Does anyone here reload steel shot for hunting? I have a fair amount of knowledge and experience (15+ years) and I'd like to share experience and data with those who do. Ballistic Products can't stay afloat on what I spend there so someone has to buy from them besides me

Chime in!

I don't load steel shot but I try to do my part keeping Ballistic Products in business. They are one of the few suppliers that stock components and specialty tools for loading the .410.

I've recently gotten back into reloading shotshells. Mostly I'm making steel target loads (7/8 oz steel #7s) because of some local range restrictions (shooting over water). In my previous shotshell loading-- many years ago-- I only used lead, of course, so I was concerned that loading steel would be difficult. But, really it's not. Once I hit on a load that worked, I've stuck with it and am pretty happy. I'm using a new off the shelf MEC 600 jr Mk5 for all my loading and it works fine.

By the way, instead of buying umpteen powder bushings and still sometimes not having the exact right throw weight, I've been using my Redding powder measure to dispense powder. I just skip the powder step on the MEC and throw the powder directly into the case. It's way more accurate than the bushings and it's already sitting on the reloading bench anyway. Anybody else do this? What about an adapter for the MEC powder station to mount a powder measure there?

Also FYI, in my experience, for target loads you don't need the steel adapter kit that MEC sells for steel shot loading. The 600 works perfectly with small steel shot as is. What about for bigger steel shot? Don't know, but I suspect the adapter kit might help avoid bridging of the larger shot in the drop tube.

Good shooting!

I use a Sizemaster for all my steel loading (might have said that). I use an adjustable shot/powder bar specifically so I don't have to mess with powder bushings. I got spoiled early and prefer it over the MEC bars and bushings. So I use the powder section of the bar to throw charges then I seat the wads by hand, and then use primer trays to measure the exact # of pellets I need for a given load. If the load is 1 1/8 of 3;s, that equates out to about 170 pellets, so I "tape off" a Winchester small pistol primer tray so that there are 42 dimples that catch the shot. I get 168 pellets with 4 "scoops" and put that into the shell manually. I then place a 12 gauge .030" card wad on top and crimp. I choose to use an overshot card so that if the crimp is funky, I won't have loose shot spilling out.

In my case I'm not loading for target loads but full on high velocity hunting loads. I'm trying ot match Kent Fast Steel and am getting to within about 50 fps. These are some snappy loads. Thanks for the input!

Shoot us some data of what you are using.... I need to start again, stuff is getting high and I"m down to one case of shells, of course our hole is bone dry..... but there is the future.

lots of data out there. i mostly use ballistic products status of steel #12 for data. my loads are mostly 10ga, but with 12ga i'm shooting #1 steel. 130 pellet loads over steel powder, pushed at 1450 fps +. very effective pass shooting big ducks and close geese.

Spiffy, someone else loading using the bp data manual. They have a #13 now. I was looking at older data books and I have them going back to the first edition when all you could get was the 10 gauge BPD and the BP12-TUFF. I have a later one, I think IV that had data for the Range wad, and then VI with the Ranger Plus. I recently chrono'ed some of my old 7/8 ounce # 4 loads utilizing Fiocchi hulls and Blue Dot powder and they only clocked out to 1325 fps.

My current stuff is clocking at about 1500 fps utilizing Federal 3" Plastic based hulls and Steel Powder. Do you think it would be prudent to try to match the load that Kent is getting (1550 fps) or 1500 is good enough?

I chrono'ed the Kent Fast Steel and my low velocity was 1555 fps and the highest was 1602 fps with 1 1/8 ounces. My load was 37 gr of Steel, LBC43 wads, Winchester 209 primer, and 1 1/8 of 3's. At 40 yards the pattern appeared to be about 3.5 - 4 ft wide. I'm throwing 168 ish pellets of 3's. I'm debating loading some up with BBB's and T for geese. Opinion?

Yes, I'm doing exactly that with a Lyman 55. Just started loading steel and an older MEC 600 Jr is working fine for me with small steel shot which is required where I hunt dove. Get BP's Status of Steel, the latest Lyman Shotgun Manuel has a pretty good steel section also.

