overshot card punch brands

Place an overshot card on top of the shot charge just before crimping to improve overall crimp quality and seal in small shot and/or buffer. Excellent for use with BPI Roll Crimpers.

Our testing lab has proven that poor crimps can alter the performance of an otherwise good load. Overshot cards always produce better, more consistent crimps and this consistency is demonstrated in the standard deviation of loads in our lab. Our ballistic lab recommends overshot cards for better crimps in all loads.

Clear Overshot Disks(either plain or printed with shot size) are also offered for great roll crimping options. See pictures in Additional Images or click on this link.

Shotshell size selection: Use the same size gauge as your hull. Smaller diameter cards also work if your particular size is out of stock. For example, a 20ga overshot card works in a 16-gauge shotshell and so on.

Our custom logo overshot cards are the favorites of our ballistic lab. We use a heavier stock material (.045") and apply a water-repellant coating to both sides. The result is an attractive and highly functional overshot card.

Use: Simply place an overshot card on top of the shot charge just before crimping to improve overall crimp quality and seal in small shot and/or buffer. Excellent for use with BPIRoll Crimpers.

Excellent for roll crimpsOur testing lab has proven that poor crimps can alter the performance of an otherwise good load. Overshot cards always produce better, more consistent crimps and this consistency is demonstrated in the standard deviation of loads in our lab. Our ballistic lab recommends overshot cards for better crimps in all loads.

The tool consists of two components including a punch, and die. Starting with the punch, it’s made from hardened tool steel designed to maintain a sharp cutting edge. If you’re the kind of reloader who loads tens of thousands of shells, you’ll be pleased to know the tip has been bored out and extra material left in place so that it can be re-sharpened easily should the need arise. The base of the punch is designed to fit a Lee Precision, single stage press, however it should fit any brand with sufficient clearance that’s compatible with Lee shell holders.

To install this tool, the operator begins by slotting the punch into place and raising the ram. This step helps ensure everything’s lined up well when installing the die, to avoid damaging the cutting edge during operation.

The operator begins by lowering the ram part way until the punch is just below the feed port on the die, but still inside the base of the die.  All reloading presses have a bit of play in the shell holder, so the safest way to protect the cutting edge is to simply feed the punch into the die part way before engaging the cutting edge on material.

Next, the user simply slides the material to be punched into the feed port and begins operating the press as normal.  As filler wads are punched, they will be pushed out the top of the die where they can be collected.  If the operator’s intention is to produce a great many filler wads in one sitting, it is advisable to place a container (a margarine container works well) with a hole cut in the bottom on top of the die, allowing them to stack up inside and avoid making a mess.

Originally designed this unit to punch corrugated cardboard, so that seems like a good place to begin.  The punch works quite well with standard corrugated cardboard boxes I’ve cut into strips.  It’s a fast, simple process that yields nice, concentric disks.  Cardboard works great for buck and birdshot as it’s dense enough to take up slack, but flexible enough to compress during loading.  This is critical to obtaining a professional looking crimp with even the trickiest loads.

Next up is craft foam.  It’s not really my first choice due to it not being biodegradable, but I know some folks really like it, so I have confirmed the punch will work with it.  As with the cardboard and cork, it punches very easily, although the edges aren’t quite as smooth as the denser materials.

Finally we have plastic blister packaging.  Although not biodegradable, I really like having a transparent option on hand when I need something as an overshot card.  Once again it cuts smoothly, and easily.  The material demonstrated above is  actually plastic from grocery store salad containers if you can believe it, however thicker packaging not only punches well, it crimps even better.

The finished filler wads measure 0.650″, the same internal diameter as a standard 12G shot cup, and an equally excellent size for use as overshot cards.  With a good supply of these on hand, it’s no trouble at all to customize my shot columns by placing them above or below my shot or slugs.  Likewise, if I’ve got a difficult load to crimp like low-volume birdshot or roundball slugs, adding one to the top as an overshot card makes things a snap.

