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Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

I sent in two different loads to Precision Reloading LLC. Here are the loads and the results.

#1

Federal 2 3/4" 16ga. hull w/paper basewad
Winchester 209 primer
16.0 grains 700-X powder
DownRange DR-16 wad
7/8 oz. # 7 1/2 West Coast magnum lead shot
Crimp Depth - .060" - .065"
Crimp type - Fold
Wad column seating pressure - 30 lbs.

Shot String - 6 rounds

Velocity

Average - 1260 FPS
Hi - 1275 FPS
Lo - 1245 FPS
ES - 30 FPS
Sd - 11 FPS

Pressure

Average - 8163 PSI
ES - 1160 PSI
Sd - 470 PSI

This one is perfect for me just the way it is. I couldn't have asked for anything better.
_______________________________________________________________

#2

Winchester 2 3/4" 16 ga. hull w/plastic basewad (Cheddite)
Federal 209A primer
25.0 grains Alliant Steel powder
TUWGS16 (B & P plastic over powder seal) + 16 ga. .028" over shot card + 1 1/4" X 2 1/8" .0075" Mylar + 20 ga. 3/8" felt wad
1 1/4 oz. # 5 Lawrence magnum lead shot
18.0 grains - Precision Reloading PSB Buffer
12/16 Gauge Precision Reloading Tight Seal
Crimp Depth - .060" - .065"
Crimp type - fold
Wad column seating pressure - 30 lbs.

Shot String - 10 rounds

Velocity

Average - 1271 FPS
Hi - 1288 FPS
Lo - 1258 FPS
ES - 30 FPS
Sd - 9 FPS

Pressure

Average - 11,602 PSI
ES - 2000 PSI
Sd - 602 PSI

I built the above load for turkey hunting. I guessed that I would be close on the pressure side, but I didn't think the velocity would be that high. For a turkey load I am going to change the powder drop to 23.0 grains. That should bring the velocity down around the 1200 FPS range.

I will chrono and pattern this load with 23.0 grains of Steel and post the results.

Since I shoot relatively modern guns I wouldn't have a problem shooting this load using 24.5 grains of Steel powder. It might make a very nice second shot for upland birds.

If you are uncertain about the loading sequence of this load it goes like this:

Plastic gas seal, overshot card, mylar wrap, felt wad, shot, buffer, Tight Seal, crimp.

The overshot card on top of the plastic gas seal might seem stupid, but it provides a nice flat surface to support the felt wad.

No question that this load requires a lot of steps to reload. I developed this load back about 21 years ago as a 1 1/8 oz. buffered Bismuth load, before we had a one piece plastic wad. The load was published in the Blanks to Supersonics manual. I didn't feel like messing around with the B & P one piece plastic wad as I had no baseline to work from.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2346 Location: West MI

MSM, Thank you for sharing these loads and your experience and expertise regarding reloading and ballistics though the years via this forum, I've learned a ton from you.

Many thanks!

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 371 Location: mpls mn

I like that buffered load. Looks like a great late season pheasant load
Where did you find 16 gauge felt wads I don't see them listed anywhere in or out of stock

Member Joined: 09 Jan 2013 Posts: 2168 Location: Florida

Mark , Nice work. I really like the 700x load.

Thanks for sharing !!

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

http://www.16ga.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=13967&sid=d668885a9896c8428cd7c110834c23a3

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 371 Location: mpls mn

thanks I guess I was looking for felt .I suppose material doesn't make a bit of difference. Its just there to take up space.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Most natural wads are made by CIRCLE FLY WADS. I went to their site and was presented with the following message;

"Like most in out industry, we are extremely backlogged with orders from our retailers.

We are working hard to ship as much product as our small shop will accommodate.

With that, we are not taking any retail orders at this time.

Please visit one of our fine retailers to place an order.

We appreciate your patience!"

Member Joined: 02 Feb 2007 Posts: 371 Location: mpls mn

I dug out my copy of blanks to supersonics
and found the buffered bismuth load it calls for a 20 gauge 1/8" felt wad
I suspect it may take a little filler to get the shot column to the optimum height
using lead

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

Concerning the felt wads.

When I originally developed the bismuth load, Precision didn't have 16 ga. felt wads, so I used 20 Ga. felt. The 3/8" felt wads are now available in 16 gauge.

The felt wads are not just taking up room, they provide a proper cushion for the shot. The new fiber cushion wads do not, they basically disintegrate upon ignition and under acceleration, they are not like the older fiber cushion wads.

The entire wad column and all it's components are available from Precision Reloading LLC.

Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 348

Mark, see you are up and running Smile

Dave

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

Yup, s_long got it fixed.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

An update on the 7/8 oz. load.

Since the chamber pressure came in at 8,163 PSI, I tried some other primers with the load.

The original load is:

Federal 2 3/4" 16ga. hull w/paper basewad
Winchester 209 primer
16.0 grains 700-X powder
DownRange DR-16 wad
7/8 oz. # 7 1/2 West Coast magnum lead shot

Average - 1260 FPS
ES - 30 FPS
Sd - 11 FPS

Using a Federal 209A

Average - 1256 FPS
ES - 41 FPS
Sd - 14 FPS

Using a CCI209

Average - 1234 FPS
ES - 22 FPS
Sd - 9 FPS

Using a RIO G-1000

Average - 1246 FPS
ES - 52 FPS
Sd - 20 FPS

Side note:

My velocity for the original load averaged 21 FPS slower than Precision Reloading recorded. However when I shot my reference load, which was tested at 1204 FPS, I had 1202 FPS. I am good with either velocity reading because I don't view 21 FPS as a significant difference, but you should know that there was a difference on this load. Depending on your amount of OCD you might want to add 20 FPS to the readings. Laughing

I am fairly certain that Precision Reloading uses an IR screen chronograph. So much for the wives tale that skyscreen chronographs always producing higher velocity readings.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 1837 Location: Central ND

An update on the 1 1/4 oz. load of buffered #5 lead.

I developed this load for turkey hunting and the tested velocity was a bit higher than I wanted. I reduced the amount of Steel powder to 23.0 grains and tested it for velocity and pattern. This is what I recorded yesterday 4/8/2021. 68 degrees F, 5 MPH west wind.

Winchester 2 3/4" 16 ga. hull w/plastic basewad (Cheddite)
Federal 209A primer
23.0 grains Alliant Steel powder
TUWGS16 (B & P plastic over powder seal) + 16 ga. .028" over shot card + 1 1/4" X 2 1/8" .0075" Mylar + 20 ga. 3/8" felt wad
1 1/4 oz. # 5 Lawrence magnum lead shot
18.0 grains - Precision Reloading PSB Buffer
12/16 Gauge Precision Reloading Tight Seal
Crimp Depth - .060" - .065"

Velocity:

Average - 1,157 FPS
ES - 18 FPS
Sd - 8 FPS

The velocity of the load stayed consistent, which is important.

As we set our decoys at 25 yards I pattern tested @ 30 yards and recorded:

Annular Ring - 45 pellet hits
21" Core - 141 pellet hits
Total in 30" circle - 186 pellet hits
Pattern Percentage - 87%
Central Thickening ratio (C to A) - 3.1 to 1

Patterns shot with an unmodified barreled 870 with .018" of choke.

Joined: 21 May 2010 Posts: 603 Location: Victoria BC Canada

Only OS wads available today.

https://www.precisionreloading.com/cart.php#!c=15&ga=16%20Gauge