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Crown on 12ga shell


caz41

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I am fairly new to reloading shotgun and have ran into a little problem. As you can see in the picture I attached the top of the shell is somewhat crowned out. I have fiddled around and can't seem to find a fix.

I am using a MEC sizemaster 12ga.post-22235-127111029026_thumb.jpg

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Did you have a picture of the top(crimp) of the shell. The hull also looks to be one of the cheaper promo hulls which I have seen have some problems getting a good crimp as well as being 2 piece. For reloading, the STS hulls are hard to beat

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the machines from what ive been told are basically set up for win AA hulls anything else you will end up with lessthan desireable results, those shells would work fine in an O/U but an autoloader it may have probs feeding...

not knowing what your load is, you can tweak the depth seater(itsthe one after the shot dispenser on my 9000) take that down a couple of turns might solve the crowning problem...

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Did you have a picture of the top(crimp) of the shell. The hull also looks to be one of the cheaper promo hulls which I have seen have some problems getting a good crimp as well as being 2 piece. For reloading, the STS hulls are hard to beat

It does the same with other brands/types of hulls.

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the machines from what ive been told are basically set up for win AA hulls anything else you will end up with lessthan desireable results, those shells would work fine in an O/U but an autoloader it may have probs feeding...

not knowing what your load is, you can tweak the depth seater(itsthe one after the shot dispenser on my 9000) take that down a couple of turns might solve the crowning problem...

After the shot dispenser is the pre-crimp or starter crimp. Is that what you are refering to?

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somthing i forgot to ask, is the hulls you are using a 6 or 8 petal crimp??? most machines areset up for 8's i believe??? also for that much crowning try adjusting the starter crimps a bit more, also offthe top of my head, is the load you are using have compatable components, ie...this wad with that hull etc or powder charge and shot capacity??? ive seen some mix and matches look like your shells, like i think i said before, in an O/U its really not that big of a deal, where you mite run into probs will be in an auto loader

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The problem is the shell you are using if you are going to load Winchester shells stick to the AA.

I got a bunch of mix-n-match hulls from a buddy so I could mess around with them. Sometimes you can't beat free and easy, and sometimes it beats you.....with a stick!

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Sometimes you can't beat free and easy, and sometimes it beats you.....with a stick!

True.

As mentioned, I'd find some AA or STS and go from there. Those hulls will last many "reloads", and easy to reload if you follow the book.

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like irish said, the AA's or STS's will give many many reloads, i load mine till as a friend of mine calls em 'burnt an crispy' and wont hold a crimp....as for free an easy, been there done that, scooped up a ton of 'free brass' on therange, thought i was ahead ofthe game....till after the 3rd broken decapping pin...uh huh....berdan primed....live an learn....glad you gotthe crown prob fixed!!!!

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MEC has some great troubleshooting tips in the users manual. I load 12 on a Dillon SL900 ( Love it ) but 20 ga on a MEC single stage due to volume.

I had a ton of problems until I read the manual and all the troubles went away.

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  • 1 month later...

Now that you have a sense of what correct is on the adjustment, you will find crimp on shotgun shells is largely a factor of the quality of the hull.

However if you wanted, one of these will solve all your crimp problems.

http://reloaders.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=3_13&products_id=6

I have loaded thousands and thousand of these cheep throw away hulls on my P/W and they run 100% and look better than the factory loads. As a mater of fact I like the Federal cheap hulls better than the new Win AA hulls. I can load the many times. It's just that after one or two loadings I'm a little nervouse of the paper bases coming loose in them and will only shoot them in my over and under instead of the semiauto after two loadings.

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  • 2 weeks later...

+1 to Scott...

I have found that about any hull is reloadable.. the problem is there are a lot of hulls out there with a lack of loading data. Outside the regular few very common reloadable hulls, you are pretty much on your own and the tinkerer in you may find a load that the odd hulls like.

