I guess the word bootleg wads is probably not the correct term. Lots of folks have been making their "HOMEMADE" flite control wads for years because while Federal could make a small fortune by selling their components, yet for some reason, they flat out have no interest in selling their flite control wads unless it's in their factory ammo.
For several years I've seen folks making a template and making their own flite control stylish wads, so I'm not doing anything here that hasn't been done before. Though, I'm wanting to try to put my own twist on it (no pun intended).
I am wanting to make some of the longest range and accurate (pellet count) loads as I can. In typical fashion for me, I just can't leave well enough alone.
In the few years that I've been reloading shotshells, I have picked up a thing or two here and there. For instance, there are wads that separate very quickly from the shot. Those typically have 8 petals.
Example is the Downrange brand hybrid wads like the HRHRT12 as seen here:
Those hulls tend to work well for bird hunting and clays because they seperate quickly and typically spread out a lot of shot rather quickly.
Then you have the standard 4 petal wads that are common in most shotgun and hunting loads. Below is the clone of the remington fig 8 wads that downrange makes.
The actual early version of the flite control wad had 3 petals around the shot cup and a whole bunch of slits around the gas seal that you can see below.
The newest style long range wad they've been using has omitted the three petals around the shot cup and now simply has some slits along the sides. They have kept the small petals around the gas seal.
So, the whole point of the last several things I've added is in regards to the petal count on the wad. More petals generally equals short range and less petals equal longer range because the wad and the payload acts more like a slug that travels for longer distances before the wad is more gradually stripped away and separate from the pellets. At least that's how it appears in my limited knowledge of the subject.
So, since I have finally found some really deep shot cups that are not preslit for petals, that means that I get to make my own slits. I've wanted to try some of these unslit wads for a long time, but they're apparently only made every now and then. And considering these are 16 gauge wads, make them even more unusual of a find.
So, I decided to sacrifice a straight wall hull and turn it into my template. I may make some changes later, but this is version 1. In order to make some shells that should excel at long range, I only made 2 petals near the base of the wad. Since the gas seal part of the wad is solid, I cannot copy the little petals that federal does around the base of their wads. But, I only wanted to use the 2 side petals near the base to try to keep the wad and the shot together for longer than I'd get out of a traditional factory wad.
I trimmed the top of the hull off so I can insert the wad into the template hull and pull it out easier. And the easiest way I could think to find the center on both sides of the hull was to count the little ridges in the hull that the federals are known for. Once I found out how many there were (40), it was only a matter of 3rd grade math to find the center of the hull on both sides where I wanted to make the petals. Another benefit of the ridges in the hull was keeping the cut straight for the petals too.
I used a piece of masking tape around the base of the hull because I wanted to keep the slits that I made straight, and also, the location that I made them, the riser in the bottom of the shot cup will be there, which should minimize the amount of pellets coming out of the openings on the side and encourage as many pellets as possible to come out the front in the direction that it's traveling.
I may make taller slits in the side later. I'm curious how the short petals will work first. And for no other reason than to have a baseline to compare later.
I simply slide the wad into the hull until it bottoms out, use the little razor that my Dad gave me to cut the slit in the wad, and pull it out of the hull. I also use a little metal piece to push the petal out a little so I can shape and help form the petal so it'll open OK on its' on.
Here's a few of the wads after I cut them. Again, I may make the petals taller eventually, but for now, the main reason why I kept them the height they are, is that each petal is half the height of the bore diameter. So, just under 3/8" each. Combined for both of them, the petals are as tall as the bore is wide. (That was my attempt of trying to be scientific). But, again, I can make the petals taller later if I find that helps.
I have absolutely no idea how these wads will work. May just flat out suck. I don't really think they will though. But, I also don't want to make a pellet slug either so I'll have to shoot these at varying ranges with the #6 shot that I like to use for hunting to see how they do at 25-50 yards. Only live fire will give me the answers that I'm wanting. I will be making each test load with 20 gr of longshot. Each will have exactly 1-1/8 oz of shot down to the pellet. Same nitro shot card underneath of the pellets to raise the height up enough for a crimp and will all be shot out of the same gun trying to keep everything equal as I can.
The main reason why I'm only going to use 20 gr of powder is because that's on the bottom of what I could be loading with and shouldn't be a problem from a pressure standpoint. I can load up some hotter ones later when I'm working it up to the velocities that I want to get. 1275-1300 fps would be great for what I do. But when I load some of these and test them, I'm wanting to see how the pattern and the wads do first. The rest of the load workup can come later. In looking at a lot of published data for longshot, generally starts at 22 gr and goes up to ~27 all depending on components. So, 20 gr should be an adequate place to start working this up since there is ZERO published data for this wad yet so I want to be careful and start low and work my way up as necessary later. But 20 gr should be a decent jumping off point.
