Important update. I am finding some discrepancies when using the buckshot from the Lee 18 cavity mold with the data from the Lyman Shotshell Handbook.
I set out to load some shells and noticed the payload seemed to be taking up too much room in the hull. This was confirmed at the crimping station when the final crimp looked like crap and the shell swelled up some. I took them apart and measured the pellets, as that is the only component I am substituting in the load recipe. I am simply substituting factory made 00 buck for my own hand cast 00 Buck, all the rest of the components are to the tee. Well I took a measurement at .345. Too big…..so I started taking a ton of measurements, turns out I am averaging .34 caliber on my pellets….and with the 10 pellet load data it is taking up too much room for a good crimp. So I started thinking, probably heavier then it is supposed to be…..yup, over 1 1/8 oz . Long story short I am going to shoot the couple I made for testing. It is not over by much and the powder load is not pushing the limit so I’ll accept the risk.
I also weighed 8 pellets and they were 1 oz. So I made a few 8 pellet loads. I used the same recipe but went with the 8 pellet, 1 oz load. This should be safe and just add FPS.
Other observations, I made one shell out of some pellets I salvaged from the Flight Control ammo I took apart. Those “00 buck” pellets measured at .31 caliber and made a perfect 10 pellet load using the same recipe I have been working with ….
I’ll post some results as I get time to go shoot them