Best Hulls For 12 Gauge Slug Reloads??

So I just noticed that all the factory loaded 12 gauge slugs are put up in two piece hulls. And even Remington and Winchester opt for their two piece hulls instead of their one piece injection molded hulls. Could it be that the cheaper two piece hulls are best for slug and buckshot ammo?

[@seamusmcbride2832]

The time and research you save the rest of us cannot be quantified. Thank you for the effort....

[@tkcharters]

Just another straightforward incredible video that clearly explains some of the confusion that I know I once had in beginning my shotshell reloading .....very very well done !!!👍 Thank you FC45LC as always !!! 👊

[@stealthbraid765]

I've shot a lot of shotgun shells and reloaded my fair share too but never knew that about the hulls. Thanks for the info... Your channel is always educational.

[@lmomechtech7709]

Great vid on the shotgun hull differences. You are just a conglomerate of knowledge...Hope you had a great Thanksgiving with family.

[@dowdawg]

Believe it or not I was keeping a 7/8 oz lee key slug and 38gr of Hs6 powder using the waa12 wad in a win aa hull on a 12" x 17" ar 500 plate at 150yds consistently. Shooting out of a smooth bore 1100 slug barrel with sights... I don't usually talk about loads and how they shoot, but it really surprised me how well they shot... I even had witnesses to the fact. They were loaded on the mec jr press.

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

dowdawg - Thanks for your post. I don't doubt it for a minute. I've actually had some great results with the AA12 wad and AA cases and the Lyman 525 slug. HS6 powder hasn't been seen in 3 years. And right now AA12 wads are nowhere to be found. Your rig/ammo is one of the rare combinations giving that kind of accuracy with slug reloads. Examples of factory slugs doing that are not hard to find - My own Benelli has shot 3 shots into 2" with two slugs touching, and I would grab factory slugs to go hog hunting if invited to this private ranch. But shoot my reloads with slugs and wads never designed for each other, and why is it a wonder that accuracy is hit and miss - you've got a hit with yours - better hang onto that rig for sure. I'd love to see some HS6 or Universal powder, or Blue Dot or Unique or Green Dot, or Bullseye, 2400, Red Dot, 231, WST. Best Regards

[@dowdawg]

Starting to see more of it here in the southern Indiana area...

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

dowdawg Just checked over at PowderValley - and sure enough, they are getting some limited rifle powders in, but the pistol/shotgun powders are zero. So what my plan is to evaluate how much shooting I can do with the powders I have to last a year. Perhaps by then, the powders will be available again. Slug shooting is definitely impacted as slugs use up lots of powder. Best to ya

[@randomchopsuey7165]

THANK YOU for explaining this!!!

[@sluggou812beotch]

Thanks for the video. You've saved me since money and shoulder time.

[@loaizacam1934]

Excellent information! I'm new to shotgun reloading and have noticed differences in quality of hulls. This may be the reason, the two variations of hill construction. Thanks for sharing.

[@Prepare2Survive]

I have been reloading the green remington slugger hulls mostly using the blue downrange XL wads and Lee 690 round balls and the hulls last a very long time. Some of them I've reloaded 8 to 10 times. Maybe mine are lasting longer than yours because they are light loads and I use a roll crimp instead of a fold crimp. I only shoot them one at a time so I can check the bore with a dowel to make sure the base wad isn't stuck in the barrel. Eventually I'll get a H&R Ultra Slug Hunter so I wont need to use the dowel because I'll be able to just look down the barrel because it's a break action type shotgun.

[@patriot1902]

Keep all that great info coming. Load some lyman slugs and show us

[@griffithk]

Great information. Love this channel.

[@GunFunZS]

I've been getting a lot of good lee slug loads out of that 12S0 Federal wad, in both styles of hulls. Mostly, I have been using the black gun club style hull from remington. I have found though that the lee 7/8 oz slug and the 12S0 are good in most hulls, but for some reason tend to make a bulge in the gun club style hulls at about the hemisphere of the slug. They measure the same here as the 1 oz slugs, but I only can reproduce the problem with 7/8 oz slugs. The bulge is enough to cause them to stick in the crimp die and pull the case head off in the press, or cause some drag on chambering, so I won't use that combination any more despite good groups.Instead, for the 7/8 oz lee I have been using winchester silver AA12SL wads. In all other hulls I have tried, I prefer the 12S0.

