A good friend recently asked me about American trap clay target loads that work, no matter what. Manufacturers have made a science out of creating clay target loads that pattern very well. These loads toss a traditional payload of 1-1/8 ounce shot and come to market in three versions: Light (~1145 fps), Heavy (~1200 fps) and Handicap (~1235 to 1255 fps). For now, we're going to concentrate on the Light load. We'll talk about the other two loads in future articles. Traditional shot size for these loads are 7-1/2's or 8's.
My friend understands this very well but wanted to "roll his own" target shells and was adamant about "no matter what." Those words made me wince a bit and the reason for this reaction is simple. In order for target loads to really shine, we have to assume the following:
Shotgun Fit
You'll shoot well if the shotgun you're using fits you properly and, due to proper fit, it shoots where you're looking. May sound strange to a few folks; bottom line, we don't use rifle-style sights on our target shotguns, we don't aim and we don't try to hold still to shoot. Doing any of these things will absolutely crater your clay target experience. If you're not sure whether your shotgun properly fits you, hunt down a professional shotgun gunsmith / stock maker and find out. Adjustments / modifications can be made that will make a huge difference in your scores.
Barrel Choke
In this article we won't be discussing threaded choke tubes or fixed choke barrels in detail. This is a subject for another time. We're going to assume that you've worked out which choke constrictions work best for your style of shooting. For American Trap, probably a Modified, Improved Modified, Light Full or Full choke. Fair enough? OK.
Shotshell Loaders
Before we get into loads, let's talk very briefly about shotshell loaders. If you're an occasional trap, skeet or sporting clays shooter, you can do very well with a relatively inexpensive, single-stage loader like the RCBS Mini Grand, MEC 600 Jr or Ponsness-Warren 375C Du-O-Matic. If you're a hardcore clay target fan and have decided to "roll your own" in large quantities, you already have or are in the process of procuring a top of-the-line progressive loader. If not, check out the progressives available from RCBS, MEC, Ponsness-Warren and others. Before you start throwing shot and powder charges with your loader, be sure to double check the amount dropped through the recommended shot and powder bushings with a reloading scale.
Exemplars
When you fabricate your own target shotshells, they'll need to function properly and reliably. Stick with tried and true recipes. Also, be sure to set your loader to seat the payload correctly and to crimp the shell to match the height and crimp depth based on factory target shells.
Hulls
When it comes to hulls, each shooter has their own preferences. Sometimes this preference is based on competition experience. Other times its based on superstition similar to carrying a rabbits foot. Federal Gold Medal, Remington STS and Winchester AA HS (High Strength) hulls aren't sold to the reloader. You have to shoot factory ammo to build your hull supply. Can't buy them new, darn it! Regardless of how you select them, here are how hulls from the Big Three stand up to repeated reloading:
The Federal GM (Gold Medal) plastic hulls are maroon in color and very sturdy. It's not unusual to get 6+ reloads from this hull. Be advised that the Federal GM has gone through at least 3 variations in plastic structure. The older "ribbed" hulls are great. The middle aged "smooth" hulls have a tendency to lengthen and "toenail" (i.e., one side grows faster than the other and wants to curl inward). This causes a shorter useable life span. The newer "light ribbed" hulls are similar to the older "ribbed" hulls and last a long time.
Some shooters would rather use the venerated Federal GM paper hull. I get it. Doesn't get much more "old school" than that!!! A great, low recoil hull but they have a tendency to pin hole (burn through) at the crimp and the body after 1 to 2 reloads. Not my cup of tea.
Remington STS (green) and Nitro 27 (gold) wear like iron. It is not unusual to get 9+ and 11+ reloads respectively.
Winchester AA HS Light (red) and HS Super Handicap (grey) hulls usually last 4-5 and 6-7 reloads respectively. If you happen to have a hoard of the old-style Winchester AA compression hulls, they last even longer than the new AA HS hulls. However, they are getting scarce so we'll stick with the AA HS hulls. The AA HS and old-style compression hulls have the same internal case capacity so load data from one translates to the other.
Lead Shot
By the way, we're using hard "magnum" lead shot and not soft "chilled" lead shot. Difference between the two is the percentage of antimony added during the fabrication process. Magnum shot runs 4 - 6% while chilled shot averages 2%. Both West Coast and Lawrence magnum shot are available to the reloader. Be leery of reclaimed shot unless its provided by a company like Northwest. Northwest melts down their shot (mined from gun club grounds), clears impurities, checks the antimony level and re-drops the lead shot. Smart way to do it.
Primers
For the most part, we're going to use original equipment primers matched up with their respective manufacturer's hulls. Makes sense. These primers were designed to match the hulls. When we get into the "handloading" side of shotshell reloads you'll notice some swapping. This was not done willy-nilly. Proven loads with solid and safe ballistics. If in doubt, use loads with the primer originally designed for your hull. You can't go wrong with that approach.
Wads
Original factory wads are available to the reloader. We'll be using the Federal 12S3, Remington Figure 8, Remington RXP, Remington TGT-12, Winchester WAA12 or Windjammer WJI-12118. Replacement "duplicate or clone" wads are also available. In fact, there are so many of these replacement wads out there from so many different manufacturers that you can literally get lost among them! I prefer to use Claybuster wads as you'll note in the load data below.
Federal 12S3 - Claybuster CB2118-12
Remington Figure 8 - Claybuster CB8118-12 or CB3118-12A
Remington RXP - No clone available.
