Pet Loads.....

[Dave McCracken]

As we range far and wide in Shotgunland, we find various loads that work for us at a given mission. Some may be for quite specialized use, others play a variety of roles.

Here's a few that are my gotos, Remember that your shotgun may "Like" others better, but these are good places to start when seeking top quality performance.

An all around clays and upland game load is the Winchester AA Heavy Target load. With 7 1/2 shot, these work well for handicap trap and long range doves. Also a good first up load for wild pheasants in a repeater or the first barrel in a double.

With 8 shot, the HT AA's good for dove and 16 yard trap, wobble and most SC presentations. The hard shot and premium components mean tight and efficient patterns with less flyers.

Another in this niche I've tried lately and liked is the STS Low Recoil, 1 1/8 oz load.Definitely less kick from lower velocity, and it seems to pattern even tighter. More testing is in order, but so far everything is good.

The top goose load I know of is the Hevishot 1 3/8 oz of 2s. I've only fired a few rounds of this, but ALL the feedback I get from veteran goose hunters is this is THE load to use.

As for buckshot, there's lots of choices, By and large, the better stuff costs more. Cheapo buck is good for practice, but oft one can reduce the spread by half switching from the cheap stuff to a good buffered load. I use Estate Reduced Recoil 00, though there's both Winchester and Federal 00 here also.

And a reload of note. The info is from printed data from the Hogdon manual...

STS case.

Win 209 primer.

17 gr Clays.

Claybuster clone of the WAA 12 SL (pink) wad.

7/8 oz of hard 8 1/2 shot. Or soft 9s for skeet.

This works at trap to at least the 20 yard line. It's a nice wobble load, does OK at skeet,and the light kick makes it a good trainer for new shooters.

What are your pets?....

 

[Jack R]

pet loads

Winchester AA hull..Winchester 209..Claybuster gray wad (7/8 oz)..16.5grains of Red Dot..Hardly any felt recoil in my pump guns.Win 1200-870-37...and it even functions in my old 1100

 

[M Jager]

When I used to reload I had one load for everything
AA or sts hull
Claybuster was
I think it was 19 grains of red dot at first which I later switched to clays. (want to say its the mec 23 bushing) but I don't remember off hand so don't use this without looking it up.
1 1/8 oz of 7.5s for clays and crows
substitute 5s for pheasants.

Now I use Winchester super x loads with 1 1/8 of 7.5 because I can get them cheap through my club.
Also like Fiochi shells but I don't use them much.

 

[P95Carry]

Can't say this is a ''pet'' per se ........ more a case of ''it'll do''! Terrible admission ... still haven't patterned it. But it has served me pretty well .. and also, some better shots than me make it work good - so can't be that bad.!

Rem parallel formed cases (the black 8 star crimp ones), Claybuster wads ... currently blue (''WTW-12'' ........ Model#CB 4118-12A ), usually Fed 209 priming and 19 grns Solo 1000, shoving one ounce #8.

I should experiment more really but, having a fresh 8lb jug of Solo in stock and plenty of wads, shot etc ... doubt this'll change any time soon!

 

[sm]

1 1/8 oz hard shot
AA Hull
Win 209
18.5 gr WSL
Win AA12SL wads
Matches the 2 3/4 "Superlight" Target Load, velocity 1145 fps
Skeet, dove , quail,

[I have a 3dr load with WSL, since not published I won't - safety for others]
----
To Duplicate the Factory 2 3/4 dr AA plus Target load is similar to above except:
18.5 gr WST
WAA12 wads
-----
To Duplicate 3 dr AA plus Target load :
1 1/8 hard shot
AA Hull
Win209
20.0 gr WST
WAA12

velocity 1200 fps

Skeet with weather( rain, snow, windy) S/C , 5 stand, doves, quail...
-------

Basically I dupicated the AA Target loads with all Win components.
I also really like the old "Super Pigeon" load with 7 1/2 shot.

There was only a handful of us using Win components, and dupicating loads. Some newer powders , wads were coming onto the scene - "back then".

I hear they have Dish TV, 'puter's in most homes, and the Internet is a big deal and getting real popular now-a-days .

You asked for pet loads...IIABDFI...
I'm using up some reloads, stored. Umm I'm semi retired from reloading.

I've tried newer stuff and someday I may actually load some.
Heck I still have reloads made with 452AA...
I have Win paper hulled target loads.

So you fellers think this here big plane...Concorde actually gonna fly?

Resident Relic, and Practical Guy here.
Hey the '79 Sony with rabbit ears still works...no remote so I don't worry about AA batteries like some-ya'll.

 

[TrapperReady]

CAUTION: The following post includes loading data at currently published maximums for this cartridge. USE AT YOUR OWN RISK. Neither the writer, The High Road, nor the staff of THR assume any liability for any damage or injury resulting from use of this information.


The best pheasant-whacker I've tried:

Winchester AA hull
32.2 grains of Longshot powder (THIS IS A MAXIMUM LOAD)
Remington 209P primer
Remington SP12 wad
1 1/4 oz of hard #5 shot

Hodgdon clocks this load at 1440 fps. You can back it down to 29.1 grains of powder and the velocity drops to 1330, which is still decent. However, I've had more DRT birds with the maximum load than any other I've tried. I've also got a few kills out there at near-ridiculous range. Next pheasant season, I'm going to try this using some nickle-plated shot.

For target loads, I've got a couple:

Remington STS hull
18.0 grains of Clays
Remington 209P primer
Remington Figure-8 wad
1 1/8 oz of either #7.5 or #8.5 shot

This is essentially a recreation of the Remington STS light target load. It patterns well and is comfortable to shoot in almost all of my guns.

For LIGHT target loads:

Remington STS hull
16.4 grains of Clays
Remington 209P primer
Remington TGT-12 wad
7/8 oz of #8.5 shot (#7.5 if using it for small birds)

This is a powder-puff load around 1200 fps, that still seems to break targets quite nicely. I've tried it on birds, but wasn't happy with the results and rapidly switched back to 1 1/4 oz heavy loads. For clays though, it works very well.

For whatever reason, I've yet to work up a 1 oz load that I really like. I've tried a few, but nothing has really stood out so far. Generally, when I'm going to 1 oz, I'm looking for some noticible recoil-reduction, and moving to the 7/8 oz load does a better job without giving away very much.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Thanks for the responses, folks. A couple things.....

For those reading the thread who wish to try out the various recipes posted, GET PRINTED DATA FROM THE MAKERS OR THE LYMAN MANUAL. Keep in mind that shotguns and grenades have similar working pressures. Just because you read a recipe here doesn't mean it's safe in all guns.

Most powder makers like Alliant and Hogdon have websites and load books available for the asking.

I use strictly Winchester primers for a couple of reasons. The brisance falls in the middle of the acceptable range. Also, they are available universally. If a shop or chain store sells primers, they sell the Winchester 209.

Same with Claybuster wads.The wads are of excellent construction and work well. They're a bit less expensive than the ones they copy. I've used them since I started reloading, no problems to report.

Clays powder is very clean burning, consistent and available.

BTW, outside of a few samples, I've received no freebies from any of the above makers, darnit. These are unsolicited, unpaid testimonials.

Never substitute components. Saving a buck or two isn't worth the risk.