It's funny. I just opened up a new 10 pound bag of #3 shot from BP. I was throwing 170 pellets = 1 1/8 ounces before, this new bag has slightly smaller pellets still rated as #3's but now I'm getting 180 pellets per 1 1/8 ounces. Hopefully the small difference in weight does not diminish the long range utility of the load but I wonder? My pattern did just become 10 pellets denser

what's it end up costing you to load a box of 3.5 12ga ?

i've been reloading for years never tried loading steel
maybe it's worth it
plab

Regarding cost of reloading steel--

I'm reloading target loads, but the components are similar. Including the cost of once fired Remington Nitro 27 (gold) hulls the cost of a box of 25 7/8-oz steel #7s is $8.08-- just under the cost of a box of Kent steel shells in this area (about $8.50). Subtracting the cost of hulls for subsequent loadings, the cost goes down substantially to $6.19 per 25 rounds. These hulls last a long time, so overall cost is significantly lower than factory.

Good shooting!

Steel is costing $.1275 per ounce - 1 1/8 = $.1434 (50# @ $102 shipped from Ballistic Products)

Hulls I have = free

Primers are $30/k, $.03 each

Wads are $.065 ea

Powder comes out to .0938 per 36.5 gr charge (Alliant steel, $18/lb)

Per shell that comes to $.3322 each x 25 = $8.305 a box.

This is for full power hunting loads. Velocity approx 1500 fps.

3" Kent Fast Steel @ 1550 fps = $13/box locally.

I figure you will increase the powder charge by up to 5 gr and the shot charge by at least 1/8 if not a 1/4 of an ounce. Wads are going to be comparable as is the primer. Likely about $10/box give or take a buck. Probably much cheaper than buying a box of 25 - 3.5" loaded ammo. New hulls will increase this a bit, but you need average it over 3 or 4 loadings. Target loads can get away with being loaded many more times than hunting loads since they are generally lower pressure and lower velocity. You also get to tune it to your liking.

3.5" hulls are hard to come by. I loose most of mine when hunting
as I hunt out of a boat my auto chucks 'em out pretty hard
so a supply of 3.5 hulls would be important.. but where can I find the data ? I I could load up a bow for around 10 bucks that would be great , good 3 and halfs cost 20+
can you point me to a data resource ?

thanks plab

Best place for all things shotshell reloading is

http://www.ballisticproducts.com/

Or you could simply buy them (Federal) shoot what you have and reload the hulls you glean from there.

They sell either Federal or Fiocchi. They are also the supplier of data (Status of Steel 13) and anything you'd need to load them with.

Warning NEWB question!

I have been loading lead shot shells for some time. I have been reading lots of stuff regarding steel shot. I have not been able to find an answer to a simple question.

I know that steel shot takes more volume than an equivalent lead shot load. My press uses bushings to throw the shot when reloading. When using steel shot how do you know what bushing to use? Do you try many different bushings until it throws 1 oz., 1 1/8 oz., etc.? Do you measure the shot charge on a scale to determine if a thrown load is correct? I have read posts about guys counting pellets. I think I would go blind counting pellets!

Any help would be greatly appreciated!
Thanks!
Ericedeerslayer

They way I count pellets is not 1, 2, 3, 4, etc.

I load ammo for pistol and rifle. I re-use the primer trays (Small pistol winchester). I know that in a given 1 1/8 ounces of steel #3's there are approx 172 pellets per load. I weigh out 1 1/8 ounces and then to make sure it is correct, I do countt out the number of pellets that one time. Recently I picked up 30 pounds of #3's from Ballistic products and noticed that their pellets were a little bit lighter as the count came out to 180 pellets. I simply put the shot into one of those blue bins that Dillon sells, and with the primer tray I "tape off" the holes in the tray so that it only has the capacity for 45 pellets. I simply dip that into the shot 4 times to get my 180 pellets then I hand drop that into the shell into the wads. It takes longer for me to do so, but I always get the same weight, and the same pellet count.

