Massive thanks for this series. I especially appreciate your transparency when encountering problems and making mistakes along the way. Many of these are familiar from my own experiences reloading shotshells. Like you, I came to it from metallic cartridge reloading, and was shocked by how unconcerned with helping their customers make best use of their products the producers and purveyors of shotshell-reloading tools and components appear to be. Even the instruction booklets often look like 50-year-old reprints. Shotshell reloaders lack, and badly need, the kind of comprehensive, up-to-date user guidance available in the metallic reloading sphere, so you're making good a really important information gap here.

You should use a slower drill speed. Lock the trigger to only allow that speed. You will also get much better consistency using a drill press with the ram travel set and locked for each shell length. Both of these will provide the best and most consistent crimps possible

This is an excellent video series…I’ve never seen such an in-depth journey down the shot shell reloading “rabbit hole”…your content is one of a kind 👍👍👍

Later, if you need more rigid over shot cards, try out the Clear Segmented Over Shot Cards. Since the final crimp is where 99% of your shot column compression comes from, they allow a little more compression. Just be careful not to bulge the hulls too much(it's a feeding issue), although a little bulge is ok as long as it still chambers easily.

Hope you end up loading some buckshot someday. I like the HCD21 wad with 12 #1 pellets behind International or Longshot.

😅 Another series I will never put into practice, and yet I can't wait until the next episode! Keep 'em comin' "Johnny"!

Might be cheaper/easier/faster/less worrisome/more repeatable to use granulated filler, cornmeal or other, on top of powder, or on top of an over powder card, and/or as a fill material mixed with the shot. When you look into it, you find guys cramming all sorts of stuff everywhere in the shot column...stuff like puffed wheat, oatmeal, rice, dried beans, Cherrios....it really makes you wonder if folks overthink shotshell reloading. Many factory loads make use of fillers....especially when filler is mixed with the shot, it's advertised as a performance booster or shot density enhancer.

I wonder if you are overthinking it... lol. You should put that on a t-shirt. Maybe try 3dprinting an ABS solid card. You should be able to print a small shape no problem without the ABS issues... shut off the cooling fan and give it a try. Then shoot it with a string so you dont blow your face off.

Jrb likeing the series keep at it brother.

Watching Johnny spill a load of shot on the bench brings back memories.... Nice to know that I'm not the only one to have done this. 😁

Putting the felt in felt recoil

Time to get serious! Ditch the Lee press and get a MEC Jr. or better. Also, get a drill press for those roll crimps, and make them about twice that deep. You really should be fold crimping that birdshot anyway. You're using tapered wads with straight-walled hulls, too.

All your fillers are what provide the cushion to keep your pressures low.

I am wondering why you are using Blue Dot because it is hard to ignite and normally used for heavy 3" loads. It needs the back pressure for good ignition. I think a little faster burning powder would give you higher velocities and better patterns.

you could use a kitchen scale to get wad pressure for your roll crimp...may not be perfect but more consistent than "feel"

Nice! I really like your approach. My vote is for the 16 guage card wads (in the right size of course) with the cork. Regarding the nitro cards on top, I think they are too hard for lead. Might work for tungsten, but lead will get flattened all across the bottom...... And same as everyone else, I'm enjoying watching these videos!

Now I know not to pinch the shotshell... Great series! supercomp65 had some good factors I hadn't thought about. Crimp and what type does affect pressure. Be careful.

Let's talk about powder migration. It's wanting to happen with you Blue Dot loads but it'll be really bad with longshot or any smaller flake powders. Buy you a 3/4" paper hole punch and cereal boxes beer boxes any thin cardboard like that works great. Use it as an over powder card. The AA12R is designed for tapered hulls but the TPS wads and similar are designed for straight wall hulls like you have they are notorious for powder migration. Hope this helps and good luck! Really enjoying the shot shell loading videos!

