20 ga Spherotungsten load question

gnorris74

Spike
Load#180711-10712 SpheroTungsten-15

HULL: FIOCCHI 20-gauge 2.75”

PRIMER: FIO616

PROPELLANT: Hodgdon Lil’ Gun 34.0 gr.

WAD: TPS20 2.75" + (2 ) 14C28 ¼” filler wads or (1) FC28 soft fiber wad

SHOT: 1-1/8 oz. (492 gr.) #7 SpheroTungsten-15 shot

FOLD CRIMP: 6 or 8 point

Results: 9085 PSI 1305 FPS

Here’s the load I am planning on rolling in the coming days. This shot is essentially Federals Heavy Weight shot, 15 g/cc in density #7 shot. Couple of questions about it for those with more experience than my green self.

1. How many slits and how deep am I making in the wad?
2. What kind of choke should I be looking to use with this load?
 

gnorris74

Spike
Figuring on waterfowl after seeing all the results of hw13, hw15, and tss. I am aware of the differing density’s and the results that are provided by such. I am a little nervous about the size of shot though.
 

lasttombstone

Kinder, Gentler LTS
I know nothing about loading shot shell. Just interested in about anything. Good luck with your loads. I'm sure someone with knowledge will come along soon and help you out.
 

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
Where are you getting this info?? The reason I ask is that it's using some not readily available components and the pressure is low for a 1 & 1/8th oz load.... just curious....
 

41magnum

Twelve Pointer
BPI has been good for us for decades.
Personally, I load 6's & 5's for ducks....5's in 20 ga and 6's in 12 ga.
For geese I go to 2's and 4's.
(old school lead sizes, even tho today its steel shot)
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
I order most all my components from BPI too but you need to be prudent about using some of their recipes. Your first clue is when you can’t get all the components in a hull the recipe calls for. But it’s the consensus of most is their data is not reliable. There are a bunch of guys on the “other” sites that will share reliable and tested recipes with you if you ask.
 

Bailey Boat

Twelve Pointer
I'm always leery of shot shell recipes unless they come from a manual and can be attributed to someone. Bear in mind that a shotgun is the weakest firearm we shoot...
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
. I am a little nervous about the size of shot though.

I load 1oz 9-1/2’s of 18g tss for ducks in my 28 gauge. It will absolutely wreck a duck OR a goose.

Can’t really help you on wad splitting because I’ve never had a recipe that called for it.
As far as the choke, go ahead and accept the fact that 3, 4 or 5 shells are going to be used patterning. Pattern the shot with every choke you have. For me running my loads, a light modified is as tight as I want to go as far as wing shooting is concerned. Anything tighter than that is like shooting a softball at a flying bird inside 30 yards. I consider myself an above average wing shooter but but I also like to eat what I shoot. ??

I’d feel confident in BPI’s load data. They know their :donk:donk:donk:donk and wouldn’t be posting the data without thorough testing.
I’ll also add that I’ve reloaded a ton of shells. I’ll mix wads and primers all the time when loading target loads, but when it comes to loading tss, I follow the recipe exactly.

If you want to step it up to 18g TSS. You have an invaluable resource on this forum in terms of acquiring shot and recipes. He goes by “hawglips” on here.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
I'm always leery of shot shell recipes unless they come from a manual and can be attributed to someone. Bear in mind that a shotgun is the weakest firearm we shoot...

I don’t mind that they aren’t published in a “manual” just so long that the person sharing a recipe with me has had the load sent off and TESTED by a qualified source and I’m familiar with that person. There are some outstanding shotshell reloaders on Refuge Forum, Duck Hunting Chat, Shotgun World, etc. that I’ve known for well over a decade. These guys, like Hal “Hawglips” are the real deal when it comes to tried, tested and proven recipes. Now, they usually don’t willie nillie post them on the forums for all to see (liability concerns) but will send them privately if you ask them. These are the guys I trust because I know for a fact their load data is perfectly safe provided you follow the exact recipe. As for changing out wads and primers, no problem so long as you know what you’re doing. Some primers are “hotter” than others ( Fed209 vs. W209) and some wads create more pressure than others TPS vs. SAM1). Lots of times you can cross reference known data to come up with your own wildcat load. But it’s very important you know (or someone else knows) just what the heck your doing.

