doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Reloading 2 1/2 12 ga ammo

If I'm not mistaken, RST's are Cheddite hulls.
For my 2 1/2" hulls that I have cut down, I roll crimp them. I'm not in a hurry and it doesn't take that long to do. I have found that the old time crank roll crimper is very good and does a great job on Remington hulls. It is faster than doing it with the one in the drill press.
If you are reloading hundreds of 2 1/2" hulls then maybe you will have to rig yur machine to do this, as stated not hard to do.

These are Remington Gun Clubs, for some pheasant hunting.
I have found out that any load you find in a 2 3/4" hull that is 8 or 6 crimp will work in a 2 1/2" hull that is roll crimped.

Jent,
Do you have a PW 375? From what I gather, PW will sell the resizing die cut down for 2.5" shells for under $30. No other mods are necessary.
If one is to roll crimp after resizing, powder and shot drop with the PW, how difficult is it to remove the resized shell from the holder without going through the star crimp process? Tnx. Gil

2 1/2" RST (Cheddite) 16 ga reloaded on my MEC Jr. with the 52 cent 'lifter kit'....a penny super glued to a quarter....should have used one more Cheerio for better crimp. I think it was Mike Campbell's idea.

Hello Gil, To the best of my knowledge there are 4 versions of the 12 gauge PW375 reloader or 4 generations of the PW375. The original PW375 followed by the PW375A the PW375B and PW375C. To convert or switch back and forth between loading 12 gauge 2 and 3/4 inch shells and 2 and 1/2 shells is a big job. The shell carrier/sizer die is a different length die and that is easy to change. The wad seating/powder drop/shot drop tube will need to be adjusted when you switch back and forth. The crimp starter will need to be shimmed and adjusted down to load the 2 and 1/2 inch 12 gauge shells. The final crimper will need to be shimmed and adjusted down to load the short 12 gauge shells. The taper crimp finisher will most likely not need adjustment as that is a feel and touch type operation. Switching back and forth is so much work that I just keep two PW375 on the bench, one for 2 and 3/4 inch and one for 2 and 1/2 inch 12 gauge shells.

You might be able to have two sets of 12 gauge dies on two separate PW375 heads and switch them back and forth but that would still be a pain.

Good Shooting To You, Jent

All - lots of good info provided and food for thought; I really appreciate everyone's time and effort. Where do I find the reloading data if he decides to give it a whirl?
V/r
Maxey