If I take a published and tested load using nitro powder, plastic wad and a fold crimp and modify by substituting a card and fiber wad column the pressure and velocity will be less due to the sealing of gasses resulting from the card and fiber fillers? I am looking to load some paper card and fiber 2.5 inch loads.

Bring me a rock, NO, that is the wrong rock.

What you say is normally correct, but Murphy lives in the reloading world.

What powder, hull, primer, wads column, shot weight, and crimp are you wanting to use.

Mike (used to live in Whitewater)

You understand correctly.

Plastic wads vary considerably in their gas sealing ability too.

Base hull is a once fired Federal paper with primer powder plastic wad just substituting card and fiber to finish the load.

Would anyone know which early Lyman Shot Shell manuals have data for paper hull card and fiber loads?

I used to load a lot of Federal paper hulls in the late 60s, using a Lyman EasyLoader and a Lyman manual. Recipe used fiber wads, but I don't remember anything except Federal paper and Red Dot. Manual was probably circa 1966. Might find one on eBay.

When I began reloading in the 1960s the dominant trap load was a Federal paper hull, Federal Primer, 23 grains of Red Dot, a nitro card, two Felton Blue Streaks and 1 1/8 ounce of shot. Then along came the little PGS (Plastic Gas Seal) from Alcan to replace the nitro card and we could drop the powder charge to 19 grains for our same 1200 fps.

Looking through some of my Father's old loading manuals --

Ideal Handbook No. 38 (1951) gives load information on page 165 for DuPont Bulk, DuPont M.X. and Hercules Red Dot.

Ideal Handbook No. 40 (1955) gives load information on page 131 for AL7, AL5, Super M Ballistite, Acapnia, Nike, M-B, Red Dot and Herco.

Volume 1 of Reloading Information from The American Rifleman (1953) gives load data for Red Dot, DuPont Oval, Hercules Herco, Hercules Infallible and DuPont M.X. A lot of their load look pretty hot to me.

Just last week in another thread I posted an Ebay link to Lyman Ideal reloading manual #39 (1953) It has load recipes for mostly obsolete powders with only Red Dot being current. One of the Balliste powders was also listed. The manual was done at a time when the Alcan gas seal (plastic) was introduced but not the full wad. Where the value lies with the manual is fiber wad and NC loading technique. Search under my posts if you want the link. Seller had multiple copies. I bought from him last year. Gil

Maybe, but the M12 Trap guns could take it-and keep on truckin' When I shot Trap, I used Champion paper 1&1/8th oz. No 7&1/2 shot- never reloaded paper hulls. RWTF

REMEMBER all, he is asking about 2 1/2 inch ammo.