one station available for use. In general, though, shotshell reloading is far more complex than rifle and pistol cartridge reloading, and hence far fewer shotshell presses are therefore used relative to rifle and pistol cartridge reloading presses. Reloading presses for reloading .50 BMG and larger cartridges are also typically caliber-specific, much like shotshell presses, as standard-size rifle and pistol reloading presses are not capable of being pressed into such exotic reloading service. The reloading of such large cartridges

6084-468: A useful method for remembering the diameter of numbered shot in inches is simply to subtract the shot size from 17. The resulting answer is the diameter of the shot in hundredths of an inch. For example, #2 shot gives 17−2 = 15, meaning that the diameter of #2 shot is 15 ⁄ 100 or 0.15 in (3.8 mm). B shot is 0.170 in (4.3 mm), and sizes go up in 0.01 in (0.25 mm) increments for BB and BBB sizes. In metric measurement, it

6240-538: Is handloaded , using modified parent cases and the gunsmith-provided wildcat dies. Generally, the supplier of the barrel or dies will also provide the buyer with basic reloading data, giving a variety of powders, charge weights, and bullet weights that can be used for developing loads. Handloaders use the data to develop a load by starting with minimum loads and carefully working up. Wildcat cases and cartridges can be found for sale, but only from small makers. Larger manufacturers usually do not produce wildcats because there

6396-402: Is a custom-made cartridge for which ammunition and/or firearms are not mass-produced. These cartridges are often created as experimental variants to optimize a certain ballistic performance characteristic (such as the power, size, or efficiency) of an existing commercial cartridge, or may merely be intended as novelty items . Developing and using wildcat cartridges does not generally serve

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6552-523: Is a fundamental prerequisite for success where the most extreme accuracy is demanded, such as in rifle benchrest shooting , but can only be done consistently accurately following load development to determine what cartridge components work best with a specific rifle. Customized performance is a common goal of handloaders. Hunters may desire cartridges with specialized bullets with specific terminal performance . Target shooters often experiment extensively with component combinations in an effort to achieve

6708-453: Is a good choice when lead is not legal and cost is a consideration. It is argued that steel shot cannot safely be used in some older shotguns without causing damage to either the bore or to the choke due to the hardness of steel shot. However, the increased pressure in most steel cartridges is a far greater problem, causing more strain to the breech of the gun. Since tungsten is very hard, it must also be used with care in older guns. Tungsten shot

6864-424: Is a list of some representative wildcats. In Australia, wildcat cartridges were relatively common. Most are made primarily for hunting species such as deer , kangaroo , and are generally based on the .303 British because of the post-war popularity of that round and of the cheap surplus Australian Lee–Enfield MkIII military rifles available. Many of these surplus rifles were re-barreled to .257 caliber, known as

7020-456: Is a small metal ring cast into the rim of the cartridge to provide strength. More powerful loads may use " high brass " shells, with the brass extended up further along the sides of the cartridge, while light loads will use "low brass" shells. The brass does not actually provide a significant amount of strength, but the difference in appearance provides shooters with a way to quickly differentiate between high and low powered ammunition. The base of

7176-415: Is a type of rimmed , cylindrical (straight-walled) ammunition used specifically in shotguns . It is typically loaded with numerous small, spherical sub- projectiles called shot . Shotguns typically use a smoothbore barrel with a tapered constriction at the muzzle to regulate the extent of scattering . Some cartridges contain a single solid projectile known as a slug (sometimes fired through

7332-518: Is also a very popular chambering for smaller-framed shooters who favor its reduced recoil, those hunting smaller game, and experienced trap and skeet shooters who like the additional challenge of hitting their targets with a smaller shot charge. Other less-common, but commercially available gauges are 16 and 28. Several other gauges may be encountered but are considered obsolete. The 4, 8, 24, and 32 gauge guns are collector items. There are also some shotguns measured by diameter, rather than gauge. These are

7488-446: Is also much more complex, as developing a load using a specific lot of powder can require nearly all of a 5 lb. bottle of powder and a load must be developed with a single load of powder for reasons of safety. Dies are generally sold in sets of two or three units, depending on the shape of the case. A three-die set is needed for straight cases, while a two-die set is used for bottlenecked cases. The first die of either set performs

7644-464: Is approximately equal to the diameter of the projectile that is fired. For example, a shotgun is called "12-gauge" because a lead sphere that just fits the inside diameter of the barrel weighs 1 ⁄ 12 pound (38 g). This measurement comes from the time when early cannons were designated in a similar manner—a "12 pounder" would be a cannon that fired a 12-pound (5.4 kg) cannonball; inversely, an individual "12-gauge" shot would in fact be

7800-476: Is easy to remember that #5 shot is 3 mm; each number up or down represents a 0.25 mm change in diameter, so e.g. #7 shot is 2.5 mm. Number 11 and number 12 lead shot also exists. Shot of these sizes is used in specialized cartridges designed to be fired at close range (less than four yards) for killing snakes, rats and similar-sized animals. Such cartridges are typically intended to be fired from handguns, particularly revolvers. This type of ammunition

7956-610: Is for making specialized shotgun shells, such as for providing lowered recoil, when making low-cost "poppers" used for training retrievers before hunting season to acclimate hunting dogs to the sound of a gun firing without actually shooting projectiles, for achieving better shot patterning, or for providing other improvements or features not available in commercially loaded shotshells at any price, such as when handloading obsolete shotshells with brass cases for gauges of shotshells that are no longer commercially manufactured. Rifle and pistol loading presses are usually not dedicated to reloading