It will be a while before I'll be able to load some up and put them on paper, but I just thought a few of you may be interested in following along.
For several years I've seen folks making a template and making their own flite control stylish wads, so I'm not doing anything here that hasn't been done before. Though, I'm wanting to try to put my own twist on it (no pun intended).
I am wanting to make some of the longest range and accurate (pellet count) loads as I can. In typical fashion for me, I just can't leave well enough alone.
In the few years that I've been reloading shotshells, I have picked up a thing or two here and there. For instance, there are wads that separate very quickly from the shot. Those typically have 8 petals.
Example is the Downrange brand hybrid wads like the HRHRT12 as seen here:
Those hulls tend to work well for bird hunting and clays because they seperate quickly and typically spread out a lot of shot rather quickly.
Then you have the standard 4 petal wads that are common in most shotgun and hunting loads. Below is the clone of the remington fig 8 wads that downrange makes.
The actual early version of the flite control wad had 3 petals around the shot cup and a whole bunch of slits around the gas seal that you can see below.
The newest style long range wad they've been using has omitted the three petals around the shot cup and now simply has some slits along the sides. They have kept the small petals around the gas seal.
So, the whole point of the last several things I've added is in regards to the petal count on the wad. More petals generally equals short range and less petals equal longer range because the wad and the payload acts more like a slug that travels for longer distances before the wad is more gradually stripped away and separate from the pellets. At least that's how it appears in my limited knowledge of the subject.
So, since I have finally found some really deep shot cups that are not preslit for petals, that means that I get to make my own slits. I've wanted to try some of these unslit wads for a long time, but they're apparently only made every now and then. And considering these are 16 gauge wads, make them even more unusual of a find.
So, I decided to sacrifice a straight wall hull and turn it into my template. I may make some changes later, but this is version 1. In order to make some shells that should excel at long range, I only made 2 petals near the base of the wad. Since the gas seal part of the wad is solid, I cannot copy the little petals that federal does around the base of their wads. But, I only wanted to use the 2 side petals near the base to try to keep the wad and the shot together for longer than I'd get out of a traditional factory wad.
I trimmed the top of the hull off so I can insert the wad into the template hull and pull it out easier. And the easiest way I could think to find the center on both sides of the hull was to count the little ridges in the hull that the federals are known for. Once I found out how many there were (40), it was only a matter of 3rd grade math to find the center of the hull on both sides where I wanted to make the petals. Another benefit of the ridges in the hull was keeping the cut straight for the petals too.
I used a piece of masking tape around the base of the hull because I wanted to keep the slits that I made straight, and also, the location that I made them, the riser in the bottom of the shot cup will be there, which should minimize the amount of pellets coming out of the openings on the side and encourage as many pellets as possible to come out the front in the direction that it's traveling.
I may make taller slits in the side later. I'm curious how the short petals will work first. And for no other reason than to have a baseline to compare later.
I simply slide the wad into the hull until it bottoms out, use the little razor that my Dad gave me to cut the slit in the wad, and pull it out of the hull. I also use a little metal piece to push the petal out a little so I can shape and help form the petal so it'll open OK on its' on.
Here's a few of the wads after I cut them. Again, I may make the petals taller eventually, but for now, the main reason why I kept them the height they are, is that each petal is half the height of the bore diameter. So, just under 3/8" each. Combined for both of them, the petals are as tall as the bore is wide. (That was my attempt of trying to be scientific). But, again, I can make the petals taller later if I find that helps.
I have absolutely no idea how these wads will work. May just flat out suck. I don't really think they will though. But, I also don't want to make a pellet slug either so I'll have to shoot these at varying ranges with the #6 shot that I like to use for hunting to see how they do at 25-50 yards. Only live fire will give me the answers that I'm wanting. I will be making each test load with 20 gr of longshot. Each will have exactly 1-1/8 oz of shot down to the pellet. Same nitro shot card underneath of the pellets to raise the height up enough for a crimp and will all be shot out of the same gun trying to keep everything equal as I can.
The main reason why I'm only going to use 20 gr of powder is because that's on the bottom of what I could be loading with and shouldn't be a problem from a pressure standpoint. I can load up some hotter ones later when I'm working it up to the velocities that I want to get. 1275-1300 fps would be great for what I do. But when I load some of these and test them, I'm wanting to see how the pattern and the wads do first. The rest of the load workup can come later. In looking at a lot of published data for longshot, generally starts at 22 gr and goes up to ~27 all depending on components. So, 20 gr should be an adequate place to start working this up since there is ZERO published data for this wad yet so I want to be careful and start low and work my way up as necessary later. But 20 gr should be a decent jumping off point.
It will be a while before I'll be able to load some up and put them on paper, but I just thought a few of you may be interested in following along.