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I'm loading these in Chedite paper hulls at a velocity or 1150 -1200fps. The wads I find after being shot still have the petals intact without being folded back. Sometimes one side has folded back but seldom have both sides folded. Do you guys bend the petals back before loading or do you just stuff them in the hull intact. I have found these wads out 40-50+ yards from where I have shot them from. These are the only two petal wads that I have loaded over the years.

Thanks for info.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2357 Location: West MI

When loading the SG-16 I'll either snap the pettels loose or tear them off and use as a brush wad.

Joined: 09 Jul 2009 Posts: 510 Location: Central CT

dukxdog

The tabs are there so the wads will feed properly through the commercial automated loading machines. I have never encountered any big difference on the pattern board, if you break the petals apart or not .

I have never removed the petals completely though, and I have no idea what happens if you do.

Member Joined: 27 Jun 2005 Posts: 1545 Location: Michigan

I too have not noticed any difference in patterns, if I break the tab on the petals or not.

I have tried removing the petals, and the shot blows the end of the hull off, or maybe I should say tears it up enough, that the hull can't be reloaded, without trimming the hull. Just my experience.

Member Joined: 06 Oct 2007 Posts: 2357 Location: West MI

Whoops should have explained myself a little better. Breaking them off makes a brush wad that opens up short range patterns. Topped off with a poly wad disk+roll crimp run through cyl, skt & ic chokes and 10-20yrd shots that dont chew up birds and rabbits are possible. As far as tearing up hull mouths; I mainly reload for hunting and dont really mind a hull only lasting for few reloads. Hmmm, always thought that it was powder burn charing the hulls that weakens the edge of the plastic, somthing new every day, thanks Dave.

I really like this wad for straight walled cases, especially for clay target loads, trying to save my Win CF for live birds. I have always snapped them open, but a friend who has looked at a lot of them after being shot tells me I am wasting my time & says he finds them open. He does load everything pretty hot & we both use spreader inserts to open patterns. Never occurred to me to take petals completely off. I'll have to give that a try. Anything for an extra close rabbit on SC course.

Joined: 06 Aug 2009 Posts: 960

Wow, you fellas must like cleaning lead out of the bores. Laughing

I will stick to leaving the petals on and cleaning the plastic out.

Since I shoot a m/f 2.5" chambered gun, I shoot a lot of short roll-crimped loads with the petals cut off (including 1 1/8oz. loads with the BP Z16wad) but mostly just to save room in the hull more than anything else. I also figure brush wads were the only loads available when my gun was made, so it makes sense to some degree. But, I have patterned them and haven't noticed much of a difference in pattern spread either way. Also, the larger shot sizes seem to pattern tighter than smaller ones, probably due to their greater mass rather than any effect due to bore scrubbing.

Member Joined: 02 Oct 2007 Posts: 1975

Why go to the trouble of cutting up wads? Why not just use the obturator gas seals or card wads and fiber filler to make your brush loads. The fiber fillers come in 1/2' and smaller. Easy way to get an 1 1/8oz load in a 2 1/2" hull.Then you also get to watcth the fiber filler explode as the load comes out of the gun.