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Reloading solid brass 10-gauge shotgun shells can be an easy job. Brass shotgun shells of all gauges were in common use from the late 19th century until World War II.
These shells I'm using were pretty dirty, but I cleaned them up with a case tumbler.
To reload them, I'm using some original reloading tools, including a deprimer, or decapper, a capper or priming tool, an adjustable shot and powder measure, a wad guide and a ram.
I'll also need reloading components, primers, powder, shot, wads, and a bit of glue to hold the top wad in place.
It's important to note that brass shotgun shells were designed for three different types of primers. Some require a Berdan-type primer where the anvil is built into the case. Others use a shotgun-type primer, and the shells I'm reloading are designed for a standard large pistol primer.
Brass shotgun shells come in various lengths. I've cast the chambers of my old Parker shotgun and measured the castings to determine the length of the chambers, which is about two and five-eighths inches.
Next, I'll trim the cases to the correct length using a trim die that we made here in the shop, then deburr them.
I need to make sure they'll fit in the chambers. Some do and some don't.
For those that won't chamber, I'll lubricate and size them in a shop-made sizing die. After the cases are trimmed and sized, I wipe off all of the excess lubricant and now they all chamber perfectly. Using an original capping tool, I squeeze the large pistol primer into the primer pocket until it's just below flush.
An adjustable dipper will measure both powder and shot. The black powder is scooped and poured in; three and a quarter drams. These loads will be very mild.
Then the over-powder wad is added and I press it firmly in place. The cushion wad is next. It acts like a shock absorber for the shot and keeps it round for truer flight.
Next, I'll use a shot charge of 1-1/ 8 oz, again for a very mild load in the 10-gauge, followed by the overshot wad which I press into place. In this instance, I'm using 9-gauge wads by Circle Fly, which is correct for thin-walled 10-gauge brass cases. Here is a cutaway of what the powder, overshot wad, cushion wad, shot, and overshot wad look like inside the case:
Now, the factories would have filled the case to the top with wads and crimp the end of the case to hold the overshot wad. But when reloading, we don't fill the case to the top, and use an old-fashioned glue called water glass.
I can also use Duco cement, paraffin, or Fletch-Tite arrow fletching cement to hold the top wad in place. A small quantity around the edge of the wad is fine and it sets up within a few hours.
Now I can go shooting.
--Larry Potterfield
