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Hulls begin to fatigue with their first loading. Repeated reloading and firing eventually causes the seal between the base of the paper or plastic hull and its brass base, or the seal with the base wad, to deteriorate. In some hull types, the process of base degradation can be rapid and extreme, and therefore more noticeable than in others. Other symptoms of hull fatigue include plastic walls becoming brittle near the top or at the crimp and finally, developing hairline cracks that leak gas. You must toss these hulls immediately.

THE PRIMER

Beginning at the bottom of the hull, after re-sizing, your reloading press next extracts the spent primer and inserts a new one. Former editors of this book compared a loaded shotshell to an automobile engine; both required only a spark to begin the transformation from inertia to explosive power.

Struck by your gun’s firing pin, instantly super-heated, the tiny amount of chemical inside the primer in the base of a shell explodes. This supplies sudden, intense heat to the propellant by driving tiny white-hot particles upwards into it. The burning particles launch the propellant on the brief but glorious arc of its burn.