Remington TGT-12 Wad - Claybuster CB8100-12
Winchester AA12 - Claybuster CB1118-12
Windjammer WJI-12118 - Claybuster CB4118-12B
Load Data
The load data that follows will make clay target crunching easier due to tried and true ballistic uniformity and shot pattern performance. Even though they may be "old school," the components are still out there to be found and utilized. Here we go, Folks!
Note: The following loads use hard (magnum) 8 or 7-1/2 shot. If concentrating on Skeet, I'd use hard (magnum) 8-1/2 or 9 shot.
Factory Equivalent Loads
Some folks just want to duplicate factory loads. Not a thing wrong with that concept but, in some instances, difficult to accomplish. While Federal, Remington and Winchester provide a few basic components (i.e., wads and primers) to the reloader, only Winchester sells the same powder used in their factory shells. Winchester's load data also provides the powder charge required to match their factory shells. Federal and Remington won't share what powder and powder charge they use because its proprietary. It takes perseverance and a lot of digging to get close but it can be done.
Federal
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
18.0 grains of Alliant Red Dot or 19.5 grains of Alliant Green Dot
Federal 12S3 Wad
Federal Gold Medal 2-3/4" Plastic Target Hull
Federal 209A Primer
Remington
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
16.5 grains of Alliant E3 or 18.0 grains of Alliant Red Dot
Remington Figure 8 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P Primer
Winchester
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
18.5 grains of Winchester Super Target
Winchester WAA12 Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
Other 1-1/8 ounce light target "handloads" that have worked extremely well are:
Federal Hulls
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
17.0 grains of Hodgdon (formerly IMR) Hi-Skor 700-X
Federal 12S3 Wad
Federal Gold Medal 2-3/4" Plastic Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
16.5 grains of Hodgdon (formerly IMR) Hi-Skor 700-X
Federal 12S3 Wad
Federal Gold Medal 2-3/4" Plastic Target Hull
Remington 209P Primer
Remington Hulls
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
17.0 grains of Hodgdon (formerly IMR) Hi-Skor 700-X
Remington Figure 8 or RXP-12 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
17.0 grains of Alliant Red Dot
Remington Figure 8 or RXP-12 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
19.0 grains of Alliant Green Dot
Remington Figure 8, TGT-12 or RXP-12 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
18.0 grains of Alliant Red Dot
Remington Figure 8 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
Winchester Hulls
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
19.0 grains of Winchester Super Target
Remington Figure 8 Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
19.0 grains of Winchester Super Target
Remington Figure 8 or RXP-12 Wad
Remington STS 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
17.0 grains of Hodgdon Clays or 17.0 grains of Alliant Clay Dot
Remington Figure 8 Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 7-1/2 or 8 shot
19.5 grains of Alliant Green Dot
Winchester WAA12 Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Winchester 209 Primer
Windjammer Wads
A very good friend and hard core trapper by the name of Len Van Dover turned me on to Windjammer wads 16+ years ago. When it comes to 16 yard trap, skeet or close range sporting clays targets and a shot charge of 1-1/8 ounce, these loads are hard to beat. Patterns are fantastic and very forgiving if you are close but not quite center target on a particular day.
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 8 or 8-1/2 shot
18.5 grains of Hodgdon International Clays
Windjammer 1-1/8 ounce Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P or Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 8 or 8-1/2 shot
19.5 grains of Winchester Super Target
Windjammer 1-1/8 ounce Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P or Winchester 209 Primer
1-1/8 oz of hard (magnum) 8 or 8-1/2 shot
18.0 grains of Alliant Green Dot
Windjammer 1-1/8 ounce Wad
Winchester AA 2-3/4" Target Hull
Remington 209P or Winchester 209 Primer
Note: Windjammer-style wads are different from most other target wads. They have 8 shotcup petals vs. the traditional 4 shotcup petals (like Federal, Remington and Winchester). Windjammers throw a very nice pattern, especially at the 16 yard line with 8 or 8-1/2 shot, but they do call for a bit of finesse when loading. Depending on the brand and type of loader you're using, you may need to change the shot drop tube to one of a smaller diameter and/or different length to prevent one or more of the 8 shotcup petals from collapsing inward with the shot charge. Keep a weathered eyed for folded over petals. Doing so will help slow down the chasing of loose shot on your machine, work table and floor. Been there, done that!!!
By the way, I highly recommend setting up your shotshell loader in an area void of carpeting. If you’ve ever tried to vacuum up spilled shot, you’ll understand completely. Vacuuming spilled powder is a recipe for disaster, regardless of carpeting or not. If you want a fast trip to the hospital or, if you’re damned lucky, the opportunity to buy the lady of the house a new vacuum be my guest. Bottom line: don’t do it!!! Also, carpeting creates static electricity which is a bad deal when you are trying to throw consistent powder charges.
Next time, we'll take a look at 1-1/8 ounce "heavy" target loads (~1200 fps).
Folks, one or more of the loads referenced above will provide consistent, reliable and clay target crunching ammunition for your shotgun. Have fun and break 'em all!
Time to make the lawyers happy.
Disclaimer: Since I have no control over variations in components, reloading tools or reloader's procedures, the individual is solely responsible for any changes in ballistics that may occur using this data. Users assume all risk, responsibility and liability whatsoever for any and all injuries (including death), losses or damages to persons or property (including consequential damages), arising from the use of any product or data. I do not assume any liability in conjunction with the use of any product or data.