[@marilyngist3152]

same, rem, fio and win I'm rolling Lee's into so I can run to the river and hit before dark thanks. the sp vs all new hulls confused me. you and lyman book are life saver

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Mason Larre - Good shootin' to ya... FC

[@MrTrekFanDan]

Thanks for the video. I've been thinking about adding shotgun shell reloading to my current capabilities. Even though I dont shoot many shells, and it's probably a whole lot cheaper to buy and store them, it's still very useful info.

[@mikelesperance7879]

Dear Sir, as always, your videos are extremely informative, excellent source of references and to the point, thank you. I have a single shotgun Win 37A 12 ga (Full choke), and have been making some bird shot rounds with Goex FF's Black Powder using over the powder cards, fiber wads, recycled 7-8 shots and a filler card of different thickness to crimp the various length rounds. They work awesome and always an attraction at the range... :-) with excellent paper patterns up to 50 yards. I have used various range pickup plastic shells and the ones that works best are the straight walls like your video for my BP rounds. As for charge for my setup I tried light loads (65gr), 70 (medium) and 75 (HOT and I get hull perforation, little burn holes). Of the three loads, medium is the best all around, including reloading a second time. Best reloads were dependant on the hull type used... lots experimented. Average cost per rounds runs around .30 cents each (primer, powder and wads), but you can't buy them for the smoke show...:-) (Free hulls and shot lead from the range) Down side is to clean rifle after 10 rounds or so, snakes works good with windex... My question to you is what would you recommend to stabilise the Lee 1oz slug over the fiber wad if using the same setup type mentioned above? Same powder charges or lower grains maybe in FFF's? I was either considering rolling paper strip around it or using a cut off base plastic wad for the cup... PS: I have not tried other types of BP or F's types. Happy New Year from a red neck Canuck on the West Coast

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Mike Lesperance - Thanks for the fun info on your BP loads. Your Lee slugs will slide through your full choke OK. But no factory gun maker or ammo maker recommends slugs be fired through full chokes. So it is my job to tell you the same. Now behind the scenes, the factories know people will either accidentally or purposely shoot slugs through their full chokes. So they have to make slug systems that shoot well in cylinder and improved cylinder barrels while not blowing up full choke guns. If you insist, you can shoot that slug right over your filler wads. But if you use a shot cup of any kind with your full choke barrel, the petals will all strip off with detrimental accuracy with pressure spikes also - not desired. So the problem you have already identified - how to stabilize the slug as it rattles a bit down your barrel before it snugs through your full choke. The factories use a post wad that goes into the back end of the slug (we can't get those). You can try paper patching or seating the slug over a tuft of fiberfill fluff. The Lee slug is not designed to be a bare slug as factory Fosters have an enlarged base ring to stabilize the slug along with the post wad. Don't be surprised if you get so so accuracy. In fact, be surprised if you get good accuracy. Personally, I only shoot slugs through cylinder or improved cylinder barrels, that's what the instructions say to do...the Lee 7/8 oz slug will give you a degree more safety than the 1 oz. Best to you

[@mikelesperance7879]

FortuneCookie45LC I did load slug loads and shot them with very good results at 30 yards (didn't tried longer as I ran out of them having too much fun shooting...). I did use published data with Herco powder. You had a video that showed us how to find the right wad combination to go through out the muzzle using a dowel and the combination of the WAA12, 1/8" cork filer and the slug was passing the test on my shotgun. I think I just answer my question; I did use the WAA12 wads and the wads recovered some were not destroyed per say so I'm probably safe saving the cup for the slug and cutting off the base to sit on either the over the shot card (1/8) or fiber wad (I have 3/8 an 1/2 thick to try) depending of the height of the column. I think I'm going to try the cut off WAA12 cup with 65gr of FF as a starting load, what would your opinion be? thanks, Mike

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Mike Lesperance Since your recovered wads are not destroyed, sounds like you have a very workable combo. I don't load Black Powder so no comment on the 65 gr of FFg. But shooting our reloaded slugs at 25-30 yards is the main reason I cast and load those rascals - and they only cost me 12 cents a round to shoot. Herco is a fine powder for our slugs...Good shootin' to ya...

