I started loading 28 ga with Longshot this week & have a question regarding wad placement.

I'm loading new-production AA hulls with Claybuster wads, dropping 14+ gr of Longshot through a MEC #13 bushing.

If I send the wad all the way to the bottom of the stroke, the shot is quite a way down in the shell, and I have to back out the final crimp to avoid a recessed crimp.

Now when I shake the loaded shell the shot makes a very distinct rattle.

Is that OK? Do I need to adjust the wad/shot depth, leaving the powder un-compacted?

I normally use Green Dot or 20/28 but those powders weren't available locally. So I bought some Longshot.

Any help would be sincerely appreciated--thanks!

How much pressure are you putting on the wad, you may be crushing it? I use 20/28 with the same case and wad with no problems. Also make sure you are using the the right wad for the new AA style cases. I believe it is the CB5034HS wad. I have not used Longshot but I would be surprised if it was that much denser than 20/28.
C.G.B.

It is important that the wad is seated firmly on the powder, but only needs minimum pressure to ensure there is no air gap. Shot size also has a bearing on depth in the wad cup, #9 shot or similar size will pack well into the cup leaving too much of a gap to get a good tight crimp. A tight crimp is required to get correct pressure for a good clean powder burn and correct ballistics.

I load 20g AA HS hulls using the 3/4oz Claybuster "Winchester Style" wad for my grandson's shotgun and with 3/4oz #9 shot (for quail) there is still too much gap for a good crimp even with the correct 3/4oz wad. I just add a few more shot pellets in each hull until level with the end of the wad petals which then gives me a good tight crimp.
The powder charge of Unique I'm using is the same as can be used for 7/8oz shot loads so pressure is not a concern with adding a few more pellets.

The Claybuster Winchester style wads work well in the AA HS hulls which seem to have the same taper as the old compression formed AA wads so the wad seats firmly over the powder in the base wad. The plastic base wad itself is nicely skived so it doesn't have a sharp lip to catch and damage the over powder wad cup when seating on the powder as can happen with some of the Cheddite or Rieffenhauser type hulls.

An option to better fill the wad shot cup is to cut some cardboard wads to sit in the base of the cup and take up some space.