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8112-763: Is generally not ever used unless a cannelure is present on the bullet, to prevent causing bullet deformation when crimping. Rimless, straight wall cases, on the other hand, require a taper crimp, because they have headspace on the case mouth; roll crimping causes headspacing problems on these cartridges. Rimmed, belted, or bottleneck cartridges, however, generally can safely be roll crimped when needed. Three dies are normally supplied for straight-walled cases, with an optional fourth die for crimping. Crimps for straight wall cases may be taper crimps, suitable for rimless cartridges used in autoloaders, or roll crimps, which are best for rimmed cartridges such as are used in revolvers. There are also specialty dies. Bump dies are designed to move

8268-641: Is generally used for shooting at snakes, rodents, birds, and other pest at very close range. The most common snake shot cartridges are .22 Long Rifle , .22 Magnum , .38 Special , 9×19mm Luger , .40 Smith & Wesson , .44 Special , .45 ACP , and .45 Colt . Commonly used by hikers, backpackers and campers, snake shot is ideally suited for use in revolvers and derringers , chambered for .38 Special and .357 Magnum . Snake shot may not cycle properly in semi-automatic pistols . Rifles specifically made to fire .22 caliber snake shot are also commonly used by farmers for pest control inside of barns and sheds, as

8424-484: Is often alloyed with nickel and iron, softening the base metal. That alloy is approximately 1/3 denser than lead, but far more expensive. Bismuth shot falls between steel and tungsten shot in both density and cost. The rule of thumb in converting appropriate steel shot is to go up by two numbers when switching from lead. However, there are different views on dense patterns versus higher pellet energies. Larger sizes of shot, large enough that they must be carefully packed into

8580-403: Is often faster than trying to integrate a priming step to a press step, and also often more robust than a model that needs to be mounted and fitted onto a press, resulting in a more consistent primer seating depth. Beginning reloading kits often include a weight-to-volume conversion chart for a selection of common powders and a set of powder volume measures graduated in small increments. By adding

8736-474: Is possible to measure precisely the distance from a bullet ogive to the start of rifling in a particular rifle for a given bottleneck cartridge. Maximum accuracy for a rifle is often found to occur for only one particular fixed distance from the start of rifling in a bore to a datum line on a bullet ogive. Measuring the overall cartridge length does not permit setting such fixed distances accurately, as different bullets from different manufacturers will often have

8892-441: Is probably the best example of a wildcat that has spawned many other successful wildcats. The .308 x 1.5" case is available from a number of case manufacturers and differs from a homemade .308 x 1.5" in that it has a small primer pocket, whereas the original .308 Winchester case has a larger primer pocket (the smaller primer is more suited to the smaller case capacity of the short round). There are at least 8 wildcats that are made from

9048-499: Is produced by Federal and CCI, among others. For hunting, shot size must be chosen not only for the range, but also for the game . The shot must reach the target with enough energy to penetrate to a depth sufficient to kill the game. Lead shot is still the best ballistic performer, but environmental restrictions on the use of lead, especially with waterfowl, require steel , bismuth , or tungsten composites. Steel, being significantly less dense than lead, requires larger shot sizes, but

9204-409: Is similar, except that it has 00-SG, a small-game cartridge filled with 00 buckshot. Loads of 12-gauge 00 buckshot are commonly available in cartridges holding from 8 (eight) to 18 (eighteen) pellets in standard lengths ( 2 + 3 ⁄ 4 inches, 3 inches, and 3 + 1 ⁄ 2 ). Reduced-recoil 00 buckshot is often used in tactical and self-defense rounds, minimizing shooter stress and improving

9360-464: Is such a limited market for them and because there are no established CIP (Commission Internationale Permanente Pour L'Epreuve Des Armes A Feu Portatives - Permanent International Commission for the Proof of Small Arms) or SAAMI standards, which causes liability concerns. Wildcat cartridges are developed for many reasons. Generally, the goal is to optimize some characteristics of a commercial cartridge in

9516-417: Is the "hand die". A hand die has no threads and is operated—as the name suggests—by hand or by use of a hand-operated arbor press. Hand dies are available for most popular cartridges, and although available as full-length resizing dies, they are most commonly seen as neck sizing dies. These use an interchangeable insert to size the neck, and these inserts come in 1/1000-inch steps so that the user can custom fit

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9672-435: Is the improved cylinder, in a 28 inches (710 mm) barrel, making the shotgun suitable for use as a general all-round hunting shotgun, without having excess weight. Shotguns having fixed chokes intended for geese, in contrast, are often found with full choke barrels, in longer lengths, and are much heavier, being intended for fixed use within a blind against distant targets. Defensive shotguns with fixed chokes generally have

9828-407: Is the most commonly sold size. The British system for designating buckshot size is based on the amount of shot per ounce. The sizes are LG (large grape – from grapeshot derived from musket shooting), MG (medium grape), and SG (small grape). For smaller game, SSG shot is half the weight of SG, SSSG shot is half the weight of SSG, SSSSG shot is half the weight of SSSG, and so on. The Australian system

9984-545: Is the weight, in fractions of a pound, of a pure lead round ball that is the same diameter as the internal diameter of the barrel; in Britain and some other locations outside the United States the term "bore" is used with the same meaning. This contrasts with rifles and handguns, which are almost always measured in " caliber ", a measurement of the internal diameter of the barrel measured in millimeters or inches and, consequently,

10140-411: Is used for uniforming small rifle/pistol primer pockets. Flash hole uniforming tools are used to remove any burrs, which are residual brass remaining from the manufacturing punching operation used in creating flash holes. These tools resemble primer pocket uniformer tools, except being thinner, and commonly include deburring, chamfering, and uniforming functions. The purpose of these tools is to achieve

10296-492: Is used. For hunting game, the range and penetration needed to assure a clean kill is considered. Shot loses its velocity very quickly due to its low sectional density and ballistic coefficient (see external ballistics ). Small shot, like that used for skeet and trap, will have lost all appreciable energy by around 100 yards (91 m), which is why trap and skeet ranges can be located in relatively close proximity to inhabited areas with negligible risk of injury to those outside

