Handgun shot loads

Guns Magazine, August, 2008 by Jeff John

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Q: Has GUNS ever covered the loading of shot cartridges for handguns, specifically .38 Special, .44 Magnum and .45 Colt?

Roger Shoemake

Fishers, Indiana

A: We haven't covered loading shot charges in recent memory. Sounds like a job for John Taffin. Speer makes factory loaded .22 LR, .22 Magnum, 9mm, .38 Special, .40 S&W, .44 Special, .45 ACP and .45 Colt shot loads as well as capsules for reloaders to load shot in .38 .44 and .45 Colt.

For the reloader, the downside is finding No. 10, 11 or 12 shot. Most dealers don't carry shot finer than No. 9, and a 25-pound bag of shot goes a long way. No. 9 shot works OK in the .44 and .45, but you don't get a lot in a .38. Midway USA (5875 West Van Horn Tavern Road, Columbia, MO 65203, (573) 445-6363, www.midwayusa. com) offers No. 10, 11 and 12 shot in 10-pound bags if your local dealer doesn't. If you just want to try some shot loads, Midway offers the CCI ammo in 10-round packs, too.

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The plastic capsules are fragile, so you only want to remove the case flare and use no crimp. If you bust one crimping the case, the spilled shot makes a mess. Keep powder charges down so the capsules don't walk out of the brass under recoil. I've often found the capsules on .44 Special factory loads will walk out of the aluminum case of the factory CCI ammo when fired in lighter guns like my Charter Arms Bulldog causing the cylinder to bind, but are easily pushed back into place.