[@joehunt1980]

My guess is they use the Reiffenhaauser style hulls because the straight walls allow better gas sealing when using fibre wads, which quite a few factory slug and buckshot loads use... And to make the margin for profit better due to cheaper components! lol :-)

[@thomascondon9447]

My guess is is comes down to internal capacity and image. With more hull capacity, you can simply fit more powder, and that allows a stronger slug load. With image, I am mostly talking about the brass. As loaders, we realize brass height has no effect on the strength of the hull. There is this never-ending misconception that low brass hulls are weak, and have to be loaded as such.

[@righteousone8454]

Thank you for this video

[@nickolasthefrog]

But aren’t the Lee and Lyman molds tapered specifically for use with common trap components? It seems like the thesis of this video would only apply to factory slugs which aren’t sold to consumers as components.

[@gman77gas]

Great information..... Thanks!

[@cleber44mag]

Hi, Mr. Fortune! I'm looking for a .690 Lee Ball better stabilization, as Brenekke and Gualandi Slugs do. Is it possible for you to make this round ball be stuck tightly in your wad, giving us an unprecedented slug stabilized in flight? I am thinking of a silicone glue as it is a strong and flexible adhesive, allowing a well glued set. Thanks a lot!!!!

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Cleber Nj - I have shot that 690 round ball. It already loads nicely in our trap wads, but the accuracy at ranges past 35 yards is spotty and not reliable for hunting much past 40 yards. Have not considered using silicone to more weld the slug to the wad. But my experiments with using silicones in our slug loads has not produced any extra accuracy or performance so far - I'm searching for something that sets a little harder for any additional experimentation...the stuff that has been used has been on the soft side for our purposes... Happy Holidays and Merry Christmas to ya...! FC

[@krossF]

just getting into 12 ga reloading and casting, thanks for the great vids. any round ball loads?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

superswaglord1945 - Yes on the Round Ball loads - several videos on those... Have a great day, FC

[@TheIrishAmish]

Injection molded is referred to as “compression formed”.

[@LionSilverVideos]

very good information, thanks

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Lion Silver - And thank you for taking the time to post...Best of the Holidays to you

[@independentthinker8930]

I have a ton of AA's

[@rodsvintagesxschannel.3095]

I prefer Remington sts... but win AA and federal gold medal Are ex..but use the hulls the load calls for...

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Rodney Short - You know how it is though, Rodney....we know to use the recipes called for, but we have found that substituting hulls or wads is OK...substituting powders or payload weight is not OK. Substituting primers requires a powder charge drop to test for OK. Have more than OK day - have a great day, FC Steve

[@pepelapiu2004]

Hi FortuneCookie. Thanx for the informative videos. Great job. In a former message I told you that I have access to Remington Slugger hulls and Fiocchi slug hulls. Those are the only ones which feed well in my Grizzly Mag 12 gauge smoothbore 12 inch gun (870 copy). You informed me that the Federal 12S0 wads would be best for those straight wall hulls. But I have to say this is my first attempt at reloading anything at all. So I have searched and asked around for load data for Remington/Fiocchi slug hulls with 7/8oz Lee slug, and Federal 12S0 wads I just can't find any load data anywhere. Not on the Lee site. Not on BPI site either. I found some load recipes for other hulls and other wads. Is it important I follow the recipe exactly? Can I change the hull or the wad while keeping the same powder load, primer, and slug as a recipe dictates? Do you know where I can find load data for the Lee 7/8oz slug in a Remington Slugger hull, with a 12S0 wad? Which powder to use? How much? Which primer? Does it matter which primer I use? Can't I just start with any powder in small amount and work up the powder charge?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

