New Fed 7s, Old Fed 7s....check out the crimps

[savduck]

Remember back before season when I was patterning my 870, I was getting lower numbers in the 10 ring than a lot of guys with the same loads and chokes.

I was averaging in the 120s with the sumtoy.....most other guys were getting 140 with many in the 160 to 170 range.

Look at the crimps. The shell on the left is how all the crimps look from every box of Feds I bought this year. I ended up with four different lot numbers from three suppliers. Over 20 boxes bought. In the remington shooting about 20 rounds, my average is around 123, a low of 77 and high in the 140s. Most shots though are from about 110 to 125 in 10 at forty.

The shell on the right is from an older lot number. I borrowed some chokes from a buddy. He had two boxes of feds from about 5 years ago. He wanted me to shoot his gun to make sure it was still on. I shot two of his shells out of my 870 with the Sumtoy. In two shots I put up a 168 and 172. I got the high numbers others have gotten.

Im not a reloader and dont know much, but it is obvious that federal has changed something. The crimps are different, but if you look closely, the older shells yellow looks a little lighter. Maybe a different brand? What do you guys think.

[killdee]

Hmmmmm, do you have a scale, weigh em and see if there is a difference between the older good shells and the new.

[SumToy]

Glad you found the problem.  Your gun was going to make me pull my hair out. LOL

[rock54]

from the old days when i use to shoot trap and use to reload all my shells....

the shell on the right looks like it has less pellets in the shell case,which would

create the pushed in look of the crimp...this would happen if the tube of pellets

got a jam...maybe something got jamed in their loading process....and therefore

there are less pellets in each shell...which would make sense in low pellet numbers

at the range....just a guess, russ

[redarrow]

from the old days when i use to shoot trap and use to reload all my shells....

the shell on the right looks like it has less pellets in the shell case,which would

create the pushed in look of the crimp...this would happen if the tube of pellets

got a jam...maybe something got jamed in their loading process....and therefore

there are less pellets in each shell...which would make sense in low pellet numbers

at the range....just a guess, russ

If I read it right. the shell on the right gave higher numbers. Seem to be a trend when something works they go and change it. Federal did the same thing with the 20 ga. slugs I did so great with. They stopped making them. Go figure.

[savduck]

Glad you found the problem.  Your gun was going to make me pull my hair out. LOL

Id say we got it worked out though. I shot 5 SC gobblers and 2 GA gobblers with the twenty. 5 of those were with sumtoys screwed into the 870 and the weatherby.

That weatherby is a shooter.

[savduck]

from the old days when i use to shoot trap and use to reload all my shells....

the shell on the right looks like it has less pellets in the shell case,which would

create the pushed in look of the crimp...this would happen if the tube of pellets

got a jam...maybe something got jamed in their loading process....and therefore

there are less pellets in each shell...which would make sense in low pellet numbers

at the range....just a guess, russ

The one on the right gave big numbers.

[rock54]

sorry guys...i read it as the one on the right didnt give good numbers....

crimp still looks pushed in and therefore less pellets, just by lookn at it

from my past loadn....guess visual observation not always right....

just a thought....russ

[SumToy]

From a builder side I am not looking at that the crimp as much as color.  Look at shell color looks like change in hull.  Would like to know if it is just not as dark or it us not as thick.    This all comes into play with chambers.   

[n2deer]

Hmmmmm, do you have a scale, weigh em and see if there is a difference between the older good shells and the new.

Those could be a good idea if your not willing to cut them. When I load shells I usually weight the like mentioned.
There usually isnt alot of difference. If there is a component change I would think there would be a weight difference.

If there is a shot difference you should definitely see it.

[yelpy]

From a builder side I am not looking at that the crimp as much as color.  Look at shell color looks like change in hull.  Would like to know if it is just not as dark or it us not as thick.    This all comes into play with chambers.   

Not to sure but it is possible for the color to fade over the years and the crimp could also start to cave in from components settling. I do have some 20 guage Fed shells that have changed color from when they were bought. Not to sure if that is the case here. It sure does look like they may be loaded a bit different or the hulls are different lengths.

[n2deer]

From a builder side I am not looking at that the crimp as much as color.  Look at shell color looks like change in hull.  Would like to know if it is just not as dark or it us not as thick.    This all comes into play with chambers.   

Not to sure but it is possible for the color to fade over the years and the crimp could also start to cave in from components settling. I do have some 20 guage Fed shells that have changed color from when they were bought. Not to sure if that is the case here. It sure does look like they may be loaded a bit different or the hulls are different lengths.

I have seen color change also but not seen the crimp move like that from being old.

[savduck]

From a builder side I am not looking at that the crimp as much as color.  Look at shell color looks like change in hull.  Would like to know if it is just not as dark or it us not as thick.    This all comes into play with chambers.   

Not to sure but it is possible for the color to fade over the years and the crimp could also start to cave in from components settling. I do have some 20 guage Fed shells that have changed color from when they were bought. Not to sure if that is the case here. It sure does look like they may be loaded a bit different or the hulls are different lengths.

I was thinking it was different hulls, or maybe slightly longer wads. The crims didn't settle, they were all lower than the current shells

[Deputy 14]

I bought a case if the same shells before season and every crimp looks like its gonna blow out like the one on the left.  They've averaged 150ish in my gun with a sumtoy