doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Winlite shotshell pressure- anyone know?

Does anyone know what kind of pressure the Winlite ammo generates? Is it safe to use in Damascus guns? I don't want to just assume that low noise/recoil= low pressure.

Appreciate any info.

The exact load & pressure is listed in the 2010 Hogdon's manual; look under the AA case for a 26gram load; it is the only one with that charge weight.

There is also a blurb in the front of the manual stating that it is the factory Winlite duplicate load. You could call them if you have additional questions about using it; great folks there.

I bought the Winchester WAALite powder just for reloading to shoot in old "elsies" some with Damascus barrels. The data I found that replicates the factory load of 970 fps is 5500 psi.
That is 26 grams of shot, 12.1 grs. powder, Win. 209 primer and Win AA12SL wad
My 1 oz. Mec 302 bar throws .923 oz of shot, very close to 15/16 oz. or 26 grams.

Up to 13.0 grs. of powder using Win. 209's or Rem.STS 209's you are still under 7000 psi. using Win 12SL or Rem.TGT12 wads.

By the way, that is using either Win AA's, Win AAHS or Rem, Nitro, Premier or Gun Clubs to stay under 7000 psi. I believe the information I got this from is from the Hodgdon site.

Sherman Bell in a letter to Dave Weber dated 28 July 1999 and available in the "Other Useful Information" section of this very site, says the Win 12ga Featherlites are 5950 PSI at 1026 FPS for the 26 gram load. Is this the info you needed? Check it out.

I could be out in left field on this one, but it's my understanding that manufacturers load to a velocity standard, not a pressure standard. They don't concern themselves with pressure as long as they're within SAAMI standards. I'm sure the Winlites are all "lite" and well under the SAAMI max of 11,500 psi for the 12ga, but I'm not so sure that they're always loaded with the same powder--as long as the velocity stays the same. Perhaps someone who has pressure tested the same factory loads from different batches could comment.

http://data.hodgdon.com/shotshell_load.asp

Go to #6 pick WinLite powder and fill in the blanks and you will see most loads are below/around 7700 psi.