pepelapiu2004 The 12S0 wad is for the 7/8 oz Lee Slug. For the 1 oz slug, you will need the 12S3 or 12S4 wads depending on your column height. These days with powder shortages and component shortages (e.g. try finding Win AA12 wads these day - they are scarce as hens teeth), we are forced to substitute other components - definitely start with published recipes, then cut powder charges at least 4 grains and work up...best rule when substituting is to only substitute one component at a time (like the different hulls as you suggest). And if the loads shoot without excessive pressure, you can up the powder charge or change another component. The Lyman Shotshell Handbook has 7/8 oz loads for the Fed Gold Medal Plastic cases (similiar to the Remington Slugger hull) you can sub the Federal 12S0 wad and use a starting load of 18 grains of Red Dot or Promo powder (up to 20.5 grains if pressure is OK) - should get you 1340 fps or so at 20 grains. With the 1 oz Lee slugs, you can use the same hull, Federal 12S3 wad and 17.5 -19.5 grains of Red Dot powder. Primers do make a difference and that is one of the reasons we start with lower powder charges. Blue Dot powder is the best for the more powerful slug loadings, with Longshot following close behind. I'd watch out for using TiteWad though as the pressure curve goes up real fast if we try to stoke the loads...Good reloadin' to ya...

[@drunkenhillbilly456]

FortuneCookie45LC, I've got a lot of the 3 inch and 2 3/4 Remington 2 piece slug Hulls. Can you do a video on using the Lee 7/8 slug. I use this for hunting and would live to see some expert advice.

[@killerkentertainment]

Is there any Difference in performance between a Crimped Hull Slug and a Roll Crimped Hull Slug? Or is the only difference so you can see the Slug ?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

killerkentertainment - Factory slugs use the roll crimps so that shooters can readily see slugs are being loaded. That is the primary reason as it would not be good for a quail or dove shooter to launch 1 oz slugs inadvertently. For us, the roll crimps have the same advantage, plus we can test for ourselves if our particular shotgun barrel has any preferences. There are no real advantages otherwise with the exception that roll crimps do not require as long a shell to suit the crimp. Best to ya, FC Steve

[@rolandwbrewerjr]

have you tryed the BPI pt1205 wad i am working up some loads for it and rio anfioochi hulls and the pt1205 is raated for Reloads well at 3/4 ounce lead in both straight-wall (Fiocchi, Cheddite Multi-Hull, Rio, & Federal) shotgun hulls and the taper-wall hulls (WIN WAA-HS & Remington STS) target hulls. Propellants utilized are fast-burn-rate powders, Red Dot, Clays, 700-X, Titewad & Bullseye. Current data charts range from 1200 FPS to 1600 FPS.

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

roland brewer Great question - and amazing to say that I've reloaded shotshells for 35 years or so and I've loaded WAA12 and WAA12 substitutes by the car full. Presently, I don't have any WAA12 wads as there hasn't been any to be found for the last 3 years. My thoughts were that the BPI wads work best with BPI slugs and I always wanted to make my Lee slugs work. I have tried many wads with slug loads as the recipes in Lee and Lyman data indicate. Those do not feature BPI wads for the slugs. It really is time to give BPI a try.. Have a great day.

[@franconeus]

Great videos brother... Basic question if I may... When roll crimping a shotshell containing a 1 ounce slug is the wad rolled along withe the hull or is it only the hull that gets rolled?... Thanks, Franco.

