Reloading for Shotgunners. Rick Sapp

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       Everyone who shoots experiences recoil. The first place to begin taming the recoil of a shotgun is probably a good-quality shooting vest with a padded shoulder patch. Relatively inexpensive, the vest is virtually mandatory for carrying extra shells and utility items for a day of shooting.

      Some shooting sports writers make a big deal about every shotgun being unique. Oh yeah? Take your 12-gauge Remington 1100 Sporting 12 gas gun with a 28-inch barrel and full choke. Unless you have modified it, unless it is damaged or has become excessively dirty, the difference between the way it shoots and patterns and the way any other current model 12-gauge Remington 1100 Sporting 12 gas gun with a 28-inch barrel and full choke shoots and patterns will be negligible. Where meaningful differences arise is with similar shotguns with different chokes or different length barrels or, of course, with different gauges. Then time at the patterning board will teach you about your specific gun and the loads it shoots best.

      Having a reloading station at home can help you overcome the recoil dilemma, too. Recoil is a serious issue among shotgunners, from professionals to novices. All shooters, regardless of their weapon, are sensitive to and are eventually affected by recoil. It is only a matter of time before you must deal with it because recoil causes flinching, sometimes called “target panic,” and flinching causes you to miss what you are shooting at, whether it is a clay disk or a grouse thundering out of the quakies.

      Recoil is a special problem for shooters whose body types are not heavy and muscular. Recoil is punishing. You can remove your conscious mind from the physical effects of a shot if you try, but your body remembers … and compensates. Older shooters and many younger shooters, especially those with slender physiques, are especially sensitive to recoil. A padded vest, a thick buttstock, a cushioned comb and perhaps even shooting with gloves will help.

      Reloading can help tame recoil and blast by letting you find shell recipes that will accomplish your objectives with lighter or different types of loads. Many shotgunners discover that lighter loads accomplish the same killing results on birds or clays as the standard heavy loads, and that lighter loads punish their body less. As a build-your-own specialist, you can create literally dozens of loads, experimenting with different primer, powder and wad types, and different weights (and sizes) of shot, from powerful 1-3/4-ounce loads down to the relatively small (for the 12-gauge) 7/8-ounce. Reloading gives you the opportunity to experiment with a few shells in many sizes, rather than searching for a complete box of any one particular load recipe. You can try before you buy!

      Here is the commercial way to accomplish that same result. Estate Cartridge (by Federal) produces a Super Sport Target (SS12XH) 12-gauge, 2-3/4-inch shell with 1-1/8-ounce of “extra-hard” #7-1/2, #8 or #9 shot. With what Estate calls its “max” dram equivalent of powder, firing this relatively standard shell will almost certainly give your shoulder a very solid, although not damaging, blow when you pull the trigger. After a box or two, you are increasingly going to notice that bump.

      But shotshell manufacturers like Estate have become increasingly aware that gunners require relief from blast and recoil. Consequently, Estate offers a comparable shell in a Competition Target and Flyer – Mighty Light Load (ML12). This recipe uses the same 2-3/4-inch shell and achieves the same 1,250 fps shot velocity with only 7/8-ounce of “magnum” shot, a full quarter-ounce reduction, and a reduction in powder charge. This lighter load is going to prove much easier on your ears and your shoulder. Because you will anticipate and flinch less, you will score more. It is a fact.

      Reloading lets you make this kind of reduction on your own. By letting you fiddle and tinker with components, you can find just the right recipe for the task at hand.

       THE INTANGIBLES

      Reloading shotshells puts you in touch with an exotic hobby and thousands of others who share it. For some practitioners, reloading is merely a means to an end, only the simple act of creating shootable shells.

      For others, reloading (and patterning) become a quiet passion. It deepens their interest in all facets of shotgunning; involves them in a wider community of shared interest; and promotes an understanding of and ability to negotiate an interesting and unusual technical field. The path to reloading shotshells becomes a path of deepening commitment to shooting, like archers cresting arrows. Hunters find themselves shooting a little trap and skeet, while sporting clays enthusiasts begin tinkering with and patterning turkey loads … just for fun of course … they have not bought a license … yet!