The general rule of thumb when working up shotshell loads, is that there is no rule of thumb. You go by the book and you don't deviate or substitute. Recipes must be lab tested due to the huge amount of variables in the load that effect pressure. By the time you see danger signs like with metallic cartridges, you are well into catastrophic failure territory. The balancing act that goes on inside a shotshell can only be compared to that of a nuclear reactor. The basics of which are if you increase payload's mass, increase the length of the shot column, increase the thickness of the wad, decrease the cushion, increase the hardness of the payload, increase the payload's tendency to rebound off itself ie it's springiness, increase powder charge, use hotter primer, decrease the internal volume of the hull, using a fold crimp vs a roll crimp are all things that increase pressure and the inverse generally has the opposite effect. While the end result coming out the end of the barrel differs very little from it's old black powder ancestors, the internal ballistics of the modern smokeless shotshell are considerably more complicated and cannot be accurately predicted like we can with metallic centerfire reloading.

Ideas on your target stand, at our club we use rebar frames. I don’t know if you have a welder but super simple to make and tabs to hold a cardboard backer.

I'm learning so much about shotgun shells that I never knew of before.

One thing to think about, how much do all those cards weigh? Moving extra mass will take some of your velocity away, but I'm not sure if you are adding enough cork or felt to really make a weight increase.

Getting weird in here 🤤

I don’t understand why you’re worried about building a 3 inch round for the same load weight…imo, the only benefit to 3 or 3 1/2 is to get a higher payload of shot in…?

This is good stuff! Never done any shotshell stuff but I did just get a slug barrel and it makes a man think... Plus slugs are just insanely priced.

Eliminate the variables and put the filler on top of the load!

😂😂😂👍🏼🤟🏽🤘🏼

Need to get 20 gauge nitro cards or smaller to fit the tsp wad. My guess is the claybuster wads will have a lower velocity and notvkick as hard.

I'm telling you, you would thoroughly enjoy reloading 300 HAMR for AR or bolt action. A set of Lee dies is all you need since you already have the brass, primers, powder(s), and bullets for 300 Blackout. 300 HAM'R is everything 300 Blackout supers wish they were. If 30-30 wished it could be loaded into an AR mag and fired, it would be 300 HAMR. 300 HAMR in an AR is easily 200fps faster than 300 Blackout. 300 HAMR from a bolt gun is up to 150fps faster that from an AR. A Ruger American Ranch AR receiver with a 300 HAMR barrel conversion kit mounted in an MDT LSS-XL Gen2 chassis uses 223 MDT mags with a 308 footprint. This means you aren't restricted to the COAL of 2.260". Meaning you can use Barnes 110/120gr bullet in 300 HAMR. This is your caliber. I'm telling you!

😀😃😁😄👍‼️

I thought nitro cards were made to go over the powder?

I could never find much load data for using felt and fiber wads. I'd love to get my hands on some

I have seen a few recipes that use regular cardboard made with a punch in place of the fancy components.

Thank you

What happened to not using any cork or felt in the wad? That seems like the most likely combination to provide you with better velocity.

Can you 3D Print your own shot cup design or mimick one... Dare I say... Haha

I'm lovin this Johnny !!! I'd like to see you get good accuracy with a slug and a rifled barrel. You can do it !!! Question, why tungston?

Thank you Mr. Johnny. I really enjoy your videos! I noticed that you have filled your wad (orange) way past what would be considered full. I'm nothing but a novice at shotshell reloading, but I've never seen or loaded up lead shot past the end of the wad like that. Wouldn't that really cause issues with patterning? I just though I'd ask. Thanks again for all your videos! Much appreciated!

Years ago...I heard of dropping wax on the 6 and 8 crimp to seal the case. No ideas if that is feasible. Ive seen shells with it done but ive never done it myself

The factory load shot charge was on the bottom of the wad

How do you make a brass case sir?

Waa wad isn't the best choice on a straight wall hull.

you're also using the crimp roller too fast and too much pressure to quickly. Get yourself a cheap Harbor Freight drill press for your reloading room.

Is there an actual difference in what you called Magnum Shot?

Little bit longer taking game video please?

Shot above the wad cup is not good for patterns !!

First hehe