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Franco Neus Great question - if either roll crimping or fold crimping, no effort is made to include the wad into the crimps - in fact, if the wad gets into the crimps, the crimps will not be formed well. There are times that a slug may have a little bit of rattle so crimped - solutions would be 1) ignore it or 2) use a little hot glue or square of fiberfill patch to firm up the slug in the wad. Have a great day

[@franconeus]

Thank you sir 😊

[@marilyngist3152]

I noticed after I reload cheap fedral top gun target load hulls the adhesive or glue comes out around the wound up cardboard base. I only load them twice! the rex 24 wad has fit in rem,fed,fio and even spartan 00 hulls perfectly! multiple times. need 12S0

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Mason Larre - I would only load those once. In fact, I've taken to only loading fired factory slug hulls...those are specially made for shooting slugs, and I still only load 'em once. I only pick up once fired factory hulls - the ones I shoot, I leave on the concrete and just keep picking up new fired hulls. Of course, you can use other hulls as BPI does a lot of business selling regular hulls. I used to load a lot of slugs in my Win AA hulls, Rem STS and Nitros, etc. Those target hulls are plenty strong for slugs. Note that the factory slug hulls are all the straight wall type,. I used to only use straight wall wads for straight wall hulls, but noticed in the Lyman Shotshell Handbook that they use Win AA wads in straight wall hulls and straight wall wads (Federals) in once piece compression hulls - so now I really don't worry about it (if squibs happen - and that is really rare - then we shouldn't wad 'em wrong). Best to ya, FC

[@marilyngist3152]

FortuneCookie45LC man I need to upload so you can see my loads

[@brucelewis1017]

You ever load sabot slugs and if so what powder and charge do you use

[@jonleone777]

Perhaps someone can assist me. I have a bunch of rio and estate hulls to reload buckshot and 7/8 lee slugs. Im new to shot shell loading and find this a bit confusing compared to metallic loading. Can anyone tell me if the above hulls are tapered or straight walls. Are they one piece or two. Also, can you use fiber wads to build up the load instead of wads and roll crimp.

[@PhillsGarage]

Have you ever tried the "sharp shooter" buck shot moulds?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

PhillsGarage - No, but I have only heard good things about them... Best to ya, FC

[@Hill_Billy_Without_A_Hill]

What velocity and accuracy are you getting at your max slug loads? What about round balls for slugs? Deer deadly or questionable on deer?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

monsterman27 - 1385 fps with a 1 1/8 oz RB slug (Unique powder) is not to be sneered at. Haven't seen any Unique in 3 years. But accuracy at 50 yards is groups over a foot wide. They shoot one hole groups at 15 yards, though. I would have no compunction against using them on deer at tree stand distances. But outside 25 yards, I'd pass up the shot. However, if I used factory slugs - I'd touch off at 60-75 yards with a scoped smoothbore. And if scoped rifled barrel - go to 100 with factory sabots (others would even go a bit farther). Best Regards

[@pepelapiu2004]

I have access to Fiocchi and Remington range slug hulls. And I plan on casting some Lee 7/8oz slugs. For use in a smooth bore pump 870 clone. What wad do you recommend? Any nitro cards, or anything else? And btw, I am stuck with the Remington and Fiocchi rolled crimp slugs as my gun doesn't appear to like anything else. Won't cycle well at all with

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

pepelapiu2004 Those Fiocchi hulls are the straight wall, separate base wad type. Best to use Federal 12S0 wads with the 7/8 oz slug. The Rem might be straight wall separate base wad type using the same wad, or they might be the one piece hull (you will not see a separate base wad inside) if Rem Gun Club or Duck Club hulls. If so, the WinAA12SL (gray wad) would be the one to use. You can do a fold crimp with those roll crimped hulls. If you gun doesn't feed them, you will have to invest in a roll crimper either for use in drill press or hand drill Good shootin' to ya

[@pepelapiu2004]

Thanx FortuneCookie. I think the Remington hulls are straight walled as they were from factory slug loads. If so, I should use the same Federal 12S0 wads in the Remington hulls and Lee 7/8oz slugs?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

pepelapiu2004 Absolutely, the Federal 12S wads were all designed for the straight wall hulls. The WinchesterAA types and clones all are designed for the tapered one piece hulls. Those are the two players in our shotshell reloading universe. Previously, we would not intermix the wads and hulls, but in select instances, they work fine - in other instances, squib loads happen. All factory slug and buckshot loads are in the straight wall types of hulls. You can only find the one piece Winchesters and Remingtons in their quality target loads. Their budget target ammo is put up in the cheapest straight wallers they can make - I don't like using those to reload for several reasons, but some reloaders do use them. Good reloadin' to ya