I never had any luck trying to drop steel shot greater in size than #4's (it jams my machine) so I developed this method. I should shoot some pics to show how I do things but I'm too lazy I don't use a bushing bar and choose instead to get the full adjustable shot/powder bar for all my shotshells reloading on my Mec Sizemaster and grabber presses.

Vince

Thanks! Great info. I now have another new hobby!

Ericedeerslayer

You probably have a MEC loader. If so, this applies to you.

Buy a charge bar that is specially made for throwing steel shot. They are specific to a range of shot sizes so make sure you get the one you need-- large shot or small. MEC steel charge bars are black, as opposed to the more common red colored lead charge bars. You can get steel charge bars from Cabelas, Ballistic Products, Midway, or many other common sources for about $14 each. They work exactly the same as the red lead charge bars.

The black steel charge bars take the same powder bushings you use for lead shot loading-- of course.

If you are throwing hunting size steel shot (larger than #7s), I'd also consider getting the MEC steel conversion kit (about $17 from the same sources). As I've noted here before, I only load target shells with size 7 steel, and the standard MEC 600 Jr Mk 5 works great right off the shelf with no modifications. But if or when I start loading larger shot, I'll certainly invest the few dollars for the conversion kit.

As with lead loading, decide on a load beforehand and gather the components at the same time. The Lyman manual and the Ballistic Products Status of Steel manual have some good loads. Although the BP manual shamelessly pimps its own products a bit much for my taste. Honestly, you can use steel specific products from companies other than BP without blowing up your gun and killing your whole family. Ballistic Products does have a good selection of steel specific components--especially wads. I like the CSD wads very much as they are pretty close to lead wad configuration and I've found them easy to load. Steer clear of the STS wads-- at least for me, they have been a pain to load. BP steel shot is of good quality. Also, you can trust BP once fired hulls to be more or less once fired. I have bought so called once fired hulls from Midway that were basically worn out-- a waste of money. You can also call BP and you might get some good info as long as you buy their products-- but it can be frustrating. Also, it's one stop shopping.

Good shooting!

I've never been a fan of the bushing powder drops for the MEC machines, but if you only load a couple things, then likely it is good advice to do the shot drop this way. Ihave the steel convesion kit for the Sizemaster, but I always had issues with bridging so I load the way I do for my "lack of frustration" sense I know what's going in there and though I load slowly, it works for me. I don't go hunting enough (read as I do not shoot a lot of steel) to warrant a large volume.

Chinook, I see you are in Sonoma.. where in Sonoma?

I do push BP quite a bit, but you are right, they do toot their own horn quite a bit. I'm partial to the LBC 43 wads for the hulls I use. Once I switch over to a different hull, I will likely re-evaluate my strategy. For one ounce loads I tend to like the older BP12-tuff, but I will likely change my tune later.

I'm in Boyes Hot Springs-- what they call "The Springs" these days.

I didn't mean that you were pimping their products-- I meant that BP does. I use a lot of their stuff too, and it is good. But their style annoys me sometimes. They have often been very nice to me-- as long as I make it clear from the start that I have a current order in with them. It's a kind of "what have you done for me lately" relationship.

Has anyone used the Sam 1 Alliant Steel Data For 10 gauge shells,
I would like to load some lighter loads at the higher speed. I want to know how the loads performed.

FLIGHTMASTER

CHESAPEKE BAY RETRIEVERS- THE MONSTER TRUCK OF THE WATER FOWL WORLD.

you might try midway for reloading supplys also. this is where i buy my shot and wads. look for the ST35 12ga wads. fit great in 3" remington hulls. the only 10ga wad i use is the BP mm1035 and i have 2 loads i like in the 1 3/8 oz 85BBB at 1585fps and 1595fps using fed and rem hulls. the bp 10ga book lists them

on the ST35 12ga wad: it costs a lot less than the BP steel wads. the most expensive part in reloading steel is the wad. not a lot of data for it but works very well. i'm loading it with a load from the latest lyman book. just find the 1oz 3" load at 1640fps. in status of steel #12 look at the csd series the ST35 is the 1 1/4oz version from B&P called the tuwsbl35 in the lyman book.i am using a european privately tested load of this wad. so i'm not going to post the load, but if you want good perfomace at a lower cost, find this wad