10452-495: The M1917 revolvers , the M15 cartridge would actually cycle the semi-automatic M1911 pistols action. Garden guns are smooth-bore firearms specifically made to fire .22 caliber snake shot, and are commonly used by gardeners and farmers for pest control . Garden guns are short-range weapons that can do little harm past 15 to 20 yards, and they are quiet when fired with snake shot, compared to

10608-402: The avoirdupois system is the mass of 1 ⁄ 256   pound or 1 ⁄ 16   ounce or 27.3 grains . The reasoning behind this archaic equivalence is that when smokeless powder first came out, some method of establishing an equivalence with common loads was needed in order to sell a box of cartridges. For example, a cartridge containing a 3 or 3 1/2 dram load of black-powder

10764-426: The (mainly European) C.I.P. member states. The ammunition manufacturing plants are obliged to test their products during production against the C.I.P. pressure specifications. A compliance report must be issued for each production lot and archived for later verification if needed. Besides pressure testing, cartridges containing steel pellets require an additional Vickers hardness test . The steel pellets used must have

10920-604: The .410 (10.4mm), .380 (9mm), and .22 (5.5mm); these are correctly called " .410 bore ", not ".410-gauge". The .410 bore is the smallest shotgun size which is widely available commercially in the United States. For size comparison purposes, the .410, when measured by gauge, would be around 67- or 68-gauge (it is 67.62-gauge), The .410 is often mistakenly assigned 36-gauge. The 36 gauge had a 0.506" bore. Reloading components are still available. Snake shot (AKA: bird shot, rat shot , and dust shot ) refers to handgun and rifle cartridges loaded with small lead shot . Snake shot

11076-493: The 1970s lead-free ammunition loaded with steel , bismuth , or tungsten composite pellets instead of more traditional lead-based shot was introduced and required for Migratory Bird Hunting (Ducks & Geese). Lead shot in waterfowl hunting was banned throughout the United States in 1991. Due to environmental regulations, lead-loaded ammunition must be used carefully by hunters in Europe. For instance, in France, it cannot be fired in

11232-481: The 303-25. One of the unique features is that these cartridges relied less on handloading - and instead, factory ammunition was produced by the Super Cartridge Company, Riverbrand, IMI, and Sportco. Since having an existing barrel rebored and rechambered was (at that time) less expensive than fitting a new barrel, a 303-25 rifle with a worn-out barrel could be economically converted to .277 caliber, known as

11388-434: The 303-270. The .222 Remington - a .222 Rimmed in a Martini was also commonly found. As too were the "Tini-Mite" and "Mini-Mite" cartridges, .17 caliber rimfire cartridges based on the .22 Long Rifle case. Some cartridges started out as custom-made (non-commercially developed) wildcats and gained wide enough acceptance or popularity to become commercial cartridges. Generally, cartridges become popular commercially after

11544-408: The SAAMI standards common in the United States, and will not permit seating a Boxer primer manufactured to U.S. standards; the use of a primer pocket uniformer tool on such brass avoids setting Boxer primers high when reloading, which would be a safety issue. Two sizes of primer pocket uniformer tools exist, the larger one is for large rifle (0.130-inch nominal depth) primer pockets and the smaller one

11700-424: The United States for hunting game other than waterfowl). This means that manufacturers need to market new types of lead-free shotgun ammunition loaded with alternative pellets to meet environmental restrictions on the use of lead, as well as lead-based and cheaper shotshell ammunition, to remain competitive worldwide. The C.I.P. enforces approval of all ammunition a manufacturer or importer intends to sell in any of

11856-466: The ability to reload one's own cartridges and shotshells allows continue shooting despite shortages. Collectors of rare, antique and foreign-made firearms must often turn to handloading because the appropriate cartridges and shotshells are no longer commercially available. Handloaders can also create cartridges for which no commercial equivalent has ever existed — the so-called wildcat cartridges , some of which can eventually acquire mainstream acceptance if

12012-415: The animal will be encountered at a close range—usually within 20 m (22 yd)—and will be moving very quickly. So, an ideal choke would be a cylinder bore (the loosest) as the hunter wants the shot to spread out as quickly as possible. If this hunter were using a full choke (the tightest) at 20 m (22 yd), the shot would be very close together and cause an unnecessarily large amount of damage to

12168-517: The ballistic performance is proven to be good enough. Handloading components can be acquired at discounted prices when purchased in bulk. Inexpensive "tong" tools have been used for reloading since the mid-19th century. They resemble a large pair of pliers and can be caliber-specific or have interchangeable dies. However, in modern days, handloading equipments are sophisticated machine tools that emphasize on precision and reliability, and often cost more than high-end shooting optics . There are also

12324-516: The base disc, and often also include an additional vacant station where the powder levels are manually checked to prevent over- or under-charges. Progressive presses can load hundreds of cartridges sequentially with streamlined efficiency, and all the user has to do is pulling the lever, occasionally provide manual inputs such as placing the bullet in place on the case mouth (if a bullet feeder is not used). Primer pocket swages can be either standalone, bench-mounted, specialized presses, or, alternatively,

12480-409: The best and most consistent bullet trajectories , often using cartridge cases that have been fire formed in order to best fit the chamber of a specific firearm. Shotgun shooters can make specialty rounds unavailable through commercial inventories at any price. Some handloaders even customize cartridges and shotshells to reduce recoil for shooters who might otherwise avoid shooting sports because of

12636-407: The box, while previously fired components often need additional preparation procedures, such as removal of expended primers ("depriming"), case cleaning (to remove any fouling or rust ) and the reshaping and resizing of cases (to correct any pre-existing deformations or to experiment with custom modifications ). Some consider handloading cartridges or shotshells a hobby, but reloading can save

