16ga.com ~ View topic - Fiocchi 1-1/8oz #7.5, 1300fps, last day dove season

Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 348

The only ammo in the entire store today was 5 boxes or so of this fiocchi 16-gauge stuff, looks like a great heavy duty load. I grabbed three boxes for 11 bucks each, they have a nice blue hull.

Last day of dove season, I'm out here walking around with my Model 12 16 gauge 1935, no doves flying so far. Thought I'd post an ammo pic along with some Herter's 1 oz number 8 to pass the time.

https://www.refugeforums.com/attachments/20210103_161019-jpg.275340/

Gahh this forum is impossible to pkst pics to... no upload, surrounding image link with img tags doesnt work, using url doesnt work because the software has no url prefetch...only way to do it is post somewhere elss and give a link. Love this forum, but the hassle of sharing a photo is just unreal.

Joined: 28 Apr 2017 Posts: 61 Location: Central Oklahoma

Nice pic Dave. My Model 12 is a 1954, I believe I have that right, and it is a beauty. Someone restored it before I got it, but it is definitely a fun shooter.

Joined: 28 Apr 2017 Posts: 61 Location: Central Oklahoma

I tried loading up some of those Fiocchi Golden Pheasant blue hulls and had some problems with the crimps. Half of them looked fine, but the other half almost every petal split when the pre-crimp was pressed on. I updated my loader with a spandex from the old style and even modified the 6 star crimped a little. It works great on every other hull but the Fiocchi. I haven’t totally given up on them yet though. I have over 500 empty hulls. I am going to go through them someday and get rid of all the culls.......someday though seems to be my favorite line lately. Very Happy

Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 348

These are my first fiocchi 16ga hulls. Didnt end up shooting any, the birds were a no show. But all 9f BPIs 16ga loads for the last couple years have been for fiocchi hulls, some nice bismuth loads too, so I'm glad to have found a few boxes of a useful 7.5 dove load, at a decent price for 16ga.

Joined: 26 Apr 2016 Posts: 369 Location: Vermont

Dave I load in Fiocchi hulls, they work fine.

Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 348

Thx Soggy and Matthew. I will use the Fiocchi hulls for a really nice bismuth load that BPI did this year on their LOTW, which has buffer. There are only like 3 published 16ga bismuth loads with buffer, these 3 BPI fiocchi 1oz loads, maybe 1 more in the Precision Reloading bismuth book for 1-1/8oz I've heard.

Anyways, for an older model12, it would be nice to shoot bismuth for ducks instead of steel. Problem is despite the new bismuth being 6% tin, I'm still hearing about fracturing, so I want the buffer for that and the better patterns. I'd optimally like 9/8oz, but 1oz will work, and all 3 of those recipes use the Fiocchi hull. It's nice the hull is blue too, easy to remember shells are bismuth!