10mm snake/rat shot loads

[The_Shadow]

Starting to work on the 10mm snake/rat  shot loads using 6.8 SPC Rifle Brass.  This requires careful cutting off the neck of the casing with a dremel tool, leaving enough to trim to 1.2725" in length. (this may need to be adjusted)  Why so long some may ask?  These will be reshaped necked down later with the 9x25 Dillon die set. 

Then they will be primed with a Small Rifle or Small Pistol primer either should be fine for this project.  I will load these with Red Dot powder based on the ones I loaded for 40S&W loadings previously.  I'll load 4.0 grains of Red Dot, then cover with two pieces of cardboard disk cut from the primer boxes.  These only need to allow the power to ignite and separate the shot from the powder charge.  They can then blow out of the casing through the neck along with the shot payload.

It is easier to load the powder charge and cover it with the two disk before resizing to create the neck area using the 9x25 Dillon die.  The reason for this necked down type process is two fold. Then the shoulder is sized down enough to properly headspace the casing on the at the end of the chamber and the formed neck sliding inside the truing cone of the barrel like the bullet seated in the 10mm casing.  Making the neck area also allows for more shot in the payload.

Here are some pictures of the casing as cut to length compared to the parent casing.

[The_Shadow]

Here you see the two cardboard disk pressed firmly down on top of the 4.0 grains of Red Dot to separate the powder from the shot.


The casing was passed into the 9x25 Dillon die to form the neck area and set the shoulder, then a 9mm expander to size the neck area.  These 6.8 SPC ar a little thicker but they still will fit in the barrel's forcing cone.  Here is the case with a payload of #9 shot.  This is why I am leaving thes case long and forming the neck to accept as much shot as possible.



The payload weight as shown 108.6 grains of #9 on the scale.



Setting of the 35 caliber gas check to seal the cartridge with the shot inside.



Gas check taper crimped inside the casing.



Cartridge as it fits in the LWD 10mm chambered barrel



Some side notes;
After the 6.8 cases are deprimed cut or swage the staked primer pocket.  These didn't seem to show staking but there was enough to cause priming issue...

Final trim length of the 6.8 casing can be shorter, 1.2650" should be just right.

[Texashogman]

Here you see the two cardboard disk pressed firmly down on top of the 4.0 grains of Red Dot to separate the powder from the shot.


The casing was passed into the 9x25 Dillon die to form the neck area and set the shoulder, then a 9mm expander to size the neck area.  These 6.8 SPC ar a little thicker but they still will fit in the barrel's forcing cone.  Here is the case with a payload of #9 shot.  This is why I am leaving thes case long and forming the neck to accept as much shot as possible.



The payload weight as shown 108.6 grains of #9 on the scale.



Setting of the 35 caliber gas check to seal the cartridge with the shot inside.



Gas check taper crimped inside the casing.



Cartridge as it fits in the LWD 10mm chambered barrel



Some side notes;
After the 6.8 cases are deprimed cut or swage the staked primer pocket.  These didn't seem to show staking but there was enough to cause priming issue...

Final trim length of the 6.8 casing can be shorter, 1.2650" should be just right.

Cool project---Yes, all of hornady's 6.8 factory loaded ammo has staked primer pockets. If you don't want to remove the staking then buy new brass or try s&b factory once fired brass as s&b does not stake their primers.
For the most case capacity use the s&b brass. Starline has stated they will be releasing 6.8 brass layer this year too.

[The_Shadow]

I think the 10mm Magnum brass would be much easier to work with.  These 6.8 are on the thick side and makes the neck shaping and resizing tougher.  It also made crimping more difficult.  It is all a learning experience and experiment! 

[Ten Ten]

Awesome Shadow and thanks for sharing!

I hope you try this with the 10mm mag brass....could be a winner

[my_old_glock]

Will it feed from a magazine?


.

[The_Shadow]

The one pictured will feed from the top of the magazine manually but it is a little long for some magazines at 1.272"
Getting them to 1.2600" would work in all manually.  The impulse is very light and will not cycle the slide as it with most snake shot loadings.  The more powder used takes up valuable room needed for the shot.

If I were to do this with 10mm Magnum (don't have any) the case is thinner would be more pronounced at the shoulder area like that of the 9x25 Dillon.   The 10mm cases worked well for the 40S&W shot loadings.

(6.8 cases were donated by my friend who sell brass)  Side notes;
They are thicker all along the inside and slightly tapered outside as well.
Those who were thinking about using the 6.8 cases for heavy 10mm loads would need to expand the casings so the exterior walls are straight and possibly ream out the inside of neck for bullet fit without being to large in diameter when the bullet is seated.