[@ctcole77]

pepelapiu2004 FAKE THERMITE 911 twoofers LIED about finding thermite at ground zero, FAKED a peer review paper on it, then published that paper without the chief editor's knowledge. Does that sound like a "truth seeking" movement? It doesn't really matter because Dr. James Millette DEBUNKED Steven Jones fake thermite paper! JUST SAY NO TO 911 TWOOF

[@pepelapiu2004]

ctcole77 Your spamming me and stalking me is getting very very annoying. I wish you would get a life.

[@JunkfoodZombieGuns]

Awful nice of you to do all this research and testing for us, Fortune Cookie.

[@magana559]

Will this method work with rifled barrels?

[@marilyngist3152]

my federal rounds. if you look at ballistic products on FB and look at there photos. those I can roll cold in 2 sec. 250 + . Finally ran out I have 500 of every hull in youth vid and more. I'll go win and rem hb

[@rolandwbrewerjr]

the wad callom is very beefy and the pt1210 i ilke

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

roland brewer Now that you have alerted me to the PT1205 wad, I'm going to see if Midway has them. That BPI website is a good one - I do recall visiting it before and they have nice recipes every now and then for different slugs - I don't buy their slugs since by the time you pay the price, you might as well just shoot factory slugs. But their wads might be just the ticket for our own cast slugs...I'm off to see the Midway, just following the yellow brick road...

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

roland brewer No luck at Midway on the PT1205. They had the HCD24, but I don't want that one...plus there are no reviews on shooters using these BPI wads for slugs...will go check out Precision Reloading next...

[@rolandwbrewerjr]

1 of the guys at castboolets use them as well as some others on the site

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

roland brewer One thing we need to keep in mind is that none of the wads we have discussed were designed for use with slugs. Almost all of them are designed to shoot 1 - 1 1/8 oz shot charges at 1250 fps. Now we ask them to handle 1 - 1 1/4 oz solid slugs at 1550 fps. Shot charges have no problems with petals stripping in the barrel or the severe mangling of compression zones caused by the extra pressure of 1550. What we need for accuracy and power are slugs designed to be fired in barrel contact skirts and mated to post wads with very reliable compression zones like factory slug loads - or with fitted sabots around sub caliber projectiles for our rifled slug barrels. These components are not available for casting or for buying. Instead, we have to pay $1- $1.50 each round for Foster or $3+ a round for sabot ammo. All these years, I've wondered why Lee doesn't provide a mold for such slugs and contract with a wad maker to provide mated post wads...would have taken the shotshell reloading world by storm... Instead, they give us something that seems good, but in reality is only jerryrigged and reliable out to 40 yards for most reloaders (I've gotten 3 shot 2" groups at 50 yards, but the next group has flyers). Best to ya

[@rolandwbrewerjr]

yes you are right

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

[@pjbissie1]

I was wondering if i can use Federal 12s3 wads for My geco hulls

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

Amor patriae nostra lex - You sure can, but of course, the entire column has to fit in the shell appropriately for the crimp you are going to use. Good reloadin' to ya, FC Steve

[@pjbissie1]

FortuneCookie45LC thx for the fast respond!! :D

[@tinaholst1165]

whats the go with wads in 12g brass ?

[@FortuneCookie45LC]

+Tina Holst -- 12 Gauge brass shotshells are getting a resurgence in cowboy action shooting...There are no shotcup wads like the Win AA12s or Fed 12S3s for the brass shotshells... the regular fiber, overshot etc wads have to be used, just like in the old days... Best Regards, FC

[@hancockbrewer1465]

Mr.Cookie, once more thank you for the great information. If you can find the time could you PM me your email? I do believe that my wife is going to pick me up a reloading press for my Christmas gift. Anyway thank you. HancockBrewer.