Dark-thirty, I don’t know what the hell they do at BPI as far as testing but I can tell you they are a very unreliable load data source. Ask or search any of those forums for their thoughts on them. Heck, they even had their first HeviShot manual literally abandoned because the data simply didn’t work. And since you shoot 28ga., I’ll send you their HW13 #6 shot recipes AND all the components (less the powder) for you to construct. If you can get it to fit or even come close to getting it to fit, I’ll eat all the crow you can throw at me. ? and it’s just not that one, it’s many as others will tell you. Wish I had confidence in them but obviously I don’t. Lyman Vol 5, yes.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
Dark-thirty, I don’t know what the hell they do at BPI as far as testing but I can tell you they are a very unreliable load data source. Ask or search any of those forums for their thoughts on them. Heck, they even had their first HeviShot manual literally abandoned because the data simply didn’t work. And since you shoot 28ga., I’ll send you their HW13 #6 shot recipes AND all the components (less the powder) for you to construct. If you can get it to fit or even come close to getting it to fit, I’ll eat all the crow you can throw at me. ? and it’s just not that one, it’s many as others will tell you. Wish I had confidence in them but obviously I don’t. Lyman Vol 5, yes.

Hey I ain’t never one to turn down a challenge. As long as Ive gotenough hull left to roll it over the card, I’ll try it. ???

Back when I had my knee surgery and was doing nothing but sitting all day for 3 months, I reloaded hundreds upon hundreds of specialty loads. I loaded a bunch of bpi stuff from their manuals. This is really the only “forum” I go to other than FB so I’m not familiar with the negativity. Not disagreeing with you, just saying based on my personal experiences loading many of BPI’s published loads, I have never had a problem whatsoever. I bought several manuals from them like the Dove magic and the subgauge manuals. I never once had a single issue and patterning was nice as well. I’d load 3-5 shells then hobble my one legged ass to my side by side and ride to patterning board and shoot the loads. If I like them, I’d go back and load up a few boxes. That was also the case with 20 gauge.
I load all that stuff by hand. I leave my MEC set up for target loads.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
“As long as I got enough hull left to roll it over”....Hahaha, spoken like a true reloader! ?

Yeah, I’m not saying all their loads don’t fit or live up to their published
offerings, but many of their non-tox loads don’t. Most seem to deal with incorrect amounts of fillers that allow for the right fit. Sometimes it’s not even close so you scratch your head and ask just how in the world could they have come up with that load ...

I’m with ya on their lead/target recipies, the ones I’ve used for the 28 and 12 have run well thru the MEC and produce good results. Like you said, load them up and go to the patterning board to see what you got. I’m always amazed how few hunters take the time to pattern their guns. They could learn a lot from doing so.
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
As for the OP questions since I got side tracked ...

The amount/length of slits to the wad is kind of a personal preference. I like 4 slits almost all the way to the bottom of the shot cup. I want the wad to open as much as possible when using steel and heavy pellets because they by nature tend to pattern tightly. I can’t say for sure how much difference it makes by cutting only 2 slits or maybe not as far down the wad simply because I’ve not tested them, but one would think the patterns might be tighter because the pellets are held together a little longer once they exit the barrel.

As for your choke choice. Again, that’s a personal preference but that HW15 is going to pattern tightly so I’d start out with a cylinder or skeet choke and work up from there. You really need to put it on paper before hitting the field. Good luck with it.
 

darkthirty

Old Mossy Horns
“As long as I got enough hull left to roll it over”....Hahaha, spoken like a true reloader! ?

Yeah, I’m not saying all their loads don’t fit or live up to their published
offerings, but many of their non-tox loads don’t. Most seem to deal with incorrect amounts of fillers that allow for the right fit. Sometimes it’s not even close so you scratch your head and ask just how in the world could they have come up with that load ...

I’m with ya on their lead/target recipies, the ones I’ve used for the 28 and 12 have run well thru the MEC and produce good results. Like you said, load them up and go to the patterning board to see what you got. I’m always amazed how few hunters take the time to pattern their guns. They could learn a lot from doing so.


The only non tox stuff I load is tss and I the only person I’ve used is Hal and his data. Since I’ve had nothing less than stellar performance and results by following his data, I see no reason to change course!!!!
 

shurshot

Ten Pointer
Hal is the man, no doubt. I would like to use some TSS but my pockets aren’t deep enough. I’ve still got about 10 lbs of HW13 and 20 of Hevi Shot #5’s to use up first, then I might look at it then. I know it’s the real deal for sure!
 
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