Stupid newbie 12 / 20 ga reloading recipe question

Happy New Year, ya'll!

Disclaimer: I have NEVER reloaded a shell. Like...ever...

That said, I've slowly gathered a bunch of gear together with the intent of loading for skeet. I have a pair of MEC 600's, an adjustable load/shot bar, shot, shells, wads, etc. I'm lacking powder and a powder measure.

What I'd like, ultimately, is to load 3/4oz of shot, using the same powder for both 12 and 20 ga. Really, I'd love for the powder grain to also be the same, so I could just move the bar from MEC to MEC. Is this realistic? What recommendation powder(s)?

Thanks for your time!

Not sure if you could find a load that keep the powder charge the same from 12 to 20. If you do the velocity will be different i'd think. I also think you'd be better suited for skeet shooting if the velocity stay the same so your swing is not effected. Just my thoughts. You need a few good manuals like the 5TH edition of lyman shotshell and study the 3/4oz loadings for each. There is a lot more to loading shot shells than metallic reloading.

Shotshell reloading is very component dependent. Any deviation from published loads can have major impacts on chamber pressures. That being said, I do not think it is realistic to use the same powder charge for two different gauge shells and get equal velocity from them. Consistency is the name of the game for shooting clays, from shooting form to shotshell velocities. It is probably cheaper to buy shotshells than to load your own as well.

David

I wouldn’t worry about having the same charge. It’s gonna be two different setups anyway and the charge is just a matter of what bushing is in the bar or I guess an adjustment in your case.I think most skeet shooters try for a load that’s 1200 ft/s.

Each loader should have its own charge bar makes no sense to move a bar from one to another and you need to find a mentor to teach you so you dont make a big mistake jmo

^^This. Back in the early 80s a high school buddy of mine thought he had the shotshell thing figured out. We both pushed our duck/geese loads to the limit and my buddy paid the price bad. He spent some time in the hospital and ended up being ok later on. As others have mentioned, every component matters with shotshells and mistakes can be easily made.

I have and adjustable bar. For lead-shot I ended up buying single charge bars and a powder bushing set. It was a lot of fun trying to dial in that adjustable charge bar. I mean a lot of fun.

Here's my .02 cents. Been loading shotshells since 81. Have 4 MEC 600' s in 20, 16, 12, and 10. One Pacific DL-155 in 16 plus a PW 375 with 12 & 16 tool head.
Use Red Dot powder.
Get a specific charge bar for 3/4 oz lead shot for each gauge and decated use on each loader.
Get a powder bushing for each gauge at the power fps/pressure you desire.
Claybuster will likely be your best bet to find wads for both your 12 & 20 gauge 3/4 oz payloads.
Use a quality hull.
Your best bet on hulls will be Winchester AA red hulls in both gauges.
Your crimp will be a major determining factor in your shotshell performance.
Good loading an have fun.

All great advice; I was thinking that Red Dot might be a powder that could work for both gauges in a load that light. It can be a challenge to find a lot of load data for the lighter charges. I wanted to make a few 1/2 oz loads for my grandson a few weeks ago, and I had a hard time finding a recipe that would match up with components that I had. I finally found something based on Green Dot and made a box with it.

Now your problem will be finding any Red Dot. If you can find an 8 lb jug from one of the online sellers, probably best to just buy it and pay the hazardous shipping fee to get it. Good luck

Ok, here's an update now that I've had a chance to review some of my load books.
Green dot is going to be your powder for both gauges and that may be the easiest to locate.
Winchester WAA20 for 3/4 oz loads in 20 gauge
Winchester WAA12L for 7/8 oz load in 12 gauge
Winchester 209 primers for both gauges.
Winchester AA 12 hulls
Winchester AA 20 hulls

COULD NOT LOCATE ANY 3/4 OZ LOAD FOR 12 GAUGE IN MY LOAD DATA ANYWHERE. 7/8 OZ WAS THE LOWEST LOAD WEIGHT I COULD FIND. These loads are from Alliant Powder 2016 load book. You can locate the grain charge in this booklet. Or try Alliant online load data for newer data.

Link to current Alliant 3/4 oz 12 gauge data. Different wad and different powder. Also your powders will have to be different if you want the 3/4 oz for the 12 ga load. The 3/4 oz 12 gauge uses extra-lite powder.
You might want to keep it simple an go with the 7/8 oz 12 payload. Again just my .02 cents worth.

www.alliantpowder.com