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Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 13 Location: missouri

when using the muilti-metal 16 wad from bp for steel shot do you have to slit the wad into 2 to 4 petals?

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

2tiger, I don't know about splitting the petals. I just ordered some of those wads for some black powder loads I'm working on. Can you tell me the distance from the bottom of the wad to the bottom of the shot cup. It looks to be about a 1/2" Thanks, Dave M.

Member Joined: 18 Nov 2005 Posts: 398 Location: S Fl

Way off, I'm afraid. By the dial caliper: overall length = 1.610
Shot cup depth = 1.400
Base cup depth = .085
Ergo base thickness = .125

I eyeballed it @ 1/8"/ Not a bad guess. Shocked

In case you're curious. the wad holds 567 grains of No 6 Hevishot. Or 378 gr with 2 28 ga wads under the shot.

Pete

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

Foursquare, I'm going to cut the shot cup down to hold 1 oz. of lead shot. Then, under the wad will go between 80 and 90 grains (by volume) of Pyrodex powder. Whatever I can fit in a plastic hull and get a 6 point crimp on. Laughing

Joined: 15 Dec 2005 Posts: 287 Location: missouri

Use four slits in the MM wads about 2/3 of the length of the wad. I use them with both steel and hevi shot and have excellent results with them.

Joined: 08 May 2006 Posts: 13 Location: missouri

thanks for the info!

Joined: 25 Feb 2006 Posts: 50 Location: john day, or

I use the MM 16ga wads for both steel (#4) and HeviShot (#6) and use 1/8" and 1/4" 20ga cork filler wads per my recipe. I do four splits to the depth that the shot volume in the wads.

Have used both thick and thin mylar wraps in the wad but see no need for this extra step as I have never seen either steel or HeviShot punch through the MM wad (311 full choke barrel is pretty tight too). Very effective on late season mallards and goldeneyes over decoys. Use 7/8oz #4 steel loads for cripples but most of the time the #6 HeviShot load is sufficient.

I'd slit the wads down in incriments and test the patterns. These wads can be used for any application with the right filler wads inside to adjust the shot column height. cutting the wad down first is a waste of time. The base of these wads is designed to act as a gas check. I'd take advantage of the design feature.

Same for black powder muzzle loading shotguns. Fill the inside of the wad with pressed fiber or cork and card wads to the right height while leaving enough space for the wad to fully contain the shot. Then ram the wad down snug on the powder. Its then a simple matter of pouring in the shot and ramming a thin card wad on top to contain the shot.

How far down you slit the wad will determine how fast the pattern opens. You might have read my posts about long range cased shot loads. Essentially, you are recreating a technique used in the pre-choked barrel era of the 19th century to tighten patterns from muzzle loading shotguns, which also still works for open choked modern guns too.

You will need to make at least a 1/4 length slot very evenly cut and evenly spaced around the wad. This will ensure the wad does not tip, flare irratically, or fly end over end which would sling the shot wildely about. The natural slight rotation every wad picks up from any barrel will help the petals flare evenly and release the shot downrange. Shorter petals will release the shot further out. A little experimentation will tell you what the best minimum slot is for the tightest pattern, and vice versa. Using this technique should let any good muzzle loading shotgun reach out further with somewhat tighter patterns for the tough days. Same for open fixed choke barrels.