I'm starting to reload the brass shot shells. I have read of poor ignition due to the Large Pistol Primers being used in the newer shotshells. The shot shells are designed for LP primers. 209s can not be used without pulling out the drill. Are 209 primers that much hotter? I assume a LP Magnum primer will help but the articles I've been reading suggest very low velocity with alot of unburned powder. I seem to remember 700x and other faster powders being mentioned so I doubt it is the powder. Any ideas or suggestions?

PArt of the problem with brass shotshells is that they are sized inside for wads about a guage larger than what is used in plastic shells....so in a 12ga. brass shell you'd use 11ga. over powder and flet wadding. Using a one-piece platic chot cup type wad kind of works, but it's not the best sealing...tends to those occasional "blooper" rounds.

Second problem is you can't get the initial resistance of a giid firm crimp as you can with plastic or paper...so they just don't work well with slow smokeless powders.


I load them...but load them with black powder for some antique guns.

I loaded thousands of rounds of 20 ga all brass shells back in the 50's and 60's. I never expience any LP primer problems. I always use special oversized card and fiber wads. I think I mainly used reddot and unique powders. The overshot wad was my main concern. I found the best results were with a regular over shot card wad sealed with "water glass" (sodium silicate). I used an eyedropper to place a ring of fluid around the edges. This worked fine if the shells were used within a few days or week. After that it sometimes became hard, britle and would lose the seal allowing the wad to fall out along with a pocket full of shot. I never did try the plastic wads however it seems that it would not seal well as the powder (at least it used to) needs some pressure when seating the wad to fire properly. In the old days, one was required to seat the wads with a certain amount of pressure.

Never loaded brass shotgun cases with smokeless, only BP. Forget the plastic wads, I don't even like them for plastic hulls.

As for wad sizing, do not go by gauge as every mfg has thier own size per gauge and some offer two or more sizes in the same gauge. http://www.circlefly.com is the place to go for wads. Measure the exact ID of your cases and then call Craig and he'll tell you exactly what wads to use. He also has a wad sizing chart on the web site as well as some loading data. I've tried other wad brands but Circle Fly are by far the most consistent and highest quality available and Craig will take the time to return your calls and help in any way possible too.

I like a hard roll crimp just like they used on the OEM cases. I had my size and crimp dies made for an old loaded I picked up so I am not familiar with any current production dies for the brass cases but in any case, the crimp needs to be rolled and rolled hard. I anneal the tops of the cases after every third firing to help prevent cracking from work hardening of the brass. I use the .025" OS card from Circle Fly which is made from a gloss finish paper but I still seal them with hot wax. Best I found is the wax blend used on the extended burn or slow burn, whatever they call 'em candles. These are the ones that are much harder than a normal candle and have a very smooth shiny finish almost like they are sprayed with polyurethane paint. They'll run you about 5 bucks for two but go a long way. Melt the wax in a small pan plenty far enough away from the loading room and apply by dipping the top of the case into the melted wax and holding for about 5 seconds. I then just wipe the excess off the crimp area on the edge of the pot any extra I just wipe with a rag so there is none on the outside of the case and stand upright to cool. Only need a very thin coat of wax and don't worry, you'll likely make a mess of the first few rounds till you get a technique that works for you.

If you go with the heavier non-shiny OS wad, hold it in the wax a little longer to allow the wad to be penetrated by the wax.

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I'll look into the link you provided, thanks. I ordered some wads to try but they appear too small as you warned. I do not load shotshells but thought I'd try these since I thought I couls hand load without a press....sounds like I still can except for the heavy roll crimp. I'll have to think on that a bit. Thanks to all for the help.