Getting set up tp load 3" 20 gauge Bismuth or HW

[derbyacresbob]

You don't really need 3" 20 ga loads with HW13 shot. I just went on two different Snow Goose hunts and used 1 oz loads in 12 ga 2-3/4" FGM hulls with 15g/cc #5 and #6 shot through a Skeet choke and they worked great.

1 oz of HW13 #6 shot for ducks and 1 oz of HW13 #4 shot for geese will be very deadly out of a 20 ga gun, loaded in a 2-3/4" hull.

 

[duckbuster5901]

Cheddite 20 gauge hulls are excellent and come primed with an excellent primer comparable to a Win209 which is prob the most referenced primer for waterfowl loads followed by the Fed 209A which is hotter. Speaking of which I would shy away from using Longshot powder and Fed209A primers together. I wouldn’t use Longshot at all in a steel load. It is a great high velocity powder but will omg pressure spike. Really needs a softer and smaller volume payload offered by lead vs steel. As mentions use Alliant STEEL powder. You’ll be very happy with it.

Yea, the Fed 209A,s will probably be used in some Bismuth loads w/longshot as per Hodgdon's data for Fed. hulls if I can find some. If I can,t i,ll put together what I can find referenced loads on for hulls I come up with. Wish i,d been saving 3" 20 hulls now i,ve been letting fly when I shoot 20 . Those have been Rio,s so guessing chedite possably.

 

[duckbuster5901]

No trick your precrimp will put the crown in it. Are you strictly using it on ducks and is it open water or timber. If your old enough to of shot lead waterfowling then you can go with what size shot you ran then to start with. I hunt open water and geese are in play so I like 3.5 and 3’s. They probably are closer to lead 4 since bismuth is a little lighter. I use meat trays for my spacing material you can get a hole punch set from harbor freight and punch out 1/2” ones from your meat trays. They work in both 12 and 20.

Want to put together a load I can use for both ducks & geese. Presently in 12 I shoot 3" x 1 1/4 oz. steel 2,s once our goose season comes in for both ducks & geese & that works well. Shooting 20 i,ve been limited to 3" x 1 oz. steel 3,s which I,m not going to push very far on geese unless I can get a good head shot. Did kill a few geese last year with 20 with last of my Rem HD 4,s. I,m fortunate to be able to keep my goose shots normally inside 40 or right at that but do hunt in timber as well for ducks. Just depends on the day.

 

[duckbuster5901]

funny thing is some of the old timers who reloaded still kept reloading lead in steel hulls for a while. we knew something was up when they consistently stone cold killed birds in the early days of steel when the steel shells were not as good as today but steel still sucks donkey azz today compared to lead. I finally broke down a couple years ago and splurged on some bismith #1 for geese and have been really pleased with it.

Looking forward to hearing more about your 20ga reloads.

Yes ,I was there at the onset of steel. Pathetic is the best thing I could say about it. Might as well throw the factory shell at the bird as shoot at it. Switched to a 10 within a couple years and that helped but Federal by that time had came out with some decent loads for the 10 that would at least give you the range the standard 2 3/4" lead mag load had. Still have most of the first bx of Win. Steel 12 gauge lds. I bought if that tells you anything. It was a hard transition!

 

[fowlwhacker]

Yes ,I was there at the onset of steel. Pathetic is the best thing I could say about it. Might as well throw the factory shell at the bird as shoot at it. Switched to a 10 within a couple years and that helped but Federal by that time had came out with some decent loads for the 10 that would at least give you the range the standard 2 3/4" lead mag load had. Still have most of the first bx of Win. Steel 12 gauge lds. I bought if that tells you anything. It was a hard transition!

I shot my uncles Ithaca mag10 when he stopped hunting for years till I bought a sp10. Rarely shoot either now but still take one out for old time sake. Like my sbe2 as an all around duck and goose gun but shoot a 20ga for deer now.

 

[C M Wings]

Yea, the Fed 209A,s will probably be used in some Bismuth loads w/longshot as per Hodgdon's data for Fed. hulls if I can find some. If I can,t i,ll put together what I can find referenced loads on for hulls I come up with. Wish i,d been saving 3" 20 hulls now i,ve been letting fly when I shoot 20 . Those have been Rio,s so guessing chedite possably.

Any straight walled, high volume hull should work as long as the fed hulls are not paper basewad. If they are yeah they're lower pressure.

 

[JP]

 

[JP]

These are 2 3/4” Federal Top Gun hulls loaded with one (1) ounce of HW-15 in #7’s. Fairly easy to come by at the gun club trap/skeet ranges. Loaded some of the same weight in 3” Cheddite hulls that were roll crimped. Patterns were basically identical so stuck with the shorter hulls as it is much easier to assemble.

 

[duckbuster5901]

I,ve got my Ballistic Products wads, spacers and 3" Chedite hulls on the way for Curmudgeons 3" Bismuth load#180301-9884. Have #4 Bismuth from Roto Metals. Does anyone know if there a lead shot bar for Mec 600 Mark 5 that will drop 1 1/8 oz. of Bismuth? I do have an adjustable bar in it now but trying to simplify this as much as possable.

 

[Buster_AZ]

A 1.25 oz lead bar will drop close to 1.25 oz bismuth. May not be perfect but close. If too much, tape can be used to fill space in the shot cavity. If too little, can just hand spoon a little in or file out the cavity.