Stack height issue with 3/4ounce 12 gauge loads
Hi all,
First time caller, long time listener.
I am having issues with the stack height in these 3/4 ounce 12 gauge shells I am trying to make. It almost appears like the shot drop tube (#16726) is too long and is forcing the wad too deep into the hull. In turn, that causes the crimps to be so dished that they sometimes let shot spill out. I have tried raising the shot dispenser assembly by cranking on the “body collar adjustment screw” (#10641). But then the shot bar stops traveling a full stroke.
Here are the components I am using:
Win AAHS 12 gauge hulls once fired (the grays)
Cheddite 209 primers
Titewad powder, 17.3 grains
Claybuster CB0175-12 wads (the pinks)
Eagle magnum shot, #8.5’s
Thanks in advance!
Tom
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In that picture above, I dumped out the shot.
I also tried some red Winchester AAHS hulls and some gold Remington Nitro 27 hulls. Those were also setting the wads too deep. At least with those two hulls, it is easier to see where the wad ends up in relation to where the crimp fold or crimp crease is.
Switching gears hear slightly…. A week or two back I compared how the Dillon was setting WT12 wads for an ounce and an eighth loads versus my Mec 9000GN with the same ounce and an eighth WT12 wad. I will try to upload some pics. With the Dillon, initially, the top of the wad was about a quarter inch below the crimp fold/crease. Screwing the body collar adjustment screw clockwise raised the shot dispenser assembly. Then the wad wasn’t set so deep. And the crimps looked a lot better.
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The “before pic” with the Dillon SL900 and the same WT12 wad;
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The thought had crossed my mind to switch to a bulkier powder with the hopes of that raising the height of the wad. I dissected a few of my reloads. Dumped the shot out, and then used needle nose pliers to extract the wad. Then I dumped the powder back into the powder measure’s hopper.
In looking at the extracted wads, there appears to be too much “pre-crush” going on. The middle “legs” of the wad have a lot of bend to them. I should have taken a picture of an extracted wad standing right next to a brand new wad.
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Thank you for all the replies The Human Manual.
I finally figured it out.
Since the forum software appears to only allow one pic per post, I’ll have 4 or more posts here in a row.
It was the shot bar’s adjuster bolt and set screw. It was levering the “gate” up into the white rubber “snubber”.
If you look closely at this pic, you will see that the gate is proud or slightly above flush with the rest of the shot bar:
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The “gate” was scraping so much across the white rubber “snubber” that it was leaving a white powdery residue on the shot bar:
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