I've tried a couple of different roll crimpers over the years, but never really found any of them to my liking, so I decided to design my own, taking inspiration from the solid state designs dating as far back as the 1800's, and combining them with modern materials and manufacturing processes.

Today I thought I’d write about my new shotshell hull trimmer.  This tool is available in several different configurations, both individually or as part of a kit. For the purposes of this article I’ll be referring to the kit version, which includes the trimmer, two blades, a 1 3/4″ guide, two half-inch guides and a […]

Loading shotshells with a friend's Father's old LEE LOAD-ALL II.

My Son Alex (William A. Chapin) loading 12 Gauge AA hulls for Tuesday evening trapshooting at the Onondaga Sportsman Club on St. Patrick's Day - March 17, 2020. The virus lockdown may keep us from going out for green ginger ale tomorrow - but it can't keep us from shooting a few lines of trap with friends!

In this installment of our Shotgun components series we will look at the wads and the various ways we can make them better!

Have you ever wanted to load up some custom 12-gage slug rounds or other roll-crimped shotshells, and discovered that the only empty hulls you had on hand were previously-fired shells that still have star-shaped mouths from a previous fold-crimp? Here is my work-around for rectifying this situation. TheIdahoanShowIdaho was one of the last continental US […]

12 Gauge Shotshell Resizing Die About a month ago I teased some of the new tools I started working on late last year, including a die and accessories for reloading 12 gauge shotshells on a conventional metallic cartridge press. In scenarios where you’re using your own powder measure, trickler, specialty components and roll crimper to […]

This video shows how I made a roll crimping tool for reloading shotgun shells.

Prototype Shotshell Hull Trimmer I thought today I’d write a brief update on one of my 2019 projects, a handheld shotshell hull trimmer.  After testing many, many different iterations I’m happy to report that the final prototype has arrived from the factory, and it works great. Construction The trimmer itself is constructed from stainless steel, […]

TRN Shotshell Hull Vise If you’re a serious shotshell reloader, chances are you’ve found yourself wishing for an extra pair of hands at one time or another.  Trimming, or roll crimping hulls can be a challenge, even more-so if you’re a perfectionist striving for truly professional looking shells.  For jobs like these, you’re going to […]

In this episode, the Idahoan experiments with shotgun loads using several different types of cylinder-shaped shot.

In this episode, the Idahoan experiments with loading shot shells with edible substances, including beans, rice, and salt.

In this episode, the Idahoan tests some steel shot loads that have been magnetized by inclusion of a small neodymium magnet in each shot load. In theory the magnetic attraction of the shot should slow down its dissipation and improve pattern density...

In this episode, the Idahoan experiments with substituting steel ball bearings for lead pellets in buckshot loads.

12 Gauge Shotshell Full-Size Wad Punch – New Model Available! Super quick update folks; I’ve received a large number of requests for a modified version of my filler wad/overshot card punch to produce full-sized 12G wads that can be used in place of a conventional plastic shotshell wad. I know there are still a lot of […]

Back in late 2017 I began work on a press-mounted tool for punching my own shotshell filler wads and overshot cards.  After an initial prototype and two revisions, I'm happy to report it's finally complete, and in production. Today I'm going to walk you through the final version, including the features and construction, as well as an explanation of how it works.

Recently I was looking for a shell carrier to install on my Mossberg Maverick 88, and was horrified to see that anything that didn't require me to glue something to the receiver, or put screws directly into the stock started at $75.  Considering I only paid a couple hundred bucks for this gun to begin with, there was no way I was going to spend almost half that again on a shell carrier.

Previously I posted an article discussing the prototype shotshell filler wad punch I've been working on.  In this article I thought I'd try it out with some viewer requested materials including cracker boxes, plastic blister packing, craft foam, cork roll and cork tile.

I've designed and manufactured my own custom punch for producing 12 gauge filler wads and overshot cards.  The model shown in the video represents my prototype, which I've been using and testing for quite a while now.

Selecting the Best Shotshell Hulls for Reloading In my last article, we discussed the popular misconception that brass height is somehow an indication of hull strength.  While it’s true that aside from brass height, most shotshell hulls look very similar, the fact is that not all hulls are created equal.  In this article, we’re going […]

Ending the High-Brass, Low-Brass Shotshell Strength Debate In this article we’re going to address what continues to be a very controversial topic among shotshell reloaders; the high-brass/low-brass strength debate.  For those that don’t reload shotshells or are just new to the practice, the argument I’m referring to is that high-brass hulls are somehow stronger, or […]

Just a brief update on the channel.

Resizing Shotshell Hulls with a MEC Super-Sizer Spend any kind of time reloading high-brass shotgun shells using a ring-style resizing die, and you’re bound to stumble upon the all-too-common, and much-lamented issue of binding.  Binding hulls can quickly bring an otherwise productive reloading session to a screeching halt, as the reloader is now forced to […]

Anatomy of a Shotshell Not unlike metallic cartridge-based ammunition, modern shotshells are comprised of a number of different components working in unison.  Despite this similarity, many gun owners are surprised to learn that shotshells are actually a fair bit more complex than their metallic cousins. The basic breakdown of components includes a primer, hull, propellant, […]