matthefridgeman Posted August 28, 2009 Report Share Posted August 28, 2009 Hi have just bought a lee loader for 12gauge....having major problems with crimping..rang the guys in the shop and have had dumb struck answer as he admitted that he hasn't ever used one. cartridges are eley hb primers are cci 209 shot size 5 and 1ounce load which is bush 1 powder is green dot using bush .163 giving 1290fps fiber wads sold to me are 10mm fiber so i have to use 2 first stage of crimp looks great but second stage always leaves hole in center and isnt tight. ive messed around for a good while and still no joy. help appreciated. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight32 Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 (edited) Hi have just bought a lee loader for 12gauge....having major problems with crimping..rang the guys in the shop and have had dumb struck answer as he admitted that he hasn't ever used one. cartridges are eley hb primers are cci 209 shot size 5 and 1ounce load which is bush 1 powder is green dot using bush .163 giving 1290fps fiber wads sold to me are 10mm fiber so i have to use 2 first stage of crimp looks great but second stage always leaves hole in center and isnt tight. ive messed around for a good while and still no joy. help appreciated. you need to adjust your crimp,theload all is a little tricky on that one- however before you do that you may have too much component space taken up in the case, lose one of the fiber wads and try a crimp on that Edited August 29, 2009 by starlight32 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MC Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 I will hazard a guess that you do not have enough column height. I load a 7/8oz fibre wad load and use the following 23.5 gr GM3 powder, 3 x 3mm over shot cards and 2x 10mm fibre wads. This give me a nice tight crimp. If I leave one of the cards out it will push the crimp in too far and I will get the same as you. Experiment with using a few cards in the load, if you need a few PM me your address Cheers Martin Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthefridgeman Posted August 29, 2009 Author Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 ahaaaaaa....Overshot cards. ive just tried another reload and measured the crimp space above the shot and im about 2 to 3mm over the half inch specified so i sliced a wad to make a make shift overshot card and it crimped brilliantly.. your geniuses.. bit disappointed that my local and well stocked gun dealers hadn't got a scooby though. :yp: Cheers for the info im off to buy overshot cards Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
starlight32 Posted August 29, 2009 Report Share Posted August 29, 2009 ahaaaaaa....Overshot cards. ive just tried another reload and measured the crimp space above the shot and im about 2 to 3mm over the half inch specified so i sliced a wad to make a make shift overshot card and it crimped brilliantly.. your geniuses.. bit disappointed that my local and well stocked gun dealers hadn't got a scooby though. Cheers for the info im off to buy overshot cards :blink: No need, just buy a wad punch and make your own out of the nearest piece of cardboard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted August 30, 2009 Report Share Posted August 30, 2009 (edited) I cut my own card wads for my muzzle loader but its tricky finding a good thick cardboard to cut them from. Corn flake boxes and the like are too thin and you have to put in about five wads to get the thickness. When you fire them it looks like confetti but its cheap so who cares? Edited August 30, 2009 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floating Chamber Posted August 31, 2009 Report Share Posted August 31, 2009 Aldi have lovely thick cardboaord boxes! Ask them nicely! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mec 9000 Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 Are you using an over powder card. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paladin Posted September 1, 2009 Report Share Posted September 1, 2009 I think a 2mm over powder card 2 x 10mm wads. Then adjust the hight of all this ie. powder,card and wads. So that you have enough room left at the top of the case when your shot load is added. The hight can be adjusted by compressing the collum, or not, (do this before you put the shot in) If you have too much case showing above the shot they will dip in the centre, try a larger wad, not enough case showing and they will dome, as the shot will prevent the crimp from sitting flat and square. Reloading stuff!! Ian Charlton. claygame reloaders, Lincoln. Do a Google Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
matthefridgeman Posted September 3, 2009 Author Report Share Posted September 3, 2009 hi again....no i haven't used over-powder cards but will give them a go...theirs soooo much new terminology. :blink: have taken a box of reloads out for a test and getting a nice report and good pattern so im happy larry. like the sound of a wad punch though wheres best to buy one.?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 (edited) Henry Krank's Edited September 5, 2009 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
charliespaniel Posted September 5, 2009 Report Share Posted September 5, 2009 had same problem my self the case is to short 67.5 mm try ely super game or any 70mm case you will find it crimps and tapers a treat when you have right shot coloum Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 (edited) The length of the wad column is critical if you are going to get the right crimp. A bit of experimentation and you will soon get the feel for it, a good over powder card wad (2mm min) is a must. A sunken crimp indicates too short a wad column. Too high a wad column and the crimp will be flat and distorted, thats if it will crimp at all. You just have to add or take out card wads to get it right. A supply of thin 1/16" wads is good for this purpose. Put them under the shot but on top of the fibre wads, they are just to take up space. The wads cut from scrap cardboard with a wad punch can be useful here because they are just used to fine tune the wad height. Different makes of case will require different wad columns to suit the different internal volumes inside the case, even though they all look the same from the outside. The base inside the case will vary in size and so the internal volumes of different makes of case will vary. A good reason to try and stick to one make of case as much as possible. Obviously, if you can find a cartridge that requres less wads it will be that little bit cheaper to reload, Good consistant compression on the wad column is important too if the cartridge is going to be tight and perform well. Edited September 7, 2009 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Floating Chamber Posted September 6, 2009 Report Share Posted September 6, 2009 It's also about interstices! (The spaces between individual pellets.) When I was a kid in the late 1950s, I took apart several of the most common shells around at that time. Paper cased Eley-Kynoch 'Grand Prix'. In the smaller pelleted shell, like a 30gram Number 8, there would be a 1/11" card under the shot, whereas in a much larger pelleted round, this wad would be missing. A given weight of Number 8s takes up LESS space than the same weight of, say, Number 4s, because of the interstices. So bear this in mind too. FC Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vince Green Posted September 7, 2009 Report Share Posted September 7, 2009 (edited) This wouldn't happen with a Lee Loadall,or indeed virtually all reloading presses because they measure the shot by volume. What does happen is that the weight of shot will vary ever so slightly according to the size of shot used, However this won't be enough to make a difference until you get up to very large shot. The actual weight of shot will vary anyway from one brand /type of shot to another according to the percentage of antimony it contains but its very slight and not enough to worry about. You tend to find that Lee powder and shot bushes throw less than the stated weight on purpose because they are worried about overloading. You will find that the actual weight of powder can vary in weight from a given bush because of batch to batch variations in the powder. Thats why its always wise to check weigh your charges, espescially when changing to a new tub of powder. Sometime the difference can be quite noticable. When loading cartridges the constant jerking will cause the powder to settle in the hopper so load a few cartridges before you check the weight of powder. If you take the first charge it is liable to be unrepresentative. Edited September 7, 2009 by Vince Green Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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