In my case, I don't use any Remington hulls for reloading. I just came into possesion of approx 1500 purple Fiocchi 2 3/4" hulls. I'm working on a steel load for them now too. I tried cutting the LBC43 wad back so that it holds an ounce and either roll crimping or fold crimping, but I can't get any more than about 1440 fps out of them with 35 ish gr of Alliant Steel. Likely the load is too light and I need change up to something a bit faster in the burn rate dept. Maybe Blue Dot, Herco, SR 4756, SR 7625, or Longshot. I may take a look at Longshot.. it may be the densest powder of them all and case capacity is an issue. The ST35, is it meant for straight wall or taper hulls?

like all good steel wads it is for high volume strait wall hulls. 1440fps is a good velcity. try the same load with 1 1/16 oz should get your pressure up. i do not hear good thing about long shot and steel shot. here is a 2 3/4" fiocchi hull/lbc43 load from BP12. 12ga 2 3/4" fiocchi 7mm base wad hull, fiocchi 616 primer, 34gr steel powder, LBC43 wad, 1 1/8 oz steel shot, 8,800PSI 1475fps. the notes say this is a very tight fit in the 2 3/4" hull, but wad trimming should not be nessasary

Yeah, that's the load I was working off of when using the purple Fiocchi hulls. I suspect the 7mm basewad Fiocchi's are the Orange hunting hulls as opposed to the Purple target hulls. I'm also in the process of comparing a few different hulls that look similar to the Fiocchi hulls based on basewad height. I did also just re-discover about 500 Federal 00 buck plastic basewad hulls that I may experiment with a little bit. With only about 7 weeks left in the season, I may be over-analyzing things when I should use what works and just shoot em with what I have left. I have 9 or 10 months waiting for next season.. lol.

the reo hulls i have are two types with the same base wad. the base wad is 7mm but has wings up the side of hull. dosn't match the picture in lyman book. they are dark blue with medium base metal, marked target and medium green with high base metal, marked top sport. i'm working on fit right now, wad trimming is probably going to be required unless i switch powder and primer choice. the high base hulls are great, they crimp very well my experimental load fits perfect and i can get all the hulls i can use, free.

a few thoughts for the crowd: a load that fits the hull perfect. when you have the right wad height to fit the powder volume, with the shot level with the top of wad and the top of the wad just under the crimp edge point. then having the crimp completely closed and tight is the goal i have for a perfect reload. it gives consistant pressure, velocity, and most importantly even patterns. the little details might seem trivial. but when you start with trying to exactly duplicate a book load, you find some have information missing, so you have to FIT the load. this load i'm working on is a book load, the wad they list with the hull they list with the powder weight listed put in the hull, gives me a wad height 3/16" to tall and 3/16" over the top of shot. simple right, just trim the wad. IF the wads you have are un slit like the st35 i have, it is easy to make a trimmer. then anther tool to cut the slits for the wad petals. it is not making target shells

I concur with the last statement. One thing I tend to do with steel shot loads is add a thin (.030") overshot card that is usually 13 gauge that sits above the steel shot but just under the crimp. It does not affect the pressure of the load. If the steel shot is smaller or the fold crimp is just a little bit open (the hole) the overshot card helps to keep everything in one place under the crimp. I've not had any more time to mess with loads since it's been raining and the Holiday is fast approaching. More things to think about in the off season though..

i have some 1oz #3 steel loads ready to try. if it quits snowing, i'll cronograph them and shoot some ducks.

I believe the fastest load for a long time before the more modern steel loads was in production was claimed to be the 3/4 ounce load by Federal in 20 gauge that claimed 1435 fps. I have yet to chrono the some of what I have but I'm curious.. so in due time I might.

