[rraiford1]

reloaded STS hulls for the firs time tonight. I had been loading AA's but I have to say I think the STS hulls reloaded a lot better with less issues than the red AA's

 

[loneranger]

I’m fairly new to to shotshell reloading so I started with AA hulls. They load great on my Dillon but my Mec Grabber definitely loves Remington hulls and especially the STS

 

[Pull & Mark]

I find both hulls reload very well. The HS AA hulls have a smaller internal capacity though. So when you get to Mec's #31 powder bushing you start running into problems closing the case. If you stay at Mec's #30 powder bushing and smaller. You can close the cases nicely. So you need a dense powder to reload them. Or you have to use slower speeds with the smaller bushings. Winchesters powders work very well. Super Target, and Super Handicap work very well in them. Of course these two powders don't always work as good in the STS hull's. So you really need to pick a hull and stick with it.

Or you can buy a different wad to use with the bulker powders in the HS AA hulls. I believe downrange makes a wad that's a bit shorter than the standard AA ClayBuster wad that will allow the use of a bulker powder. Of course you will need to use the standard length Claybuster wad for your STS loads with the same powder. Since the STS's hulls have a larger internal volume in there cases. Good Luck and follow published data on your powders website. break em all Jeff

 

[1100 REMINGTON MAN]

That’s why I switched from AA 30 years ago to Remington STS.
I use to be a huge Winchester fan but not anymore.

 

[redfin1956]

love those sts hulls

 

[rosies dad]

Folks, that is why I see AAHS hulls in the trash at the club. Nobody is tossing STS. Actually, AAHS just need some TLC to load on some loaders (mainly MEC)

 

[frostyman]

Folks, that is why I see AAHS hulls in the trash at the club. Nobody is tossing STS. Actually, AAHS just need some TLC to load on some loaders (mainly MEC)

There are a couple of simple easy adjustments you can make to the MEC to keep them from bending in the middle but it does take some time to figure out the correct combination. My loaders used to do the same thing but they now work great and the same setting will load both AAHS and also STS with no loader adjustments.

 

[dws]

STS and AA are both good hulls - I like and use both.

 

[Fieldstone]

I agree that they are both good hulls, however I have found the AA's last considerably longer for reloading.
I have a habit of gently 'pinching' the tops of my empty hulls as I put them on station 1, and if they crack they go in the trash, as I will not get a good crimp or good compression on discharge.
The plastic on the STS's seem to harden and crack faster than the AA's.
That said, I prefer the STS's - they just look better.

 

[redudley]

Sometimes a friend will give me some AA empties and I reload them instead of my STS hulls. I really like AA's but they just do not reload as well as the STS in my Mec 9000G. Not sure, but think the primer removal offers more resistance. In any case, I use some AAs but prefer STSs.

 

[MBM1565]

STS hulls have been great for me but hard to find. I reloaded a lot of Nitro's and GC's but recently I've had a lot of hull length deviation with them.
One would crimp swirled and the next have a gaping hole in the center.
It got so bad I went back to reloading AAHS's because they are brass and easy to find and they are consistent in length.
For all the faults many claim to have I found them to be excellent performing and looking reloads with my Grabber dialed in.
Wad selection is key with me moving up one size for my shot drops to get good stack height in those slightly smaller capacity AAHS's.

 

[Pull & Mark]

I agree that they are both good hulls, however I have found the AA's last considerably longer for reloading.

I find the HS AA's last longer as well. Especially in the 28 and 410 gauges. You just need the shorter wad or less dense powders for the 12 ga. I am not awar e of a shorter wad for the 20 ga. So you have to use a dense powder for that one? Unless someone knows of a shorter wad I am not aware of??? Then they load nicely. Of course the same combo does not always work as well in the STS hull now. In the past with the compression formed hulls. Both the AA and the STS loaded up darn near exactly the same with every combination of components. Those days are gone. I load what I can get the cheapest. I get 2 bucks back from Winchester on each box of there shells. Their primers fit perfect, and are much cheaper than the STS. Its a no brainer for me. I still load STS's though. I have a nice stash of them? Pick one and go for it. There both good. Just a bit different. I will say its a huge PITA to load AA primers in STS hulls in the 28 ga. The primer does not fit worth a tinkers damn, and its very hard to enlarge the primer pocket installing the AA primer. I have to do it as a separate operation the first time on STS hulls in the 28 ga. I still have about 400 hundred or so once fired too!!! break em all Jeff

 

[Rocket3]

Winchester is fine if you have the time/desire to fight them. I reloaded a lot of them, especially 28 until the went to HS (Cheaper to produce).
STS 12 & 28 for me.

 

[entropy]

STS and AA are both good hulls - I like and use both.

As do I; loaded both today, as a matter of fact.

 

[M R Ducks]

They are great hulls, but they aren't the easiest to load and keep pressure down because of their tapered walls. Don't overlook Rio and Fiocchi hulls (they both tend to be Cheddites), they are really nice and you can get several reloads from them and are very receptive to many different wads.

 

[entropy]

I don't recall STS and and AA hulls being called AmeriTrash........

 

[radeck]

I reload the Rem STS & Nitro hulls. Plus the occasional Gun Clubs. Any Win AAHS I shoot I save for other club members. Make friends that way, and may get an occasional but unexpected bag of wads out of being thoughtful.

 

[Shooting Coach]

The Downrange DRV20 is a little shorter for AA-HS hulls. NOTHING loads like the STS, but the AA lasts much longer. Stack height is different between the two, and crimp adjustments are different. I use a lot of Claybuster's F114 1 1/4 oz yellow wads in the AA hull. For the Gun Club hulls, find a few short ones and set the press for them. The longer ones will swirl, but that is not an issue.

 

[entropy]

I just use DRA-12 wads for AA HS hulls; changing between AA and STS hulls is a 30 second tweek on the crimp height one the first one. I prefer DRRF-8 and DRXL1 1/8 on the Remington hulls.

 

[hammontw92]

I like the STS hulls for 20ga much more so than AAHS hulls. For some reason, my 9000 just doesn't produce as good of a crimp, and I've swept the cam a few times with various pre-crimp and taper crimp settings. I've got the press to where it's finally not mushrooming hulls but it just seems like gun clubs and sts hulls crimp so much nicer and the press produces a much nicer looking reload. For 12ga it's the other way around, but I'm using a different press so, mileage will vary. My 12ga STS loads are interchangeable with my AA loads and I cannot tell a difference between the two shells once they are loaded.