12792-618: The bullet leaves the muzzle. The handloading process can realize increased accuracy and precision through improved consistency of manufacture, by selecting the optimal bullet weight and design, and tailoring bullet velocity to the purpose. Each cartridge reloaded can have each component carefully matched to the rest of the cartridges in the batch. Brass cases can be matched by volume, weight, and concentricity, bullets by weight and design, powder charges by weight, type, case filling (amount of total usable case capacity filled by charge), and packing scheme (characteristics of granule packing). Handloading

12948-399: The bullet puller from functioning. Pushing the bullet into the case slightly with a seating die will break the seal, and allow the bullet to be pulled. Primers are a more problematic issue. If a primer is not seated deeply enough, the cartridge (if loaded) can be pulled, and the primer re-seated with the seating tool. Primers that must be removed are frequently deactivated first—either firing

13104-406: The bullet, and are often shaped like hammers . When in use, the case is locked in place in a head-down fashion inside the far end of the "hammer", and then the device is swung and struck against a firm surface. The sharp impact will suddenly decelerate the case, but the inertia exerted by the heavier mass of the bullet will keep it moving and thus pull it free from the case in a few blows, while

13260-481: The cartridge head. Primer pocket reamers or swagers are used to remove military crimps in primer pockets. Primer pocket uniformer tools are used to achieve a uniform primer pocket depth. These are small endmills with a fixed depth-spacing ring attached, and are mounted either in a handle for use as a handtool, or are sometimes mounted in a battery-operated screwdriver. Some commercial cartridges (notably Sellier & Bellot) use large rifle primers that are thinner than

13416-404: The cartridge is fairly thick to hold the large primer , which is longer than primers used for rifle and pistol ammunition. Modern smokeless powders are far more efficient than the original black powder , so very little space is actually taken by propellant; shotguns use small quantities of double base powders , equivalent to quick-burning pistol powders, with up to 50% nitroglycerin . After

13572-549: The cartridge rather than simply dumped or poured in, are called "buckshot" or just "buck". Buckshot is used for hunting medium to large game, as a tactical round for law enforcement and military personnel, and for personal self-defense. Buckshot size is most commonly designated by a series of numbers and letters, with smaller numbers indicating larger shot. Sizes larger than "0" are designated by multiple zeros. "00" (usually pronounced "double-aught" in North American English )

13728-412: The cartridge's performance. Barrels for the caliber are originally manufactured by gunsmiths specializing in barrel making. Generally, the same makers also offer reloading dies , tools to custom-load bullets into cases. Because changing the barrel of a gun to accommodate custom cartridges requires precision equipment, most wildcats are developed by or in association with custom barrel makers. Ammunition

13884-426: The case mouth. There are 3 types of reloading scales: Single-stage presses often do not provide an easy way of installing primers to ("priming") cases. Various add-on tools can be used for priming the case on the down-stroke, or a separate tool can be used. Since cases loaded by a single-stage press are done in steps, with the die being changed between steps, a purpose-made priming tool (so-called "primer" tool) —

14040-486: The case to be trimmed with a file during the loading process. Manual trimmers usually have a base that has a shellholder at one end and a cutting bit at the opposite end, with a locking mechanism to hold the case tight and in alignment with the axis of the cutter, similar to a small lathe. Typically the device is cranked by hand, but sometimes they have attachments to allow the use of a drill or powered screwdriver. Powered case trimmers are also available. They usually consist of

14196-478: The case. In contrast to full-length resizing of bottleneck rifle cartridges, which can rapidly thin out the wall thickness of bottleneck rifle cartridges due to case stretching that occurs each time when fired, partial length re-sizing of the bottleneck case pushes shoulders back only a few thousandths of an inch will often permit a case to be safely reloaded 5 times or more, even up to 10 times, or more for very light loads. Similarly, by using modified case gauges, it

14352-422: The complexity and difficulty of reloading shotshells. Substitution of components is not considered safe, as changing just one component, such as a brand of primer, can increase pressures by as much as 3500 PSI, which may exceed SAAMI pressure limits. Reloading shotshells is therefore more along the lines of precisely following a recipe with non-fungible components. Where shotshell reloading remains popular, however,

14508-414: The components can be salvaged for re-use. Surplus military ammunition is often pulled for components, particularly cartridge cases, which are often difficult to obtain for older foreign military rifles. Military ammunition is often tightly sealed, to make it resistant to water and rough handling, such as in machine gun feeding mechanisms. In this case, the seal between the bullet and cartridge can prevent

14664-541: The cost of needed equipment, but those who shoot more frequently will see cost-savings over time, as the brass cartridge cases and shotgun shell hulls, which are often the most expensive components, can be reused with proper maintenance. Rather than purchasing a special purpose rifle, which a novice or adolescent shooter might outgrow, a single rifle can be used with special handloaded rounds until such time more powerful rounds become appropriate. This use of specialized handloading techniques may offer significant cost savings when

14820-562: The danger of firing high velocity cartridges loaded with steel shot causing barrel wear has not been published and the US equivalent of CIP, SAAMI , does not have any such restrictive limitations on the velocity of commercial steel shot cartridges sold in the United States. Similarly, shotgun manufacturers selling shotguns in the United States select their own appropriate standards for setting steel hardness for shotgun barrels and for velocities of steel shot ammunition. Some indoor shooting ranges prohibit

14976-414: The dies used. Carbide pistol dies do not require case lubricant. For this reason, they are preferred by many, being inherently less messy in operation. In contrast, all dies for bottleneck cartridges, whether made of high-strength steel or carbide, and steel dies for pistols do require the use of a case lubricant to prevent a case become stuck in a die. (In the event that a case does ever become stuck in

15132-447: The difficulty of the process. One example of such a cartridge is the .357 Magnum , which was developed from the .38 Special in 1934 by firearms manufacturer Smith & Wesson . Some wildcats are based not on commercial rounds, but on other successful wildcats. The .308 × 1.5" Barnes , a wildcat from noted cartridge author Frank Barnes made by simply necking a .308 Winchester back to 1.5 inches (38 mm) in length (38.1 mm)

