reloading brass 12 ga BP

[Ranger Popp]

I wanted to start reloading BP in brass cartriges and found that the brass dont fit in the holder on my press. Why? And what do I need to do now?
Thanks

[Wills Point Pete]

 You don't need a press to load brass shotshells. Check around, see if you have one of those sets of jewler's screwdrivers. Try each one of those until you find one that will fit through the primer flash hole. Pop the primer out with one of those. Use a large socket  to put the case on.

Use a smaller socket, say a 7/16 or so on a four or six inch extension to reprime. Just put the primer on a chunk of flat scrap steel and tap the case down on it. Depending on what kind of brass shell you use, your wad colum will vary. I use Mag Tech shells, they take an Eleven guage overpowder wad. I then used an eleven guage fiber wad, still do, sometimes. Mostly though I use a Winchester Twelve Guage AA plastic red wads, my patterns are better. Yeah, I know the plastic wads ain't period, I don't care, the knockdowns fall better.

I have been fillin my shells with a 7/8 ounce dipper full of #6 shot and then the rest of the way up with #9 shot, not sure why I first tried that. Glad I did, though, the extra bit of fine shot is real handy on the odd clay target. Anyhow, fill that shell up until your overpowder wad is just below the casemouth. Top it off with a ten guage overshot was, glue in down with Duco Cement. I tried Emer's, my shot ran our everywhere I walked. Duco, everything stays in place.

Because the black powder is suposed to be compressed, what I did was put the overpowder wad in, then I put that same 7/16 socket in and whacked it a couple-three times with a plastic mallet, the same one I de and reprimed with.

It ain't real fast but, when I point my shotgun right, the knockdown targets fall. I do get plenty of smoke and fire too.

[Bristow Kid]

Thanks Ranger Popp for posting this.  And Wills thanks for the info.  I too have been interested in loading brass shot shells.

Bristow Kid

[Ranger Popp]

Thanks a million Wills, this is the answer I was looking for.

[Wills Point Pete]

 Y'all are welcome. Just don't bother with those kits from Rocky Mountain. They are pretty, they don't do anything you can't do with stuff that you most likely already have. I bought one, it took a while to get here, guess they had to grow the brass. By the time it got here I was using a big Lee Dipper for the powder and shot, a jewler's screwdriver to decap and a hunk of scrap metal to reprime.

[Buffalo Dog]

Better than a jewler's screw drive is a piece of 3/4" dowel lightly sanded to fit inside the case.  Find a nail that fits the primer hole drive it into the dowel from the primer side and cut the head off so it will fit al the way through.  Use the other end of the dowel for pressing in the wads.

[PlacitasSlim]

I use an old decapping pin from an RCBS die to drive out the primer then use a 12g shell holder from RCBS to put in the large pistol primer,