The only shotgun shells that I reload, are blackpowder driven.
I mostly once fired Winchester AA Hulls, but anything will work, as long as you can get powder, wads, shot, and a good crimp. In other words, the recipe will change depending on the hull used.
For my AA hulls, I use 60 gr of 1F blackpowder, cuz its cheap, and makes nice fireballs. For more effieciency and power, use 2F.
I use a red AA wad, and 1 1/8 oz #7 1/2 shot. Then give it a good star crimp.
These loads are nice to shoot and reliable. I have taken dove with them, and they are almost all I use in my cowboy shooting.
I do play with the brass shells on occasion. If you want to spend the bucks, the Rocky Mountain Cartridge Company hulls are indestructible, and should last me a lifetime. They are not drawn brass, but are milled casings. They are super thick, and use standard 12 ga wads with ease. With the above load listed, I still have about an inch or so of shell left over, as they are a 3" hull. Mine use a 209 shotgun primer, but I think they have the option of others.
If you buy the Magtech brass hulls, which are significantly cheaper, they need to use 11 ga wads for the 12 ga hull. They are thin, and if they get stepped on, are toast, unless you get a resizer from RCBS. I have these hulls, as well as some original Winchester, Remington, etc, and there is not much differnce in the them. The ones I haveuse a small pistol primer (IIRC), not the 209 shotgun primer.
Ballistic Products has about everything you need to get started reloading the brass shells.
Hope I helped.
DM
