doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Loading in cold weather is a problem

Some powders are more temperature sensitive than others. None work well when not in proper amounts. I load on couple of Spolars so have established a habit of weighing the first four loads, then one about every 25 until I have about a hundred loaded. After, that if all has been right on the money, I just load as long as my mind does not drift away. Loading hundreds of shells, in a sitting is efficient, but you always need to be paying full attention as you go. One mistake repeated will make you question why you ever load in the first place.

My best output, for a single loading session, was 4000 .410 shells with just two screw ups. Both were minor wad/crimp issues. Never had any issues with that lot and need to do another session like that soon. 4,000 shells goes faster than you would think when all you have to do is grab boxed shells off the shelf. I love getting 800 loads out of a bag of shot. Shot seems to last forever when loading a .410 compared to loading 12's that seem to have shot run out like a stuck pig.

A clog is the only possible cause other than running with powder tube empty if the loader is working properly.

When I loaded with a progressive years ago, I learned the hard way about not paying attention. That house probably has spilled shot stuck in the floor trim or gaps in the hardwood floors after 40 years. Now I load single stage at a leisurely pace and do it without the TV or radio on and no one else around. I'm not loading for clays so that means I don't need a lot of shells for the field. Gil

My press had gotten out of sync, now fixed and thanks to recommendations here, I have upped the powder load 1 bushing. Now I am trying to salvage the powder, wad and primer, but unless someone has a way to dismantle, I have to put a cut in the shell to get the wad out, thereby ruing the shell.

I had to cut over a hundred shells apart.
I used a pvc pipe cutter tool that I bought at lowe's. Pretty sure it was made by Kolar. I salvaged the wad, powder, primer, shot, but not the hull. It was worth buying the tool.

So it WAS a progressive press issue.

It doesn't take any specialized tool to salvage components out of loaded shells and save the shot cup. A sharp pocket knife is all you need. Does anybody carry a sharp pocket knife anymore? I do, and I mean sharp. All you do is cut the ridge off the top of the hull which opens it all up and never touches the wad/shotcup. Pour the shot out into a cup, take a tiny set of pliers and grab a wad petal and it will pull right out with no damage. Then the powder, then the primer. Yes, I have salvaged and reused many hundreds of primers, maybe in the thousands.

Thanks for responding to my post Stan. I'll put my pocket knives against yours any day of the week, and then I will cut open 12 gauge hulls 3x faster with that tool than you will with your knife. Good grief, you need to critique every post. But at least you are reading them. Keep it up, you might learn something.

You are not cute, or a victim. If your opinion is any good, so is the next person's. If your knife is any good, it'll do its job, without you having to to be so defensive.

Thanks for chiming in craig. You are mighty cute too, in your role as Stan's puppy dog. Keep a barkin'...

Actually, you might notice, Buzz took exception to my opinion on hats. So apparently, my opinion is always a target. My knives are fine. But there are better tools. MUCH better tools.

Once you have actually used a pvc pipe cutter and a pocket knife for a few hundred shells. Let us know. 'til then, your opine pretty useless.

Bark on, boy!