Short shells?

[Vic]

Anybody reload the short shotshell the 1 3/4 inch 12 ga? If so any help out there ? Thanks. Vic

[Synchronizor]

Never tried reloading the 1.75" shells. I'm sure you could do it, but good luck finding load data for those ultra-light payloads and proprietary hulls. If you want some shortys for novelty value, Hodgdon has data for domestic target shells cut down to 2.5" and 2" on their website. You'd need a stand-alone crimp tool, and some of the loads call for unusual wads, but hulls will be much easier to find, and payloads are more in-line with what you'd expect from a 12ga. 870s and other repeaters can have a tough time cycling shells with crimped lengths shorter than 2" or so though, so those 2" loads may not be good for much besides recreation.

If you're just after low recoil, I really love 3/4 of an ounce of shot in a standard 12ga 2.75" target shell, using Claybuster's CB0175-12 wad (or the interchangeable CB0178-12 with larger shot sizes), with a thin card over the shot to give a nice flat crimp. Inexpensive, functions perfectly, kicks like a kitten, and there's plenty of load data from Claybuster & Hodgdon for popular target hulls & powders.

[cjg]

If you haven't tried roll crimping, do it. I do it on all my buckshot loads now and my TSS turkey loads and did it on some slugs I molded and reloaded.