15288-456: The distance from the head of the cartridge to the middle of the shoulder of the bottleneck cartridge case. For semi-automatic and automatic rifles, the customary practice is to move the midpoint of this shoulder back by no more than 0.005 inches, for reliable operation, when resizing the case. For bolt-action rifles, with their additional camming action, the customary practice is to move this shoulder back by only 0.001 to 0.002 inches when resizing

15444-661: The functioning die/module need to be manually removed and changed. When using a single-stage press, cases are loaded in batches , one step for each cartridge per batch at a time. The batch sizes are kept small, about 20–50 cases at a time, so the cases are never left in a partially completed state for long because extended exposure to humidity and light can degrade the powder. Single-stage presses are commonly most used for high-precision rifle cartridge handloading, but may be used for high-precision reloading of all cartridge types, and for fine-tuning loads (developing loading recipes) for ultimately mass-producing large numbers of cartridges on

15600-464: The gauge n : For example, the common bore diameter d n = 0.410 inches ( .410 bore ) is effectively gauge n = 67.6 . By 1957 the ammo industry had the capability of producing a nontoxic shot, made out of either iron or steel. In 1976 the United States Fish and Wildlife Service took the first steps toward phasing out lead shot by designating steel-shot-only hunting zones for waterfowl. In

15756-414: The high recoil of certain firearms. Some handloaders make increased-power ammunition (i.e. "hot loads") if higher muzzle velocities (hence flatter trajectories) are desired. The equipment used to assemble the cartridge has an effect on its uniformity/consistency and optimal shape/size. Dies used to size the cartridges can be matched to the chamber of a given gun. Modern handloading equipment enables

15912-509: The introduction of one-piece plastic wads in the late 1950s through the early 1960s, to add additional wad volumes, in order to maintain the same overall cartridge length. Dram equivalence has no bearing on the reloading of cartridges with smokeless powder; loading a cartridge with an equivalent dram weight of smokeless powder would cause a shotgun to explode. It only has an equivalence in reloading with black powder. Wildcat cartridge A wildcat cartridge , often shortened to wildcat ,

16068-631: The large amount of force required, while smaller, thinner handgun cartridges can get away with alternating lubricated and unlubricated cases. Carbide dies have a ring of tungsten carbide , which is far harder and slicker than tool steel, and so carbide dies do not require lubrication. Modern reloading dies are generally standardized with 7/8-14 (or, for the case of .50 BMG dies, with 1-1/4×12) threads and are interchangeable with all common brands of presses, although older dies may use other threads and be press-specific. Dies for bottleneck cases usually are supplied in sets of at least two dies, though sometimes

16224-417: The large increase in the price of lead shot. That this change has also resulted in minimal changes to scores in shooting sports such as skeet and trap has only expedited the switch among high volume shooters to shooting 24 gm. shotshells with their lesser amounts of shot. With the recent shortages over 2012–2013 of 12 gauge shotshells in the United States (among all other types of rifle and pistol ammunition),

16380-434: The lead used will have minimal alloying elements such as antimony and be very soft. Spreader wads are wads that have a small plastic or paper insert in the middle of the shot cup, usually a cylinder or "X" cross-section. When the shot exits the barrel, the insert helps to push the shot out from the center, opening up the pattern. Often these result in inconsistent performance, though modern designs are doing much better than

16536-420: The letter "C". Both steel and aluminum construction are seen with "C" presses. Some users prefer "C" style presses over "O" presses, as there is more room to place bullets into cartridge mouths on "C" presses. Shotshell style presses, intended for non-batch use, for which each shotshell or cartridge is cycled through the dies before commencing onto the next shotshell or cartridge to be reloaded, commonly resemble

16692-402: The letter "H". Single-stage press , generally of the "O" or "C" types, is the simplest of press designs. These presses can only hold one die and perform a single procedure on a single case at any time. They are usually only used to crimp the case neck onto the bullet, and if the user wants to perform any different procedures with the press (e.g. priming, powder dispensing, neck resizing),

16848-520: The lever like an assembly line at rates up to 10 rounds per minute. Loading presses are often categorized by the letter of the English alphabet that they most resemble in shape: "O", "C", and "H". The sturdiest presses, suitable for bullet swaging functions as well as for normal reloading die usage, are of the "O" type. Heavy steel completely encloses the single die on these presses. Equally sturdy presses for all but bullet swaging use often resemble

17004-558: The likelihood of a target being hit. A shotgun's shot spread refers to the two-dimensional pattern that these projectiles (or shot) leave behind on a target. Another less important dimension of spread concerns the length of the in-flight shot string from the leading pellet to the trailing one. The use of multiple pellets is especially useful for hunting small game such as birds, rabbits, and other animals that fly or move quickly and can unpredictably change their direction of travel. However, some cartridges only contain one metal shot, known as

17160-437: The limit before the head of the cartridge will physically separate from the body of the cartridge when fired. The solution to this problem, of avoiding overstretching of the brass case, and thereby avoiding the excessive thinning of the wall thickness of the brass case due to case stretching, is to use what is called a "headspace gauge". Contrary to its name, it does not actually measure a rifle's headspace . Rather, it measures

17316-400: The majority of cartridges and by the early 1980s, plastic hulls had become universally adopted. Modern shotgun cartridges typically consist of a plastic hull, with the base covered in a thin brass or plated steel covering. Paper cartridges used to be common and are still made, as are solid brass shells. Some companies have produced what appear to be all-plastic shells, although in these there

17472-559: The mass of the shot charge. Other unusual projectiles such as saboted flechettes , rubber balls , rock salt and magnesium shards also exist. Cartridges can also be made with specialty non-lethal projectiles such as rubber and bean bag rounds . Shotguns have an effective range of about 35 m (38 yd) with buckshot , 45 m (49 yd) with birdshot , 100 m (110 yd) with slugs, and well over 150 m (160 yd) with saboted slugs in rifled barrels . Most shotgun cartridges are designed to be fired from

