I have a couple of old shotguns that I've been thinking about loading with black powder shells. Neither have damascus barrels but they are old and I want to baby them a little with black powder. I've been shooting bp pistols and rifles for years so I don't have a problem with cleaning straight away after shooting but I have a couple of questions. Midway has brass shells that they say can be loaded with fiber wads and over shot cards glued over the shot. They use large pistol primers and can be reloaded a few times. I don't think I'll need a press or dyes for this but I think I will need a priming tool. Midway didn't seem to have a hand primer for shotgun shells unless I missed it. Where can I get a priming tool for this and am I off base thinking I dont need a press and dyes?

Many thanks,

Don

There's a long thread on loading brass shotgun shells here.

http://www.shootersforum.com/showthread.htm?t=12206

The pistol primers could be a problem. Shotshell primers would be no problem with an old Lee Loader. You could knock the old primers out with a long pin punch and reprime with a long wood dowel inside the case, a hammer and a hard surface. That's basically how it was done with the Lee Loader. I have an antique hand primer that would work. It looks a bit like a nutcracker, hinged on the end, rather than in the middle like pliers. One handle has a loop that holds the shell by the rim. The other handle has a nub that presses in the new primer when you squeeze the handles. It comes in handy if I goof up with the MEC. You might find one on eBay, etc.

Bye
Jack

Topbreak,

There is nothing wrong with priming on a flat steel or other hard surface and using a large dowel as a punch inside the case. Be sure to get wads for brass cases, though, as standard for guage wads won't work.

These folks have given good advice. My preference would be to load plastic shotgun cases using blackpowder. Used shotgun presses show up in local gun shops around here for sale cheap. That is the safest way to handle priming of cases. All the best...
Gil

If you are going to load brass shotshells, remember that 12ga. drawn brass hulls have a larger interior diameter than regular plastic hulls. You'll need to use 11ga. components.
The nutcracker primers used to be regularly available on Ebay. I might have an extra. I'll let you know: if I do, you can have it.
BP is not kind to plastic hulls; they melt, sometimes after one firing.
The best hulls - and the priciest - are lathe turned hulls from Rocky Mt. Cartridge. They are true to gauge so you can use 12ga. components. Prime with 209 primers. They never wear out; with a little care you can leave them to your kids. Unfortunately, last time I bought them, they were $6 each. And they have a reloading kit available.
The old Lee loaders on Ebay work wonderfully well.
Pete

Don: Yep. I have an extra. PM me with your address and I can get it in the mail to you tomorrow A.M.

Pete,

Don't know how to PM on this forum. My e-mail is as follows.
nugdid@together.net

Thanks,
Don

Click on Pete's name at the top of his post. That will drop a menu that takes you to the PM screen.

Bye
Jack

I load lots of black powder ammo for old guns. I just use plastic or paper cases. Plastic cases are usually only good for one loading although paper may give a few more. Don't use plastic wads or else you will have a very mesy barrel as the slow burning black powder tends to melt it; you may find the plastic cases sometimes distort or have small pin prick burn holes in them too. I find that 2 1/2 dram of black powder to 1 ounce of shot in a 12 bore load works well at both game and clays. I do use the Magtech cases for 24 bore loading and a friend uses the 32 bore cases for the same thing. Unless full power heavy loads are used there seems to be no need to re-size. Lagopus.....