They look like outstanding loads mate...very tight. I like the nice neat layering of the shot in the hull...almost like you have individually placed each piece by hand.

Out of curiosity, what is the MEC press model you are using mate? I added an adjustable charge bar to my press...gave me a bit more versatility to adjust loads as I rather like a 26 gram payload for shooting clays. I don’t hunt ducks mainly because we aren’t allowed to in our State courtesy of the greenie tree hugging snowflakes.

Thank you Vince!

My Mec is a "Sizemaster"...

All of my 12 ga. loads are specialty loads, and all loaded one at a time, so I don't bother with using a charge bar. I have a new in the box universal charge bar, but I'll be danged if I can find it! Oh well...

An extra wrap inside the wad to protect the barrel... why didn't I think on this?
Do you sometimes clean your barrel with white spirit or some other stuff to wipe out plastic that builds up? What kind of wrap do you use, this plastic map one put papers in?
And for you some things might sound common, even I understand a "UFO", but what's "UFO choke"? A choke to kill drones?

Here I'm, an old man that even hunted for 2 years with cartridges loaded with black powder and now you make me feel that I don't know anything about reloading shotshells... but as with your new or rebuild rifles you seem to attrack attention enough to go where I didn't go before...

really interesting wads....they have a cusion just like the old lead ones...the steel ones we can get are basically cups... I tried different amounts of slits and from memory settled on 3 just cause.... with your stacked loads your remove a step I do...counting pellets....easy to do in an old primer tray. I must get kit back out one day and load up some more 1oz loads...just been out and bought a 15hp motor for the dingy to replace our old 6hp...... geese dont have any protection over here anymore sadly...but it does mean I can shoot them all year around with whatever I like...the ones where we shoot KNOW my boat and its motor sound as we have shot one or 20 out of it over the years...the huas wont be able to fly faster than we can motor now so interesting times ahead........cant see me being game to repeat what I did opening day with bigger motor......full throttle (26kmph)at a mob flying across front and went hands free to shoot..the new donk should get us up to closer to 40.......fun times.

and YES that is a great pattern. we have an old rule that no load bigger/more grunty than a lead #BB may be used and no maimai /stand placed closer than 90 yards from another without permission........ think about that one for a moment...... rule is there to stop guys fatally shooting each other....I would argue the new steel BBs particularly the likes of hypersteel (ouch my shoulder hurts just typeing that) going 1700fps would be nudging that energy level and some of the heavi shot type loads possibly exceed it.
those sheels look awesome...now the ones you reject because of slight imperfections to crimp etc...... surely one of your mates uses an u/o or SxS..... no worries for them..which is where/how I use all my reloaded shells.

Elvis - I hope you new motor works out good for you. Should be a big performance boost to go from a 6 hp. up to a 15 hp. Good for you!

You guys can shoot geese year round?!?! I hope there's plenty to go around...

Very good idea on your 90 yard stand placement, and very smart! I hunt by myself or my wife goes with me, and I definitely would not want to be around any other hunters. Too many things to go wrong, and just too many "stupid" people out there that have no common sense!

I have shot a couple of those Remington Hyper Sonic loads and gave the rest away. Very dangerous shell in my opinion...

Good luck with your new motor and your future bird hunts...

I’ve never considered loading steel shot for a couple of reasons...I can cast #7.5 lead alloy shot, among others, easy enough and at this time I don’t have a need for steel shot...but no doubt that is coming.

Your chokes David...are they “steel specific” mate, or are they just one of the many quality brands out there? I’m just wondering if they would be useful for lead shot shooting Sporting Clays if they are available for my Miroku Mk11 O/U. Might have to do a check of some websites.

I load steel shot because of Federal Regulations, since I hunt waterfowl, and I'm not about to pay those stupid high prices for the non-toxic alternatives!

These particular choke tube are designed specifically for steel shot...

Here is a link to where I ordered my choke tubes from:

mullerchokes.com/pages/home

Jimmy Muller makes choke tubes specifically for trap and skeet guns, long range lead loads, etc.. You can buy them, try them out and if you don't like them, Muller will either exchange them or send you you're money back. They are on the expensive side, but the money back guarantee made them a worthwhile option for me, plus they were the best patterning choke tubes I have used for steel shot...

For most "lead" loads though, I prefer Hastings extended choke tubes. For crow, coyote and turkey, where shotgun shots are long and tight patterns needed, Hastings extended tubes are really hard to beat. I have tried over 62 different choke tubes from various manufacturers, looking for the best patterns from my guns for their intended use, and Muller and Hastings have been the best "for me"...

Thanks mate...I’ll check them both out. The “go to” chokes over here in Oz are usually Briley’s offerings.

from what I can see the steel chokes are longer and more gradual and to start with were about 2 degrees of choke more open.......now you can get chokes almost as full/tight as the old lead ones were they are just longer....the other thing they have done is moved the constriction OUTSIDE the barrel/past the muzzle so if it does turn to custard and shot "bridge" and bulge the choke it is less likely to jam in place or stuff barrel itself...my pump came with 2xmodified chokes...both read same on a choke guage but one is internal (lead only) the other sticks out 2" past muzzle and that one pretty much lives in shottie unless Im jump shooting when I put in old school winchoke which is 1/4 choked.....both work well....not sure if the ported chokes are much more than a gimmick.....if they were ported only on top it would reduce barrel flip but as it is they look like "loudeners" to me.

Your welcome Vince! Briley make some very good choke tubes too...


Elvis -I think it far better to have the choke tube constriction outside and past the barrels muzzle, especially if shooting the larger sizes of steel shot. This way you prevent damage to the barrel, and permanently swage a useless choke tube in it...

You're right about the ported choke tubes, they are nothing more than a sales gimmick, as their very design does not and cannot do anything to lower recoil. Some guys just like the way they "look" and think of it as a "cool factor" more than anything else. Some guys just use them to annoy their hunting buddies, so they won't hunt next to them in the blind because of the extra noise some of them make, which can be quite annoying to say the least...