17628-442: The neck of the case to his own chamber or have greater control over neck tension on the bullet. A shell holder, generally sold separately, is needed to hold the case in place as it is forced into and out of the dies. The reason shellholders are sold separately is that many cartridges share the same base dimensions, and a single shell holder can service many different cases. Shellholders are also specialized, and will generally only fit

17784-491: The need for an equivalence had started to fade, and actual black-powder loaded shotshells had largely vanished. In practice, "dram" equivalence today most commonly equates just to a velocity rating equivalence in fps (feet-per-second), while assuming lead shot. A secondary impact of this equivalence was that common cartridges needed to stay the same size, physically, e.g., 2-1/2 or 2-3/4-inch shells, in order to be used in pre-existing shotguns when smokeless powder started being in

17940-410: The next station (1 to 2, 2 to 3, 3 to 4, 4 to 5) before adding a new hull at the deprimer (station 1) location. Both these modes of shotshell reloading are in distinct contrast to the common practice used with reloading pistol and rifle cartridges on a single-stage press, which is most often processed in batch modes, where a common operation will commonly be done on a batch of up to 50 or 100 cartridges at

18096-509: The number of times a rifle bottleneck case can be reloaded safely, as well as improve greatly the accuracy of such handloads. Unlike the situation with using expensive factory ammunition, handloaded match ammunition can be made that is vastly more accurate, and, through reloading, that can be much more affordable than anything that can be purchased, being customized for a particular rifle. The following materials are needed for handloading ammunition: Case lubrication may also be needed depending on

18252-430: The other hand, are capable of reloading both lead and steel shot, being adjustable. Like their pistol and rifle counterparts, shotshell presses are available in both single-stage and progressive varieties. For shooters shooting fewer than approximately 500 shells a month, and especially shooting fewer than 100 shells a month, a single-stage press is often found to be adequate. For shooters shooting larger numbers of shells

18408-442: The pistol primers used on the early brass shotgun shells to a primer containing both the priming charge and an anvil, making the shotgun primer taller. Card wads, made of felt and cork, as well as paperboard, were all used at various times, gradually giving way to plastic over powder wads, with card wads, and, eventually, to all plastic wads. Starting from the early 1960s to the late 1970s, plastic hulls started replacing paper hulls for

18564-420: The place of black-powder. As smokeless powder did not have to be loaded in the same volume as black-powder to achieve the same power, being more powerful, the volumes of wads had to increase, to fill the cartridge enough to permit proper crimps still to be made. Initially, this meant that increased numbers of over powder card wads had to be stacked to achieve the same stack-up length. Eventually, this also led to

18720-640: The popularity of reloading 12 gauge shotshells has seen a widespread resurgence. Field use of the International 24 gm. 12 gauge shells has proven them to be effective on small game, while stretching the number of reloads possible from a bag of shot, and they have subsequently become popular for hunting small game. Since shot shells are typically reloaded at least 5 times, although upwards of 15 times are often possible for lightly loaded shells, this transition to field use of 24 gm. loads has helped mitigate ammunition shortages for hunters. Shotshell presses typically use

18876-402: The portion of the case forward of the cut, creating a 'cut-shell'. This can be dangerous, as it is thought to cause higher chamber pressures—especially if part of the cartridge remains behind in the barrel and is not cleared before another shot is fired. Shooting the softest possible shot will result in more shot deformation and a wider pattern. This is often the case with cheap ammunition, as

19032-532: The powder and bullet will get caught by a trapping container within the puller after the separation. Collet -type pullers are also available, which use a caliber-specific clamp to grip the bullet, while a loading press is used to pull the case downwards. It is essential that the collet be a good match for the bullet diameter because a poor match can result in significant deformation of the bullet. Bullet pullers are also used to disassemble loaded ammunition of questionable provenance or undesirable configuration so that

19188-405: The powder comes the wadding or wad. The primary purpose of a wad is to prevent the shot and powder from mixing, and to provide a seal that prevents gas from blowing through the shot rather than propelling it. The wad design may also encompass a shock absorber and a cup that holds the shot together until it is out of the barrel. A modern wad consists of three parts, the powder wad, the cushion, and

19344-429: The precision with which a load can be adjusted, increasing the danger of accidentally overloading cartridges with powder for loads near or at the maximum safe load. With a powder scale, an adjustable powder measure can be calibrated more precisely for the powder in question, and spot checks can be made during loading to make sure that the measure is not drifting. With a powder trickler, a charge can be measured directly into

19500-446: The primed case in the appropriate firearm or soaking in penetrating oil , which penetrates the water-resistant coatings in the primer. Components pulled from loaded cartridges should be reused with care. Unknown or potentially contaminated powders, contaminated primers, and bullets that are damaged or incorrectly sized can all cause dangerous conditions upon firing. Cases, especially bottleneck cases, will stretch upon firing. How much

19656-491: The rabbit, or, alternatively, a complete miss of the rabbit. This would waste virtually all of the meat for a hit, as the little amount of meat remaining would be overly-laden with shot and rendered inedible. By using a cylinder bore, this hunter would maximize the likelihood of a kill, and maximize the amount of edible meat. Contrarily, a hunter who intends to hunt geese knows that a goose will likely be approximately 50 m (55 yd) away, so that hunter would want to delay

19812-450: The range. Birdshots are designed to be used for waterfowl and upland hunting , where the game is agile small/medium-sized birds . Their sizes are numbered similarly to the shotgun gauges—the smaller the number, the larger the shot (except in the obsolete Swedish system, in which it is reversed). Generally birdshot is just called "shot", such as "number 9 shot" or "BB shot". To make matters more complex, there are small differences in