i have cronographed some of the old 12ga steel loads. the best of them was the remington express 2 3/4" 1 1/8oz of #2's 1400fps. i still have a few boxes stashed. 1285fps is what some where. then federal came out with the 1 1/4oz 3" at 1450fps and steel shot became effective. now we can buy fantastic nontox shells, if you are willing to sell your first born and morgage your house you might be able to afford to shoot them on a regular basis. reloaders developed the ultra fast steel shells and we are benifiting from their experimentation. my goals with any steel shot shell is 1500fps as a minimum velocity. i have some loads that are over 1700fps, but i think the sweat velocity for steel shot is in the 1550 to 1650fps range. if you can get good even patterns in the 70% range at 40yds out of a 12ga. you will crush ducks geese and anything else you shoot out to 55yds with #1 steel or larger shot. there are 150 #3's in 1oz of the latest batch i just got from ballistic products. 2.95gr each pellet. makes them 2.5 shot, my last #1's where 1.5shot. so using the book data to measure load weights is not safe. you need to weigh each batch of pellets and load by confirmed count, not what is published in the books.

(Steel is costing $.1275 per ounce - 1 1/8 = $.1434 (50# @ $102 shipped from Ballistic Products) when you order, in the shipping notes, ask for bulkrate usps 50lb box shipping for your order. they just sent me 50lbs for a total of $92.69. but you have to go to post office to pick up. which can cost more than $10 for some.

was out killing ducks yesterday with my new load. i need to use the 616 primers in the rio hulls. had some fall out on firing. the #1 steel still kills birds much better than #3 steel. but some of that may be the #3 steel slows down faster by a little and i was hitting the birds in the back half with #3 steel and the front half with #1's with the same hull and load. if i only had the #3 load in my pocket this may go away. i'll try to find a brick of 616 primers and then try again. the #3 steel 1 oz loads will be my generic hunting load, quail/chukar/pheasants/decoying ducks.

I'm getting 10-lb bag to bag variation. 170 #3 to 176 #3 per 1 1/8oz average diameter of current bag is .136.

I have loaded steel for 15 years. Started out with 800-X and Blue dot in 2 3/4 " AA hulls and the old Mec wad. We killed a few geese and wounded more than I want to admit! As soon as I discovered STEEL powder and Reloader's Speacialties (RSI) "SAM 1" wads EVERYTHING changed. The secret to steel loads is SPEED! If the load doesn't start out at least 1450fps, don't waste your time. I load 37gr. Steel in a REM type 6 hull, Win. 209, 3" SAM 1 wad and 520gr of BB (82-84) pellets. Published velocity is 1550fps and geese fall out of the sky DRT (dead right there). My steel loads are so effective I have all but quit shooting lead at anything except targets. I have a 1oz. steel #4 load @ 1600 that smokes ducks and pheasants too.

I've seen all of the Steel wads sold by other companies and have tried a few with mixed results but nothing is as effective as the RSI wads with STEEL powder!!!

PM me if you have more questions,

Elk Country

I'm loading the $8.99 per 250 st35/vp70? wad and the $11.99 per250 LBC43 wad. I load to save money while making great shells for the 12ga. I have used the MM1230 and M1275 but find i get the same velocity using less powder with the cheaper wads. I do not worry about a little rub through with these wads, because i do not load anything larger than #1 steel for the 12ga in 3". And shoot them in less valuable shotguns like the 870express, old 1100 or a winchester pump. The wads i use are rated to #3 steel. I basicly now only do one 2 3/4" 1475fps LBC43 1 1/8oz #3 steel load. and one 3" 1460fps st35 540gr #1 steel load. I do make a few specialty loads at very high velocity 1775fps but they have a very small usage. 66BBB at 1775 in a MM1275 wad. Data is out there you just need to root around for it, then test the load yourself. There are major data books with loads i have tried, using exact load. LBC43. On firing have had to pound the hull out of gun. JFYI A 36" x 1/2" hardwood dowel is a good thing to have in your kit.

elkcountry,

Does RSI have a website?

What press do you use to load shotshells?

I'd suspect if you are using a dowel for extraction.... you might be exceeding pressure limits?

