I like shooting old sxs and having low recoil. I usually shoot 7/8 oz loads but recently saw something on 3/4 oz 12 ga and thought wow what a great idea. Most of the targets I shoot on sporting courses are within 30-35 yards.
I use 5/8oz and have for a few yrs. Before that 3/4oz was my favorite.
Most all my guns are Full choke so range is not an issue. Either will reach easily to 40yds and a bit beyond and break birds.
I started loading yrs back with a low pressure recipe right out of the Lyman manual. It was for a 1oz (7/8oz?) load. Then I just kept reducing the shot load a little bit at a time. Still using the same wad. I just fill the extra space over the small shot load with a couple Cheerios and they crimp perfectly. I'm not choosey about hulls either but I know that'll make many worry.
No problems, everythings still in one piece incl me. All pre WW2 guns and many pre WW1. Some Damascus too.
The orig recipe was using Clays. When that got hard to find a few yrs back, I switched to ClayDot. Use the same 'bushing' in the MEC9000. I think it drops 14.4gr. A little bit heavier than what it did with Clays. But that's what it said it would do.
Skeet & SC w/a Trap gun,,,long range fun.
I've used and have numerous flats of those Kent Elite 2 1/2" 3/4 oz target loads. Shoot them out of all of my vintage guns. Like them a lot.
My friend has shot 3/4 oz loads for skeet and sporting clays out of his lightweight French 12 bore for years. He is a pretty good shot and it never seems to hold him back. He loads red dot in a Win AA or REM STS with the claybuster pink wads.
Link to the data
http://www.claybusterwads.com/index.php/winchester-style/53-cb0175-12-load-data
I shoot both 3/4 ounce loads in the 12 and 20. The 20 gauge version is great and will smoke Skeet targets. The 12 is a great low recoil option, for new shooters. Either will handle Sporting Clay targets with authority. Often it is more an issue of getting proper wads and adjusting stack height. They work well in 2 1/2" hulls and you don't need to use any filler.
I was loading and shooting 3/4 ounce 12 gauge loads several years ago and they shot fine.
I went a step further, actually lesser, and started loading and shooting 1/2 ounce 12 gauge loads.
I had them tested about 8 years ago by Tom Armbrust. Pressure around 5500 psi and the speed is about 1350 fps.
I use 14.0 grains of Alliant Extra Light powder, Claybuster CB0175-12 pink wads for 3/4 ounce with a 0.620" diameter (20 gauge) by 0.135" thick nitro card in the bottom. Remington Gun Clubs, STS's, Nitro Golds and/or Win AACF hulls. Any available primer.
I get those nitro cards from Craig Smith of Circle Fly Wads in PA.
They crimp and shoot fine. Sound OK too. Pretty much no recoil.
A very good trap shooter was at the club and usually shoots 25 straight. I had him try a box of my 1/2 ounce loads, #8's. He got 24 out of 25 and said he couldn't blame the miss on the ammo.
I've probably loaded and shot around 20,000+ of them in the last 8 years.
PS: I shoot with Kutter above who shoots his 5/8 ounce loads. Amazing how well they shoot. And him.
Almost 40 years ago the rangemaster at a local military skeet range gave me a recipe for 2.75" and 3/4 oz. that I used to teach a 12 year old boy to shoot. To show it wasn't just a boy's load, I used it when we shot doves out of a 3200. It was deadly and a pleasure to shoot out of an 8 lbs. gun. Only specific component I recall was Win AA hulls, solid brass heads. Gil
I've shot them for years at recreational skeet in the 20ga. Ever since Claybuster introduced a very good 3/4 oz wad, reloading 3/4 oz for the 20 is a piece of cake. Makes volume shooting light guns much more enjoyable. And there are now enough published formulas for 3/4 oz 20s that you can probably find a powder that's actually available.
Our local sporting clay shoot sometimes offers 21 gram (3/4 ounce) cartridges.
I find that I can shoot just as badly with them as with 28 gram loads.
I think these super light loads have a place if the shot result is inconsequential. If you are a contestant in a competition where some or more $$ is on the line I am sure most will upgrade the amount of pellets headed at the target!! Even if you have high confidence it is really hard to bull shit a target (or ZZ bird)
I started about 5-6 years ago reloading 12 ga. in 3/4 oz. It shoots just fine and I am happy with the results. My favorite hull is Remington Gun Clubs, powder 15.0 grs. Titewad, Claybuster CB0175-12 and Cheddite primer. Reload calls for 15.0 grs. but my Mec 24 bushing throws on average 14.8 grs. PSI 7200 and velocity 1150 fps.
With using Titewad and Remington hulls (Gun Club, Nitro, etc) and using Mec bushings 24 and 25 the difference in pressure using Cheddite and Fed 209A primers is 700 psi. The Cheddite 209 with 14.8 grs. is 7200 psi and the Federal 209A with a 25 bushing (15.4 grs) is 7900 psi. Many people state the Federal 209A is a hot primer but it all depends on what it is pushing powder-wise.