I have read about a lot of people who want to "use the cheapie shells first then the more expensive ones later" but they become so frustrated with the cheapie shells that they up and quit due to the difficulties they have with them not knowing that the more expensive (in the initial outlay) STS and AA hulls are MUCH easier to reload. I just received a large # of the old style AA's from a fellow shooter who doesn't have the time to load shotshells, so I'm pretty much giving up on loading anything but STS's and AA's from here on out for a very long time. I still have at least 2000 Paper hulls (Winchester and Federal) that load easily.. and are likely looking for a new home at some point.. They load just as easily as the AA's but require a bit more powder to get the proper velocity. It has to do with the fact that paper "gives" a bit more than Plastic does.

I have worn out the Federal Hi-Power hulls that people talk about here (plastic hull, wound paper basewad) to the point that the crimp either shreds or blows off. That is usually about the 5th or 6th reload. I never have had any trouble with the wound paper basewad of the Federal Hi-Power hull come loose before the crimp was worn out on these hulls and wonder if it's more of a relation to the paper hulls. I have had the basewad come loose from the paper hulls on occasion. The STS and AA hulls will easily take double the cycle time depending on your load (light stuff wears them out slower than heavy stuff).

Edited by sargenv
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  • 7 months later...

somthing i forgot to ask, is the hulls you are using a 6 or 8 petal crimp??? most machines areset up for 8's i believe??? also for that much crowning try adjusting the starter crimps a bit more, also offthe top of my head, is the load you are using have compatable components, ie...this wad with that hull etc or powder charge and shot capacity??? ive seen some mix and matches look like your shells, like i think i said before, in an O/U its really not that big of a deal, where you mite run into probs will be in an auto loader

I think this is probably your problem, check to see if you have the correct crimp to match match the shells you are reloading. Make sure it is the correct wad for your load. Cant put 1 1/8 in 1oz wad. You don't want to crush the wad.

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  • 5 weeks later...

  • I've loaded Remington hulls-STS, Sport Loads, Gun Clubs. They all load excellently. They are "essentially" the same and use the same recipes..
  • Modern plastic wads do not want or need wad pressure beyond they touch the powder. The crimp actually will insure get the pressure just right, for great shells and fine crimps.
  • Use components and settings that work together. Primer, wad, depth of crimp, hull and powder must be in sync. Straight sided hulls load differently than tapered hulls.
  • Think about the shell you are building and decide on the recipe from there. Don't look and say I got this and some of that I'll see what kind of shell they will make.
  • Look here http://www.alliantpowder.com/reloaders/default.aspx?page=/reloaders/index.aspx&
  • MEC makes reloaders that work. So do others Dillon, PW, and .... Lots of MECs around so advice is reasonably easy to find.
  • Qualities I want includes safe. reliable, excellently performing shell, versatile messing around round for sporting & five stand, that is economical and lowish in recoil. Translates to 1 oz, 7/8 oz, and 3/4 oz 12 gauge loads.
  • Components: Remington hulls, Extra-Lite and Promo powders, Fiocchi primers Down Range Wads..I use many XXL pink for 7/8 and now 3/4 oz loads.

Sorry to run on... The above is not even close to the one right/best way. It is just where I am after a few years of reloading. The preceding posts were just so inspirational. I could not help myself.

http://www.armbrust.acf2.org/

Edited by Tangram
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  • 5 months later...

[*]I've loaded Remington hulls-STS, Sport Loads, Gun Clubs. They all load excellently. They are "essentially" the same and use the same recipes..

+1

If you want to load "cheap" hulls, go with the Rem Gun Club. They are the exact interior design as the more expensive Rem STS and Nitro hulls, just with steel bases. All Rems use the same recipes.

If you insist on reloading no-name hulls, then you're going to spend a lot of time sawing hulls in half to inspect their interior construction. Each hull is unique and requires prescribed wads, primers and powder loads to keep the chamber pressure at safe levels.

Edited by rfwobbly
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  • 6 months later...

You can reload anything as long and you find a recipe that "fits " the hull you are using.

I prefer Gold Medal or STS hulls, but Ive loaded a bunch of the Winchester and Federal promo hulls with no problems.

The pic is blurry, but it looks like you've used a 8 pt crimp starter on a 6 point hull.

FWIW, Bad cam adjustment usually results in an open crimp(too little) or buckled hull(too much).

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