Yes i would suspect the published data used also. After ejecting a hull with a 36" 1/2" hardwood dowel and a hammer. My point is, loading steel shot has it's difficultys. Small differences make large problems. Do not assume a published load will work for you. Hull changes over time is the largest problem. There is a load in the BPI #12 exactly the same in 3 different hulls. I have all 3 hulls, so loaded them up. one hull did not eject at all, one ejected 20% of the shots, one ejected every time. All shot 100/200fps faster over my cronograph than the book listed. The slowest was the load that always had stiff extraction. I'm still shooting a version of this load in the one hull. Just 2 1/2 grains of steel powder less than the book load. It still will not function in the other hulls. Even dropping 4gr. But matches published velocity. The load is dropped in current data

Tangokilo,

RSI does not sell to the general public. They are a manufacturing wholesaler that only sells to distributors. I buy my RSI wads and steel shot from www.bucksrunsports.com. Their website has not been updated for a while so just call for current pricing. They have always been very helpfull!

I currently am using a MEC 600jr. for loading my 3" steel shot loads. I size my hulls seperately on a MEC supersizer. I hand weigh each powder charge as Alliant STEEL powder is very bulky and won't flow through a charge bar. I dump the shot into a plastic container and use a large pistol primer tray with 18 of the holes taped off for my 82 pellet 520gr. BB goose load. I use a small electronic scale for the 1oz. loads with the smaller shot sizes. All other operations are done on the 600jr.

Hope this helps! If not just ask. I am not an expert, I just have alot of experience and am willing to share what has worked and not worked for me.

Elk Country

Elk,

Will that MEC 600Jr. handle 3 1/2" shells?

My 600 only go's to 3". I load 3 1/2 10ga on a mec steel master. I think Mec makes 2 presses that will do 12ga 3 1/2" the sizemaster and steel master. You need the 3 1/2" versions.

Baltz526 is correct on the 3 1/2" loaders by MEC. MEC loaders are the best when it comes to loading steel shot (and anything else).

I don't load anything bigger than 3" as I have a Beretta 391 with a 3" chamber. In my opinion The 3 1/2" 12 ga. is not neccessary (buy a 10ga.) but that's a different topic. Although, my next door neighbor, just got a Benelli SBE2 for Christmas and is trying like crazy to get me to change my mind and load him some 3 1/2" BB's! That would require a new loader (not that there is anything wrong with that) and I would have to order some 3 1/2" SAM1 wads. Then I'd have to round up some hulls and...He can shoot my 3" BB's and like it. He get's them for FREE because he has the goose lease!

Shoot straight,

Elk Country

Thanks for all the info.

Basically I am looking for a loader that will be used for loading steel in 3" and 3 1/2" shells.

from reading on another source the MEC may not be the best out there... I'm going to research some more...

There is good info about other loaders being able to put a bevel on the loaded rounds so that they chamber easier..... after cussing my 10 ga Browning the other weekend, that might be nice....

Check out refuge forums in reloading.... a half bunch of friggin idiots raggin on each other like their hormones are out of wack... but what the heck.... there is info in there at times... they have stickies on loading steel..

The mec bullnoses the shell. If your shooting a browning gold, some hulls need to be trimmed. It will have ejection issues with hulls over 3.45". If your having issues with feeding, the final crimp needs adjusting. Or your shot/wad needs fitting. It is not the mec

Is bullnosing that final bevel? I personally haven't loaded steel since the 80s, but have been reading on a duck hunting forum that Mec isn't the best.... I cannot comment, other than when I get around to digging out the loaders I already have a 10 ga mec, and simply need a 3-3.5 inch 12 to get set up for steel next.... so I can leave my 2.75 one for dove loads....

Now that I think of it a 410 one wouldn't be bad either....

Anyway if the Mec works then thats fine.

ITs a 10 BPS btw, very old, IE one of the first they came out with and I'm trying to talk myself into a Rem 10 semi at some point, wished now I'd have bought when they were 800...

The RCBS Grand is the best loader IMO (I also own 3 MECs) but nowhere as flexible when loading small lots. (I load 1000s for Clays). Get the ballistic products book on loading steel BUT ignore their crap about over shot wads in star crimped shells. It messes up patterns big time.

I use MECs for everything. Own 5 of them, 600's for small lots of specialties, 650's for bulk loading. The old Ponsness-Warren just gathers more dust with each passing year. Tried Hornady progressives twice, got rid of them both after much cussing. Best friend uses a Spolar and swears by it.

