I came across a pretty good stash of 16 Ga. 2 1/2" RST Hulls but have been frustrated trying to get a good reload on these. Have tried both roll crimps and star crimps; they are kind of light so they tend to collapse. I fill them with popped popcorn to get the right volume, then an over-shot card. To get a good seal, I use parafin. I have not chrono'd them yet. My production rate is low and it may well be that they take more time than it is worth. any thoughts? thanks, Gil

They’re Cheddite hulls….should load up just fine using a SG16 type wad. I don’t put hardly any wad pressure when seating the wad….as soon as the wad passes the wad guide fingers on the press….I drop the shot. Should crimp just fine after that. I load 3/4 Oz shells for target 16 gauge loads.
I find that you’ll probably get 5 to 7 reloads out of each hull before you gotta trash em.

DR16 wads are next to impossible to find.

Gauge: 16
Lead Shot 3/4
Manufacturer Powder Primer Wad Grs. Pressure Vel. (ft/s)
Hodgdon Internat'l Ched. 209 DR 16 15.3 5,700 PSI 1,100
Hodgdon Internat'l Ched. 209 DR 16 15.9 6,200 PSI 1,150
Hodgdon Internat'l Ched. 209 DR 16 16.6 6,700 PSI 1,200
Hodgdon Internat'l Nobel 209 DR 16 15.3 5,400 PSI 1,100
Hodgdon Internat'l Nobel 209 DR 16 16.2 6,000 PSI 1,150
Hodgdon Internat'l Nobel 209 DR 16 17 6,500 PSI 1,200
IMR PB Ched. 209 DR 16 16.1 5,400 PSI 1,100
IMR PB Ched. 209 DR 16 16.9 6,100 PSI 1,150
IMR PB Ched. 209 DR 16 17.7 6,600 PSI 1,200
IMR PB Nobel 209 DR 16 17.2 5,100 PSI 1,100
IMR PB Nobel 209 DR 16 18 5,600 PSI 1,150
IMR PB Nobel 209 DR 16 18.7 6,000 PSI 1,200

L to R
1 oz, 7/8 oz and 3/4 oz
IMR 7625 19.8 gr, BP/SPTG16, Cher 209...6400 psi, 1125fps

I don't know how much experience you have roll crimping or what type of crimper you have.

Once fired shells rarely roll crimp well unless you can cut away the star crip or iron out the roll crimp to look new.

I use a BPI crimper and warm it up on some throw away hulls and lube it with just a smidgen/dab (yes that is a unit of measure) of anti-seize lube . Start the crimp slowly and you can feel when the crimp starts to roll then move the crimper down a little quicker.

I like to have block of loaded rounds ready so the crimper doesn't cool between rounds.

Star crimping be sure you have the correct crimp starter in (6 or 8 point) and your machine adjusted correctly. I use a regular MEC 600 16ga with a short shell kit in it. Star crimping once fired roll crimped shells rarely works well unless you ironed out the roll crimp to look new.

Another question, this regarding the loader--a MEC 8567 Grabber. I tried getting the 3 crimping stations adjusted to handle the 2 1/2" RST's. I must have spent 2 hours fiddling with them (probably the first time I have needed to do that on any of the MEC loaders I use for the other gauges). I can say I didn't do very well. I think I have it back to where it was before but not even too sure about that.

I have done roll crimps by taking them out of the assembly line before they get to the crimping stations but am trying to avoid that. (Rolling them by hand and that worked fine.) So I am wondering if there is a better way to adjust the loader(using the crimping stations) to handle the shorter hulls and not doing the roll crimps. Thanks for the input! Gil

I've loaded hundreds of the 2 1/2 16 g RST Hulls. I use a Mec 600 jr setup for 10 g to de-prime and prime and load shot and powder using a Lee Load All for the shot and powder and finish by roll crimping use a drill press.

I think part of the problem may be your use of popped popcorn to get the right volume and when you go to roll crimp the popcorn deforms/compresses in an unpredictable manner.

I'd suggest a different wad and/or adding fiber wads and cards to get the right height. Otherwise try a different filler that is more predictable, such as grits, cream of wheat, etc

It sounds as though you're trying to remedy the crimp issue
from the top down instead of the bottom up.
Are you using the "Short Kit" ?
No fiddling necessary.

BPI has a vise too for about the same price if you decide to drill or drill press them too

Definitely get the BPI Vise if you use a drill press

If your handy a shell vise is easy to make.

I made this self opening and have leather bushings cut from an old belt (dab of contact cement to hold them in place) to go from 12ga to 16ga.

Update on my progress: OK, I made an executive decision. Since I have a fair number of the RST hulls, I decided to figure out a way to get decent reloads of at least one type of hull. I was tired of doing the roll crimp --some worked pretty well, some didn't-- and having to finish them with parafin just so they would be usable. When I decided the progressive MEC grabber could not be adjusted to accommodate the short hulls (and with the suggestion to use the Short Kit) I made several leather discs (just because it was easy to cut and I do alot of leather work) exactly 1/4" thick to take up the slack in the turret so the partially loaded shells would be tall enough to receive the final 3 stages of the crimp. It accomplishes the same thing as the Short Kit for a single stage loader.

So now the process is simplified: I run them through the first 3 stages/ deprime, reprime and powder drop, insert wad ,drop shot. Then transfer (one at a time) to a wooden block to hold them securely until I have 25-30 or so. Finally back through the final 3 stages.

It's probably not any faster than a single stage loader but then I don't have a single stage loader--yet. Maybe I'll try to find one.

Anyway, thanks to all who have participated. Gil

Why would you have to finish roll crimped rounds with paraffin/wax to make them useable? I load a lot of roll crimped rounds in 16ga and 12ga and have never saw a need to paraffin/wax the crimps any more than a need to paraffin/wax star crimps.

The Lee Load-All will crimp 2 1/2". The caveat is a once fired hull cannot be shorter than 2 1/2". I use a 3/16" spacer on the crimp starter station, but a spacer is not required on the crimp finish.

My 16's are all modern era 2 3/4", but since hulls like Winchester AAs are scarce trimming the last 1/8" off a worn hull mouth allows a few more reloads of the precious things. FYI AAs are the compression formed hull and typically shrink to about 2 5/8" once fired.