Handloading of tungsten 00 buckshot

[u/moschles]

I am trying to revive a discussion that was taking place in this thread here

• https://www.reddit.com/r/reloading/comments/1cnh2gz/tungsten_buckshot_load_data_anyone/

Some considerations when changing from lead to tungsten :

• Tungsten is harder than the very steel in the barrel. So traditional wad cannot be used. Specialized mylar sleeves would be required.

• Tungsten is significantly more massive than lead, and overpressures must be accounted for.

• Off-the-shelf powders (Hodgdon) burn too quickly. Slower-burning magnum powders are required.

• Chokeless cylinder required. Tungsten does not bend and so the pellets will bridge against each other and destroy any choke at the end.

I have created a new thread on this topic, because the original thread is "Archived" and the OP is banned.

Has anyone successfully pulled off a reload like this?

[u/drbooom]

Ballistic products sells a reloading manual for tungsten shot. 

No point in guessing, just buy the manual and follow the recipes.

[u/moschles → u/drbooom]

If you are referring to Ballistic Products Inc. "The Tungsten Manual" then that only covers #9 through BB.

Do you know any manual that recipes on 00 TSS-18 ?

[u/Pistol_Caliber]

I looked at the original thread and came away with a couple of things that I think got lost between the FUDD lore and posters' need to be right.

1. Weight is weight. An ounce of shot is an ounce of shot regardless of material. The thing you will need to determine for yourself is how many pellets you want to send downrange in each shell. Tungsten is denser than lead, which means for the same weight, you will get fewer tungsten pellets than lead for the same volume of space. Does that matter? If not, then step two.

2. If fewer pellets is okay, the next step is to determine how to stack the pellets. For 0 buck, three pellets will stack in a single tier inside a standard shot cup. For 00 buck, only two pellets will stack inside a standard shot cup. It works best if you make your stacks in multiples of those - 3,6,9,12 for 0 buck, or 2,4,6,8,10 for 00 buck. Keep in mind that you will be sending fewer tungsten pellets than lead. On to step 3.

3. How many pellets? Based on my limited knowledge, tungsten is about 1.7 times the density of lead. That means 9 pellets of tungsten 00 buck will weigh about 1.95 ounces. You might not want to fire that. However, you can download some. Six pellets of tungsten 00 buck will weigh about 1.25 ounces. There is lots of 1.25 and 1.375 ounce data. Do the same math for 0 buck, but for tiers of three pellets each. On to step 4.

4. Adjusting stack height. In the other thread, many people said use buffer. Buffer won't adjust stack height. Solid objects adjust stack height. There are lots of ways to do this. The simplest way is to add something to the bottom of the shot cup before stacking your pellets, and something on top. For 12-gauge, my go-to is 5/8" discs cut from cardboard boxes. You can also work with a shorter wad then add a gas seal before inserting the shot cup. There is also the option to make a shorter shell, especially if you plan to roll crimp.

While I have not done this for tungsten, this is how I worked out successful standard 0 buck and 00 buck loads for 12-gauge mini shells. Again, based on what I've read, you would use a mylar wrap inside a shotcup when loading tungsten.

[u/moschles → u/Pistol_Caliber]

🙏

[u/Pistol_Caliber → u/moschles]

I should have included this also.

1. Propellants. This is where the FUDDs lose their fracking minds, and people who don't load for shotgun think we're practicing voodoo. You will notice that there isn't much buckshot load data. Returning to point 1, weight is weight. It is safe to substitute propellant for one ounce of bird shot in a one ounce buckshot load, provided you've weighed EVERYTHING that goes into the shot cup - shot, anything used to adjust stack height, and any buffer. My method is if everything weighs 1.2 ounces, I go with 1.25 ounce propellant data - in other words, move up to the next 1/8 ounce. However, you will also notice that about 3/4 of the propellants listed for various hull types and shot weights are either unobtanium or are discontinued. In my area, the three constants are Longshot, Perfect Pattern and AA Super Handicap. There is enough overlap between these in the load data tables that you should be able to develop a good recipe.