If you’ve been reading my articles for any length of time, you probably know I load a lot of shotgun shells using Lyman and other published data. Over the years I’ve also developed a large number of custom loads, many of which require filler wads or overshot cards to get the correct shot column and a good crimp. Although these aren’t the most expensive components on the market, they still add up, particularly if you need several per shell. To make matters worse, they’re often difficult to find, particularly if your local gun store stops stocking the brands you’re accustomed to.

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

Beginning with construction you’ll note it’s composed of just two parts; a die and punch. The die is made from stainless steel so that it won’t rust or corrode, while the punch is hardened tool steel that’s rigid enough to remain perfectly straight, and maintain an edge.

I also specifically designed this punch to fit in standard Lee reloading presses to help keep the cost low, and better utilize the equipment I’ve already got.

To install this tool, we simply insert the punch into the press’s ram, raising it up to it’s maximum height. Next we’ll thread the die in place overtop; this helps keep things aligned properly.

Operation is likewise extremely simple. If you check out the video above, you’ll see there’s a slot cut in the side to allow a multitude of different materials to be fed. So far I’ve used cardboard and vegetable fiber, in the future I’ll likely try cork as well.

With the material in place it’s a simple matter of operating the press handle, and punching filler wads. Each one comes out the exact internal diameter of a standard 12 gauge shotshell wad. If I need to produce a lot and don’t want to make a mess, I just place a margarine container with a hole in the bottom onto the nozzle at the top of the die, and punch as many as I need.

With a good supply of these on hand, it’s no trouble at all to customize my shot columns by placing them above or below my shot or slugs. Likewise, if I’ve got a difficult load to crimp well, like low-volume birdshot or roundball slugs, adding one to the top as an overshot card makes things a snap.

I’m really happy with how my punch turned out, and already working on designs for a 20G model. If things go well I may try some others like a 410, 16 or 28 gauge.

Place an overshot card on top of the shot charge just before crimping to improve overall crimp quality and seal in small shot and/or buffer. Excellent for use with Ballistic Products Roll Crimp tools.

Took a few weeks to finally get here but I finally got my wad punch for the 8 gauge. A few weeks ago I started browsing for wad punches or circle punches, there seem to be alot of different styles and names depending on the seller.

I was beginning to think I wouldn"t find a size for the 8 gauge, the fiber wads and overshot cards you buy are .850". I have seen 7/8" wads used in 8 bores rifles but those have much thicker barrels and dont have to worry about being squeezed through a choke. What I found is 21.5mm is what you"re looking for I"ve read tolerances for machining put the punches diameter at .846-852" etc which seems perfect to me.

There"s a few reasons I wanted a punch, in Toms book I think he mentions felt seals better in the bore than fiber wads and also they don"t confetti out the muzzle. Another point is I use 3/4" of wadding in my 2 1/4oz loads, the fiber wads come in 1/2" sizes. While they are easy to split they are always slightly different or inconsistent. The plan is to use three 1/4" durafelt wads so I will have a better material and the wad height will be the same each time. The last point is I dont like the looks of the plain white overshot cards, I will probably get some stamps made so I can mark them to how they looked back in the day.

I considering to punch my own overshot cards to accommodate a proper roll crimp on 410 shot-shells. But I"m having somewhat of a problem finding a good metal punch around .410 dia. with a pre-sharpened cutter. I"ve ordered a couple of punches from weapons/parts supplier catalogs in the recent past and have had to return them. (both were lacking pre-sharpened cutting edges) I"m not very gifted in sharping rounded edges. A flat blade I can sharpen up enough to shave with. But rounded cutter hardened punches are a whole different ball game for me. Does anyone have a supplier in mind I can mail-order a proper tool from? The punches intended purpose would be for> thin plastic disks .410 diameter.