19968-460: The reloading of 12 gauge shotshells, for which promotional shotshells are usually readily available from many retailers. These smaller bore and gauge shotshells also require much less lead shot, further lessening the effect of the rapid rises seen in the price of lead shot. The industry change to steel shot, arising from the US and Canadian Federal bans on using lead shotshells while hunting migratory wildfowl, has also affected reloading shotshells, as

20124-419: The same era. These brass shotgun hulls or cases closely resembled large rifle cartridges, in terms of both the head and primer portions of the cartridge, as well as in their dimensions. Card wads, made of felt, leather, and cork, as well as paperboard, were all used at various times. Waterglass (sodium silicate) was commonly used to cement the top overshot wad into these brass casings. No roll crimp or fold crimp

20280-592: The scale, giving the most accurate measure. A scale also allows bullets and cases to be sorted by weight, which can increase consistency further. Sorting bullets by weight has obvious benefits, as each set of matched bullets will perform more consistently. Sorting cases by weight is done to group cases by case wall thickness, and match cases with similar interior volumes. Military cases, for example, tend to be thicker, while cases that have been reloaded numerous times will have thinner walls due to brass flowing forward under firing, and excess case length being later trimmed from

20436-417: The setup time required in positioning individual dies correctly. Progressive press is far more complex in design and can handle several cases at once. These presses have a rotating base that turns with each pull of the lever. All the dies/loading modules needed (often including a case hopper, a primer feed, a powder measure, and sometimes also a bullet feeder) are mounted in alignment with each case slot on

20592-637: The shell, measure powder, load the wad, measure shot, and crimp the shell. Due to the low cost of modern plastic shotshells, and the additional complexity of reloading fired shells, shotshell handloading is not as popular as cartridge handloading. For example, unlike when handloading rifle and pistol cartridges, where all the various components (cases, gas checks, powder, primers, etc.) from different manufacturers are usually all interchangeable, shotshells typically are loaded for particular brands of shotshell cases (called hulls) only with one specific brand of wad, shot cup (if used), primer, and powder, further increasing

20748-440: The shooter money, providing a greater quantity of higher quality ammunition within a given budget. However, hobbyists' enjoyment of the reloading process may be a significant benefit. Handloading ammunition avoids the labor costs of commercial production lines , reducing the expenditure to only the cost of purchasing components and equipment. Reloading may not be cost effective for occasional shooters, as it takes time to recoup

20904-596: The shot bar and powder bushing required on a dedicated shotshell press also must be changed for each hull type reloaded, and are different than what would be used for reloading shotshells with lead shot, further complicating the reloading of shotshells. With the recent rampant rise in lead shot prices, though, a major change in handloading shotshells has also occurred. Namely, a transition among high volume 12 gauge shooters from loading traditional 1-1/8 oz. shot loads to 7/8 oz. shot loads or even 24 gm. (so-called International) shot loads have occurred. At 1-1/8 oz. per shotshell,

21060-495: The shot can also be altered by changing the characteristics of the cartridge. A buffering material, such as granulated plastic, sawdust, or similar material can be mixed with the shot to fill the spaces between the individual pellets. When fired, the buffering material compresses and supports the shot, reducing the deformation the shot pellets experience under the extreme acceleration. Antimony-lead alloys, copper plated lead shot, steel, bismuth, and tungsten composite shot all have

21216-414: The shot cup, which may be separate pieces or be one part. The powder wad acts as the gas seal (known as obturation ), and is placed firmly over the powder; it may be a paper or plastic part. The cushion comes next, and it is designed to compress under pressure, to act as a shock absorber and minimize the deformation of the shot; it also serves to take up as much space as is needed between the powder wad and

21372-513: The shot to continue on in flight undisturbed. Shot cups, where used, are also almost universally plastic. The shot fills the shot cup (which must be of the correct length to hold the desired quantity of shot), and the cartridges is then crimped , or rolled closed. The only known shotgun cartridge using rebated rims is the 12 Gauge RAS12, specially made for the RAS-12 semi automatic shotgun. Shotgun cartridges are generally measured by " gauge ", which

21528-403: The shot. Cushions are almost universally made of plastic with crumple zones , although for game shooting in areas grazed by farm stock or wildlife biodegradable fiber wads are often preferred. The shot cup is the last part of the cartridge, and it serves to hold the shot together as it moves down the barrel. Shot cups have slits on the sides so that they peel open after leaving the barrel, allowing

21684-422: The shoulder of a bottleneck case back just a bit to facilitate chambering. These are frequently used in conjunction with neck dies, as the bump die itself does not manipulate the neck of the case whatsoever. A bump die can be a very useful tool to anyone who owns a fine shooting rifle with a chamber that is cut to minimum headspace dimensions, as the die allows the case to be fitted to this unique chamber. Another die

21840-493: The size of American, Standard (European), Belgian, Italian, Norwegian, Spanish, Swedish, British, and Australian shot. That is because some systems go by diameter in inches (American), some go by diameter in millimeters (European), and the British system goes by the number of lead shot per ounce. Australia has a hybrid system due to its market being flooded with a mixture of British, American, and European cartridges. For American shot,

21996-422: The sizing and decapping operation, except in some cases in the 3-die set, where decapping may be done by the second die. The middle die in a three-die set is used to expand the case mouth of straight cases (and decap in the case where this is not done by the first die), while in a two-die set the entire neck is expanded as the case is extracted from the first die. The last die in the set seats the bullet and may apply

22152-515: The small primer .308 x 1.5" brass, including some very successful benchrest rounds, including the Benchrest Remington family of cartridges, .22 BR , 6mm BR , 6.5mm BR , 7mm BR , .30 BR . Another example is the .220 Russian , based on the 7.62×39mm . Since nearly all 7.62×39mm ammunition made in the 1970s used the complex-to-reload Berdan priming , and often steel cases, it made a poor choice for wildcatting. The .220 Russian, however,

