16ga.com ~ View topic - 16ga Paper Hulls, 2.75" and 2.5" Cheddite at BPI

Joined: 13 Oct 2015 Posts: 440

I see BPI has these. I have many times read here how they are poor for reloading, 1 to 3 loads max.

I kind of WANT some anyways, just to have for the silly old tradition of it. Like if I can ever talk other guys at skeet range to have a 16ga day, I'd bring them.

Problem is, they are BLUE, not PURPLE, which kinda defeats the whole Old Tradition part of it, or at least they'd be way better if purple!

Besides the nostalgic fun of it, is there any usefulness to the 2.5 or 2.75" paper hulls

Member Joined: 09 Jan 2013 Posts: 2242 Location: Florida

I bought some as well, and I intend to try them in one of my SxS for my last match of the season. Only because there's a guy on the other team with a Model 21 who says he will bring it. I figure might as well go down the whole vintage road, but I still may use my plastic wads as I have not experimented with fiber yet.

I will eventually load some up for hunting.

The only advantage I could see is if you do not pick up hulls in a cover or waterfowl spot, it is more biodegradable than plastic. That fact might get you on to some private property that otherwise would say no due to not wanting plastic all over their property. I knew a farmer who did not like wads littered around his pasture because he said the cows get scared of them. No idea if that's true, but that was his reasoning...or excuse.

Member Joined: 15 Mar 2007 Posts: 618 Location: Virginia

Be aware that the Cheddite papers are in no way comparable to the old American papers. They're pretty fragile and all will split on the second firing, many on the first. They seem to be made of cardboard, not wound paper. Federal still makes paper shells in both 12 and 20 gauge but not 16, alas.

Agree, I have some older hulls and they are much more substantial. I also have a nice stash of Western paper loads, though unfortunately in #4 lead; there’s nothing I shoot on a regular basis that requires #4.

The paper Cheddites seem to be built to mimic the plastic hulls in volume. They will be fun to use, but other than nostalgia and environmental concerns they are a gimmick.

Joined: 01 Oct 2007 Posts: 1041 Location: Minnesota

If you are referring to the black paper hulls that BPI sells, I had some and they were good for two shots, maximum.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2541 Location: West MI

Just for ha-has today I loaded up some of the new blue paper hulls with 24.8 gr Longshot, a Z16, an X-treme spreader and 1 oz of shot. The hulls are a bit tight to the SG16 so I opted for the Z16 when you consider the spreader. Out of my Sarasqueta with open & IC chokes I was not impressed with either barrel, in fact less so on the IC barrel. I will try the SG16 and possibly putting the spreader after the shot drop with the Z16. Thinking also about a 22.5 gr Longshot drop.

I forgot to make 7 rounds so a barrage of 4 rounds gave me:
1360, 1402, 1352, 1360
Avg 1368
Es 50.61
SD 22.61

There was definitely some play in the powder drops, so that could account for the deviation, but I’ll be looking for a better pattern first.

Joined: 04 Mar 2019 Posts: 2178 Location: Central ND

Citori16,

A primer change will fix the Sd and ES numbers. Those are pretty ugly.

You can also take the wad petals off either the Z16 or the SG16 wads, that might open things up a bit. I hate that Polywad went out of business, but I don't need spreaders any more. Not too many woodcock out this way.

Mark,

My problem with the pattern was that it was too open for my taste. The IC barrel had a hole the size of a small chicken in the middle. I may drop the spreader altogether, but I prefer a nice even spread rather than a thicker middle portion. These are going to be match loads, for the fun of it on the last match.

I'll be tweaking the load over the coming week to try some patterning over the weekend. I'll try the primer swap if I don't get good numbers. Heck, I may swap powders even.

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 526 Location: WI

I designed and printed some spreader inserts similar to the Polywad design, they seem to work pretty well. The solution to the hole in the middle of the pattern is to drop the shot charge by hand, put about 4/5 of the charge in, place the insert, and put the rest of the shot charge on top of the insert then crimp.

Njgsp,

I save my polywad spreaders for hunting loads, and load them as you say. The loads I made were with the x-treme spreader placed in the wad with shot dropped afterwards. That works good with a match load using the SG 16 and a plastic hull. Not sure if the wad or the hull makes the difference.

I have thought about getting a 3D printer for spreader wads and other useful items, but haven’t as of yet. What material are you using to make the spreaders?

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 526 Location: WI

Joined: 09 Aug 2007 Posts: 526 Location: WI

I bought a couple hundred of the cheddite paper hulls not because I wanted them or needed them but just because.

I mean, I definitely don't need them, I'm not even sure I want them, and it was probably a bad decision and frankly I'll probably never use them either - but I like the idea of paper hulls for reasons probably related to my love of 100+ year old SxS 16 gauges...