My $.02- get the MEC single stage that is appropriate for the shell you wish to load, and be prepared to do some "off-site" operations that the press won't handle as mentioned by elkhunter above. My thought is I don't load very many waterfowl loads compared to target loads and a few extra steps is not a biggie.

As an aside, if you don't fire very many shots at geese, why not just load a good non-tox non-steel shot in 2 3/4" hulls? Admittedly more expensive, but when considered against the number of shots actually fired when hunting it's not bad. Plus they kill better than steel. Nice Shot comes to mind- it's what I use. Lead shot data with standard wads. If I fired more than the approx. 100 shots/season I do, I would reconsider steel. But then I would have to use one of my modern guns rather than the old doubles I prefer.

Thanks for all of the good information guys.
I am on the same page as ElkCountry and gnoahhh. I think that a single stage mec would be perfect. For the number of goose shells that I plan on shooting, I have no problem measuring shot and powder in seperate steps.

Having said that, I probably shoot 3-500 goose shells per year. I'm quite happy with the results from Kent Faststeel factory shells, so i'm thinking that handloaded steel will perform at least as well, hopefully better. The other non toxic choices are too expensive for me.

Cabella has fast steel down to about 12 bucks a box (by the case).
Almost makes reloading not worth the effort. #3 are great for ducks & #1 for Geese (3" 12 bore) over decoys (not sky shooting)

Tangokilo,

WOW! 300-500 steel shells a year is waaaayyyy more than I load. I load 4-6 boxes of steel for my neighbor and me a year. You must be killin' alot of snows to shoot that much...I'm jealous! If you really shoot that many, get the MEC Steelmaster, you won't be sorry. I bought a 4 pound jug of Alliant STEEL powder a few years ago and will need another next year. You will use up 4 pounders pretty quick at the volumes you plan to load. I also order steel shot in 50lb. lots from Bucksrunsports.com and enough 3" SAM1 wads to match the shot. I hate having a bunch of left over stuff hanging around.

Good luck and you will have a ball loading all those steel loads,

Shoot straight,
Elk Country

I load 12-15 CASES of steel shotshells every year. I sell a few to my buddies, but I usually shoot about 8 cases per season for ducks and geese combined. That being said, MEC's work fine for steel shotshell loading. My slowest loads are 1 3/8 oz loads of BB's @ 1300, and my fastest are 1 oz loads that are just over 1800 fps. For geese, I prefer BB's. For early season ducks, I carry 2's & 3's. For decoying mallards, I sometimes use fast 4's. For weary birds, I have a strong preference for 1's at 1500. The cheapest loads cost just under $7/box to load. The most expensive are just under $9/box to load. When you figure an average of 8 cases of shells/season and an average savings of $7/box on shells that are superior to factory loads, the $600/year I save by loading my own is well worth the effort. Add to that the fact that I sell 'em to my buddies @ $12/box, and the net result is that I shoot for almost nothing. Besides, it an addictive hobby. I'd recommend it to anybody whose serious about hunting with a scattergun.

Hmm.. seems that it's been a while since I checked back in here.. since I dropped off the forum what seems like a long time ago.. I've actually upgraded to a 10 gauge Gold and found the BPI wads somewhat lacking compared to the brown 10 ga Precision wads.

For the 2011-2012 season, it was actually not that great for ducks and if it weren't for the abundant Geese, I'd have had a mediocre season like most of the rest of the state. I picked up a 10 gauge Sizemaster and started loading for the 10 with Fed and Rem 3.5" hulls. I'd use either 41 gr of Steel in the Fed or 44 gr of Steel in the Rem Hull.

1 3/8 oz of 2's proved very effective for large ducks, and 1 3/8 oz of BBB's did a number on the geese. I used Improved till about Dec 1st, then switched to a Modified for the balance of the season. I loaded about 600 rounds for the 10 this season.

The Remington All plastic hull is better than the Fed Paper based hull in that I could get higher velocity and didn't have to worry about the base wad soaking up water like the Federal does.

It's interesting to see where I've been and which direction I'm going in. I hope to check in a bit more often..