22308-414: The snake shot will not shoot holes in the roof or walls, or more importantly injure livestock with a ricochet . They are also used for airport and warehouse pest control. Shot shells have also been historically issued to soldiers, to be used in standard issue rifles. The .45-70 "Forager" round, which contained a thin wooden bullet filled with birdshot, was intended for hunting small game to supplement

22464-399: The soldiers' rations. This round in effect made the .45-70 rifle into a small gauge shotgun , capable of killing rabbits, ducks, and other small game. During World War II, the United States military developed the .45 ACP M12 and M15 shot cartridge cartridges. They were issued to pilots, to be used as foraging ammunition in the event that they were shot down. While they were best used in

22620-440: The speed of follow-up shots. Other rounds include: Most modern sporting shotguns have interchangeable choke tubes to allow the shooter to change the spread of shot that comes out of the gun. In some cases, it is not practical to do this; the gun might have fixed choke, or a shooter firing at receding targets may want to fire a wide pattern immediately followed by a narrower pattern out of a single barrelled shotgun. The spread of

22776-543: The spread of the shot as much as possible by using a full choke. By using a full choke for targets that are farther away, the shooter again maximizes the likelihood of a kill, and maximizes the amount of edible meat. This also maximizes the chances of a swift and humane kill as the target would be hit with enough shot to kill quickly instead of only wounding the animal. For older shotguns having only one fixed choke, intended primarily for equally likely use against rabbits, squirrels, quail, doves, and pheasant, an often-chosen choke

22932-571: The standard versions. Another disadvantage of steel pellets is their tendency to ricochet unpredictably after striking any hard surface. This poses a major hazard at indoor ranges or whenever metal targets or hard backstops (e.g. concrete wall vs. a dirt berm) are used. For this reason, steel shot is explicitly banned at most indoor shooting ranges. Any shooters who are considering buying ammo loaded with steel for anything other than hunting purposes should first find out if using it won't cause undue hazard to themselves and others. However, data supporting

23088-559: The traditional improvised solutions. Intentionally deformed shot (hammered into ellipsoidal shape) or cubical shot will also result in a wider pattern, much wider than spherical shot, with more consistency than spreader wads. Spreader wads and non-spherical shot are disallowed in some competitions. Hunting loads that use either spreaders or non-spherical shot are usually called "brush loads", and are favored for hunting in areas where dense cover keeps shot distances very short. Most shotgun cartridges contain multiple pellets in order to increase

23244-491: The ultimate in flexibility, though, universal charge bars with micrometers dropping fixed volumes of powder and shot are also available; these are able to select differing fixed amounts of both powder and shot, and are popular for handloaders who load more than just a few published recipes, or, especially, among those who wish to experiment with numerous different published recipes. Fixed charge bars are rated for either lead or steel shot, but not for both. Universal charge bars, on

23400-418: The use of steel shot over concern of it causing a spark when hitting an object down range and causing a fire. Cartridges are loaded with different sizes of shot depending on the target. For skeet shooting , a small shot such as a No. 8 or No. 9 would be used, because range is short and a high density pattern is desirable. Trap shooting requires longer shots, and so a larger shot, usually # 7 + 1 ⁄ 2

23556-473: The various measures of powder the desired charge can be measured with a safe degree of accuracy. However, since multiple measures of powder are often needed, and since powder lots may vary slightly in density, a powder measure accurate to 1 ⁄ 10 grain (6.5 mg) is desirable. Like any complex process, mistakes in handloading are easy to make, and a bullet puller device allows the handloader to disassemble mistakes. Most pullers use inertia to pull

23712-512: The vicinity of a pond . In fact, the laws are so complex that some hunters in Europe prefer not to risk getting into problems for firing lead pellets in the wrong places, so they opt for composite pellets in all situations. The use of lead shot is banned in Canada and the United States when hunting migratory game birds, such as ducks and geese, forcing the use of non-toxic shot in these countries for waterfowl hunting (lead shot can still legally be used in

23868-456: Was a common hunting field load, and a heavy full power load would have contained about a 4 to 4-1/2 dram load, whereas a cartridge containing only a 2 dram load of black-powder was a common target practice load. A hunter looking for a field or full power load familiar with black-powder shotgun loads would have known exactly what the equivalence of the cartridges would have been in the newly introduced smokeless powder. Today, however, this represents

24024-519: Was and still is readily available in Boxer-primed , brass cases of high quality. The .220 Russian is still the parent cartridge of choice for the PPC line of cartridges, such as the .22 PPC and 6mm PPC, even though there are far more PPC-chambered firearms available than .220 Russian chamberings. Likewise, the PPC line of cartridges were the parent case of the 6.5 Grendel , a long-range, high-energy cartridge for

24180-754: Was readily available for around $ 0.50/lb. (c. 2005) now reaches $ 2.00 per pound (2013.) Due to this large increase in the price of lead shot, the economy of reloading 12 gauge shotshells vs. just using promotional (low-cost) 12 gauge shotshells only starts to make economic sense for higher volume shooters, who may shoot more than 50,000 rounds a year. In contrast, the reloading of shotshells that are usually not available in low-cost, promotional pricings, such as .410 bore, 12 ga. slugs, 16 ga, 20 ga., and 28 ga., becomes more economical to reload in much smaller quantities, perhaps within only 3-5 boxes of shells per year. Reloading .410 bore, 12 ga. slugs, 16 ga., 20 ga, and 28 ga. shells, therefore, remains relatively common, more so than

24336-582: Was used on these early brass cases, although roll crimps were eventually used by some manufacturers to hold the overshot wad in place securely. The primers on these early shotgun cartridges were identical to pistol primers of the same diameter. Starting in the late 1870s, paper hulls began replacing brass hulls. Paper hulls remained popular for nearly a century, until the early 1960s. These shotgun cartridges using paper hulls were nearly always roll crimped, although fold crimping also eventually became popular. The primers on these paper hull cartridges also changed from

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