I shoot 3/4 oz in my 16 gauge pinfires. Not much help to you, but it works fine.
3/4 oz loads are way underestimated, both in the 12 and 28. For the 12 I use the loads from Alliant with their ExtraLite powder and the Claybuster wad in either Remington or WAA hulls. 8.5 size shot will get you good pattern density. A good friend had pretty much gone to the 3/4 oz load in his 12 gauge target guns to combat a bad flinch. It helps.
I've used 3/4 oz loads in everything I load for the last time the price of shot went up. Easy to do with 12 and 20 with the Claybuster wads. It fits well in AA hulls. Great at skeet and 16 yd trap. I haven't tried it with the 12 but with a 20 with modified choke I locked a trap for straight away and got back to the 23 yard line before the breaks got iffy.
Hard to believe that when I first started shooting clays and then reloading, 1 1/8 Oz was the only thing I ever shot, bought or loaded up. I was under the spell of more must be better for long time. Of course a bag of shot cost anywhere from $9 to $12 back then. Powder & primers were cheap and more importantly, available. Times sure have changed haven’t they?
Nowadays, the only shells I load using an 1 1/8 Oz + are bismuth duck loads. 7/8 to 1 oz for 99% of my hunting loads and 3/4 oz loads for clays.
great to see what I plan to use already in use. My plan is Rem STS/Gun Club, Ched 209, Tite Wad and Claybuster CB 0175 . Amazed I could find the charge bar and wads online and should have shortly.
Here in England the standard load for beginners in clay pigeon shooting is a 3/4 ounce loading. The Hull Compex ones work well. I have fired 300 of these at a Simulated Game day in the summer wearing a T-shirt with no ill effects.
I believe the serious clay shooters go for a 24 gram / 7/8 ounce load.
HB
Three-quarters ounce loads are for .410s and 28s.
Don't get your hackles up, I'm fine with anyone who wants to use 3/4 oz. loads in a 12. It's just not for me. I like 3/4 oz. loads in the smaller bores. For some reason, years ago, I became gauge specific with my payloads.
I like:
10 ga. (3 1/2") - 1 3/4 oz.- 2 oz.
10 ga. (2 7/8") - 1 1/4 oz. thru 1 5/8 oz.
12 ga. 1 oz. thru 1 1/4 oz.
16 ga. 1 oz.
20 ga. 7/8 oz. thru 1 oz.
28 ga. 3/4 oz.
.410 1/2 oz. thru 3/4 oz.
I know ............I've got too many guns.
I re-load 3/4-ounce loads for my 12-ga LC Smith and 12-ga Browning 725. The Smith is choked full and full and, as said above by Kutter, with tight chokes 3/4 ounces is plenty for most 5 stand targets. I use the 725 with skeet chokes to shoot skeet and do fine depending on how well I point the gun. Recoil is minimal. I use #8 shot for clays with these light loads and #9 would be even better for skeet. Last fall I used the LC Smith for high flying late season doves, using 7/8-ounce loads, #8 with a spreader in the right barrel and #7.5 in the left barrel. Worked well. I use Extra-Lite powder, Cheddite primers, CB 0175 and 0178 wads, Remington or Win AA hulls. Alliant's website has plenty of loads listed for Extra-Lite.
I tend to agree with Stan on the sensibility of using adequate loads appropriate to the bore size of the gun I am using. In general. I don't buy or carry a 10 or 12 gauge gun to shoot .410 sized loads. But there is some utility in handicapping yourself in practice with a smaller bore gun that has lighter loads, and a tight enough choke to still have an effective pattern. A pattern that is sparse and has big holes only leads to misses and crippled birds. Learning to hit consistently with a small bore gun that throws a tighter pattern hones your skills, and makes using a larger gun with heavier loads seem relatively easy in comparison. I've never been bothered by recoil, but agree that reloading and getting a lot more shots out of a pound of powder or bag of shot will permit a lot more shooting practice for your money.
But that advantage evaporates when very lightly loaded factory loads cost almost the same as more effective standard loads. I'm sure ammunition companies love it when people are willing to pay the same amount for less... like buying light beer or antifreeze pre-mixed with water. I don't get that, unless you are very recoil sensitive, or are supplying shells for a woman or smaller kid who is learning to shoot. And please don't try to tell me that lighter loads are just as effective or deadly as standard loads. Velocity, shot charge, and pattern density are still what matters most when killing or breaking targets is important.
I was looking for a light load for skeet shooting and digging through my reloading box found an 11/16 oz Mec bar. I load 11/16 oz of 9's over 700x in 2.5" hull. It has been my goto for years.