As one who"s loaded 10,000s of .410-bore shot shells, I gotta ask, why a roll crimp? Stuffing 410s is a big enough bother, why complicate the process? Back in the day, my neighbor was moving and gave me a large carton of once fired paper .410 hulls and a supply of wads. I loaded the 5K hulls with the traditional card and fiber wads according the the recipe of the day. Compared to plastic hulls, with one piece plastic shot cup/wads, the papers performed dismally. Twenty flats of 410"s and there wasn"t a 25-straight in the bunch There"s a reason .410-bore competition scores soared with the introduction of the new ammo, it"s a quantum leap better. IMHO, as far as using a roll crimp on a .410, if you"re gonna re-invent the wheel, don"t start with a square one.

zippy 13: Why a roll crimp? >000 buck used in a tight fitting chambered shotgun is why. The recipe I have is a load not meant for your average weekend skeet shoot but it does call for (2) over shot cards .30 ths. each to be used on either the 2-1/2 or 3" hull loads involving 000 Buck usage. As you know any recipe that calls for a folded crimp can also with a little trimming of the hull in some cases accommodate a rolled crimp also. I have material here that is .60 thick. If cut right? would require only a single card inserted into the shot area which intern would offer a much better crimp support. The material I"ve intended on using is not paper as sold by B/P/I to their distributors.(midway) But plastic. I"ve found for my particular usage rolled crimps work much better in my weapon than any {reloaded folded crimp} does. I think it is due to the fact that most modern metal Crimp Rollers offer tighter tolerances and are less forgiving than those final stage crimpers found on most shot-shell presses these days. I guess I"m old school on some things zippy 13. I"ve found over the years progress and change is not always as good as some profess it to be. Again thanks, for your input zippy 13.

SSMcG, thanks for the heads-up on a different side of .410 reloading. I re-sized a cheapo Harbor Freight punch to cut over powder wads for my percussion revolvers. I have few metal working tools. I spun the thing in a drill press and used abrasives on the hardened steel. It took some while, but the results are satisfactory.

I do not have a Dixie Gun Works catalog, but they used to and still may offer a custom punch service. This is for old off regular sized bores for muskets and fowlers.

Thanks zippy13 & Dave McC for your input. Harbor Freight is an old friend of mine. Purchased many items out of their catalog in past years including a wire feed welder that"s still work"en believe it or not. Been to Track Of the Wolf this afternoon but their punches graduate in size rather quickly. Nothing in 41 caliber was seen on their site. {3/8 to 7/16ths and nothing in between.} Dixie on the other hand also is and old acquaintance as well. But I haven"t had time to check out Dixie"s site tonight. I believe I do have an old catalog of Dixie"s to peruse while watching CNN tonight. "I"ll probably find the catalog more interesting though." Thanks guys for your time, effort and those great ideas. I appreciate it.

The BPCR folks use wad punches in reloading. Here"s a site with a selection of punches including .410" & a .403": http://www.buffaloarms.com/wad_punches_pr-3756.aspx

Hey there Don H: >Way to go!!!< Thank you Sir, for the site. They have just what I need in.410 dia. Not to bad a price either. I"ll check them out in the AM and place an order for one.-- 410 ga. 000 Buck load should preform flawlessly now, since I"ll have the correct tool to punch them over shot-cards with. Again "Thank you Donald." Sure Shot Mc Gee aka tom

Place an overshot card on top of the shot charge just before crimping to improve overall crimp quality and seal in small shot and/or buffer. Excellent for use with BPI Roll Crimpers.

Our testing lab has proven that poor crimps can alter the performance of an otherwise good load. Overshot cards always produce better, more consistent crimps and this consistency is demonstrated in the standard deviation of loads in our lab. Our ballistic lab recommends overshot cards for better crimps in all loads.

Clear Overshot Disks(either plain or printed with shot size) are also offered for great roll crimping options. See pictures in Additional Images or click on this link.

Shotshell size selection:Use the same size gauge as your hull. Smaller diameter cards also work if your particular size is out of stock. For example, a 20ga overshot card works in a 16-gauge shotshell and so on.