Received my 100 new BPI paper shotshell hulls

[DG45]

I ordered 100 new primed 12 ga. paper shotshell hulls from BPI a few days ago. (thanks for the source, Pete!)They were shipped promptly and came in yesterday. I made an end card out of a popcorn box by using the mouth of an old powder peasure as a cutting head. Then using the wooden handle of a UH powder measure as a tamper, I loaded one of the hulls with rice, and used the card I'd cut out as a end card so I could try out my antique James Dixon & Sons roll crimper and see if it still actually works. Worked like a charm! Now I have a nice looking rice-loaded shotgun shell.

My old single barrel, external hammer shotgun has a 2 3/4 inch chamber, so I ordered 2 3/4 inch hulls and these BPI hulls measure exactly 2 3/4 inches BEFORE crimping. The antique roll crimper I have knocks that down only about 1/8 inch or so to make the crimp, so after roll crimping these BPI shells measure about 2 5/8 inches long. However, I just measured some loaded 2 3/4 factory Remington 8 point star crimped shells that I have, and after crimping they actually measure just 2 3/8 long! So after roll crimping, my new BPI shells are actually about half an inch longer when fully loaded and ready to fire than 8 point star crimped Remington factory shotshells are, but both are supposedly for 2 3/4 inch chambers??? Have I done something wrong? Both the BPI shells and the Remington shells will chamber in my single shot gun and the ejector kicks them both out ok.

 

[Mike Irwin]

"Now I have a nice looking rice-loaded shotgun shell."

Ought to be great for weddings where you don't particularly like the bride & groom...


"I ordered 2 3/4 inch hulls and these BPI hulls measure exactly 2 3/4 inches BEFORE crimping."

That's exactly how it should be. Shell length measured with the crimp fully blown out. Shorter is good. Longer is a possible bulged or blown barrel.

 

[darkgael]

Paper

DG: No, you didn't do anything wrong. Roll crimps use less of the hull than do star crimps. As long as they were 2 3/4" before you started, they'll be ok when fired.
They are purty when they are done, ain't they?
Pete

 

[flashhole]

Pictures, this post need pictures! I'm exploring the roll crimp approach myself and am interested in buckshot and slug loads.

 

[darkgael]

pic

Here's a picture - not a great one, I'm afraid, of two that I loaded this afternoon. The same new paper hulls that DG45 got from BPI.
They were roll crimped with an antique roll crimp tool. The mark on the one on the right is my fault just didn't stop when I should have
Pete

[/IMG]

 

[flashhole]

That's a good photo. So when you say "antique tool", is this something with a hand crank or do you put it in an electric drill? Are the paper hulls waxed?

 

[darkgael]

pic

The tool - I have a couple of them - basically the same.

Waxed. Not sure. I believe so as they have a very smooth finish.

 

[DG45]

Top quality crimping job, Pete. I'm hoping that with practice, mine'll look that good.

My crimper has one difference from the one you show in the picture. It has a brass plunger that can be pushed into open end of the shell through the cylinder. I pushed it in as far as I could when I was crimping my rice shell and it left a round indentation on my end card that looks a lot like the indentation on one of yours. Its strange because you can push the plunger in a long way - way past the crimping blades inside the cylinder. I guess the plungers purpose is to hold the card straight, or to not allow a crimp to reach the card or something, I don't really know, do you? I will try to post some pics within the week if I can figure out how to do it.

 

[darkgael]

Plunger

If the plunger is like the one on my other tool, it's purpose is to eject the shell after it has been crimped.
Pete

 

[flashhole]

DG45 - good thread, I hope you don't mind me asking so many questions but your subject line is spot on for my interest too.

I see a few of the "antique" tools on eBay from time to time. I may have to give it more serious consideration now that I see how it works. It appears you apply pressure to the handle where the base of the shell resides and crank on the crimper. Is that correct? Looks pretty simple. Is the clamp intended to afix the tool to a table top or is it for a different kind of crimp?

 

[darkgael]

Tools

Flash: Yes, that turn screw affair is a clamp. You really need to tighten it to get it to hold.
Operation is just what you expect. The shell goes in and the lever is brought up to hold it (some versions have a sharpened pin that is pressed against the base to keep the shell from turning). Pressure is applied while the handle is cranked. A few turns and it's done.
Pete

 

[darkgael]

The other crimp tool

Here's a pic of the other one. You can see the plunger rod protruding from the roller head and the crank handle below it.

 

[Crosshair]

"Now I have a nice looking rice-loaded shotgun shell."

Ought to be great for weddings where you don't particularly like the bride & groom...

No, you use it when speakers at the reception are going WAY over time.

 

[DG45]

The plunger pushes the shell out!! And I couldn't figure that out. How humiliating!

Flashhole, I'm glad to have a thread that interests you.

I bought an antique James Dixon and Son roll crimper, made in Sheffield, England on ebay for less than $20 and also bought an antique powder and shot measure made by UH (United Hardware) in Torrington, Ct. on ebay for $12. Except for powder, shot, wads and cards, thats about all the equipment needed to load primed shotshells. The handle of the powder/shot measure is flat-ended, and is of a size that can be used to tamp shot, powder, wads and cards. The shot cup is exactly the same diameter as a shot shell so if you file the mouth edge and sharpen it a little you can actually use it in a pinch to cut out over shot cards,etc. from popcorn boxes or shoeboxes, etc. If I wanted to reload used hulls, I'd drill a hole up the handle and insert a finishing nail as a deprimer.

I like to get value for my money so I checked what these roll crimpers go for in the antique world before I started looking for one. A roll crimper on ebay goes for about half what the same tool goes for if its sold as an antique. Note that these things are usually called "turnover tools" in England. Anyway, its always nice to know you can get more tomorrow for what you buy than the price you paid for it today. I enclose a hyperlink so you can check some antique world prices. (Mine is just like the green James Dixon & Sons Model 5119N roll crimper that is shown well down the hyperlink page (though already sold). Pete's red one looks like it might be one of the Hawksley models. Now here's the hyperlink: http://www.finesportingcollectablesltd.co.uk/tools.htm

 

[DG45]

I forgot to mention in my previous post that the exchange rate of the British pound today was 1 British pound = $1.52 in U.S. Currency, so price you see in that English antique site, just multiply it times $1.52 and that would have been the price today in U.S. Dollars. The exchange rate fluctuates daily.

 

[flashhole]

"The plunger pushes the shell out!! And I couldn't figure that out. How humiliating!"

Been there, done that, glad to see others do it too and even more glad to see they admit it.