The Hunter’s Handloader: Getting More Out of Your Shotgun with Ballistic Products Inc.
If you load your own shells, Ballistic Products Inc. (BPI) is your one-stop shop. Powder, primers, hulls, and wads — BPI has the most comprehensive assortment of components. They operate one of the most state-of-the-art shotshell ballistics labs in the world, and they use their products in the field chasing birds.
Last August, I had the chance to tour their new facility with Grant and was extremely impressed. I’ll admit — I was jealous of his reloading room and ballistics lab.
Ballistics Products entrance
In the world of reloading, rifle and pistol data is well covered. Shotshell data, however, lags far behind. Yes, Lyman released an updated loading manual. Lead loads are well covered, but when it comes to newer nontoxic data, the offerings are lacking.
Enter Ballistic Products Inc.
BPI was started by David Fackler in 1974 and is now run by his son, Grant Fackler. They’ve grown BPI into a true one-stop shop for everything shotshell loading. BPI has created some of the most exhaustive loading manuals available — from lead to TSS18 and everything in between.
To name a few:
The Advantages Manual contains 3,900 loads, including nontoxic shot, and is a must-have for any loader. The first half of each book covers loading information that is truly invaluable. Whether you’re a novice or an experienced loader, there is a wealth of knowledge to be gained. BPI’s website, also features a “Load of the Week,” updated every few weeks.
A few of the BPI products in the HPG reloading room
In addition to their superb manuals, BPI designs their own wads — from high-performance skeet and sporting clays to wads designed specifically for today’s nontoxic shot and heavy field loads. Many of their wads are available in slit and unslit versions. Traditional slit wads have four slits, creating four petals. Unslit wads allow the loader to cut the slits themselves, enabling fine-tuning of patterns.
Due to its hardness, nontoxic shot can be hard on barrels. The BPI designed wads are made to eliminate shot-to-barrel contact. BPI produced their first wad in the early 1970s. The difference between a standard lead-load wad and a BPI nontoxic wad is significant and BPI holds numerous patents on their wad designs.
As of this writing, components — namely powder and primers — are available, and primer prices are beginning to come down. After COVID restrictions, everything was extremely difficult to find — unless you were willing to pay inflated prices. BPI was one of the few places consistently receiving regular shipments of both.
BPI offers a great selection of new primed hulls in 10, 12, 16, 20, 24, 28, 32, and .410 gauge and they are able to reliably import Cheddite hulls. I personally use new Cheddite hulls for my hunting loads, as they have been the most consistent source. Federal hulls have started to reappear, but only within the last year or so.
I prefer straight-wall hulls for hunting loads, because they allow for larger payloads compared to unibody hulls. That said, I use Remington STS hulls for all my skeet and sporting clays loads. They hold up well to multiple reloads, I don’t have to worry about the basewad separating, and they run smoothly through a progressive loader.
Regarding primers, I’ve stocked up on Cheddite and Fiocchi because they are available at reasonable prices. BPI has also produced much of their data around them. During the last upland season, I had very lethal results with plated steel loads in my 20 gauge. All of those loads came from the Status of Steel manual using BPI-designed wads with Cheddite components. The loads have been straightforward and extremely easy to tune. Side note: Cheddite is the largest hull manufacturer in the world.
BPI carries a large selection of shot — lead, plated lead, bismuth, steel, plated steel, heavy shot, tungsten, copper, and slugs. I’ve loaded steel for huns and chukar, as well as, close-range ducks on the river. I have always been extremely impressed with the results. Now that they carry copper shot, I plan to experiment with it this year for a 20-gauge pheasant load.
BPI also great selection of loaders and tools. Loaders from MEC, Hornady, GAEP, and OMV. They also carry and make tools to help with the reloading process. Their Reloader snips are a must if you plan on slitting your own wads. They are designed specifically for slitting tough wads and make the job significantly easier!
BPI truly stands out as a premier destination for the reloading community. Not only do they offer an unmatched 'one-stop-shop' inventory, but their commitment to top-tier customer service ensures you have the support you need for every project. Whether you’ve been loading shotshells for years or are new to the game, give BPI a look. You’ll be supporting great people, with quality products, who chase birds just like us.