Читать книгу Reloading for Shotgunners онлайн

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Shotgunners obviously prefer that their shell bases look like brass, though. Why this is so would involve some cultural analysis, but a few years ago, the now-defunct shotshell manufacturer Activ tried aggressively to market a no-brass plastic case. This case was entirely functional and suitable for reloading as well. It incorporated a small metal ring molded into the base to grip the primer. Nevertheless, sales results were not pretty. Perhaps Activ’s hulls were perceived to be as not as strong as shells with visible metal bases, but from all reports, they were, and they did not require resizing in a reloading press, either.

When I bought my first shotgun, about 25 years ago, I learned that there were two kinds of shells, high base and low base. This referred to the height of the brass base. It was generally understood that low base equated with low power and high base with high power. Consequently, my buddies and I purchased high base shells for pheasants and waterfowl, and low base for grouse and woodcock. What a surprise it was to learn that there is no essential relationship between the height of the base and the power of the load! But myths die hard, so today we still have high-brass magnum loads and low-brass dove loads.