16ga.com ~ View topic

Last week, I took the bull by the horns and called J-Ron, Inc about their new/old WW16 wad. They were nice enough to send me a sample pack of 25. I've not loaded any yet, but will when the weather braeks and spring comes. However I did some comparative measurements with the Remington R16 and SP16 wads I have on hand. Here are my results based on what my Starrett vernier tells me.

The R16 and SP16 OAL is 1.530" for both. The wad base skirt diameters are both .630" They are both .640" diameter mid-wad at the base of their shot cups as well. The R16 shot cup is .865" deep. The SP16 shot cup is .980" deep. This of course is old news. These two wads have been around since before I began wingshooting.

The Claybuster WW16 OAL is 1.755". The wad base skirt is .645" and the top of the wad base is .630" just below the expansion leg section. this means the skirt flares outwards about .015" more toward the bottom as the folks at J-Ron claim it does. Mid-wad diameter is .650" at the base of the shot cup. Shot cup depth is 1.00".

J-Ron's newest wad should be useful in all available 16 gauge hulls with suitable flake powders. The skirt flairs out as molded. Plus, the wad base cup is deeper and more rounded than those of the Remington wads. Proper wad pressure onto the powder charge will flair it more and help it seal the charge against migration just fine. Fine grained ball powders might still be a problem in Cheddite type hulls, but there is a way around that as well. A square of polyethylene plastic cut from a food storage bag under and around the wad base will ensure even the finest grained powders will not migrate.

The fully 1.00" deep shot cup tells me this wad is more suitable for 1-1/8 ounce shot loads. The shot cup is slightly deeper than that of the 1-1/8 ounce SP16 wad. I'm certain some 1 ounce loads will need a 28 gauge card wad to establish a proper crimp height in some hulls.

The WW16 clone shot cup is too deep for 3/4 or 7/8 ounce loads IMO unless the reloader is prepared to insert at least three 28 ga card wads to take up the extra space under the shot. However, since Nick Hammack's new 3/4 to 1 ounce wad will also be available soon, this point is just about moot for us subgauge load fans. Thanks again Thin Man. Very Happy

The dimensions of the WW16 clone suggest a use or three I'm sure J-Ron has not envisioned. The most obvious is because the wad has the deepest shot cup of all available 16 ga plastic wads. It should be entirely suitable for 1-1/4 ounce loads due to the 1.00" depth of the shot cup. It is deeper than the SP16 shot cup. Of course, I'd have to cut away the expansion section from the shot cup and wad base, then insert the right thickness card wads between the cup and base to get a good shot/wad column height for solid crimping. However this should be entirely doable. As long as the weight and pull of the ejecta remain the same as my other 1-1/4 ounce loads, a proper charge of Blue Dot should work quite well here. Patterning of these long range hammers should be even better than the ones I've been loading with the SP16 wad.

From what I can surmise, we have another very useful, very adaptable 16 gauge wad suitable for hunting loads. Its nice deep shot cup is a welcome addition to the tools I already have to stretch the 16 well into 12 gauge territory. so if you will excuse me, I'm off to the loading bench to get started. Can you say KABOOM!!! Very Happy

Joined: 23 Jan 2008 Posts: 224

Thanks 16GG for the product discription. That is exactly the type of information I have been seeking for the WAA16 clone. I was wondering how this wad would work for a 1 1/8 to a 1 1/4 oz load. Looks good. I was also wondering how it would work with 12 pellets of #1 buck stacked 2X2. I have been testing some loads like this using the SP-16 wad with very good results, but wanted something with a larger base wad than the SP-16 for use in a cheddite hull...due to powder migration issues. Looks like I need to order some of the WAA16's. Thanks.

16gg

I was given Shocked

a bag of 500 of these wads and they have been sitting here for about 3 months with me staring at them trying to find a purpose (I load 3/4 oz lead in 90% of my 16 ga loadings already). Now with your dimensions, I am wondering about a 1 1/8 or 1 1/4 ounce hevishot or niceshot loading in the 4000 or so paper cheddite hulls I have left. Would be really cool to shoot some decoying ducks and geese with my remington 1100 16 ga or one of the sissytoris with paper hulls and no-tox loads!

Any suggestions of a load from the 16 ga data sheet Question

I'd not want to suggest anything for Heavi-shot. I believe this is a tungsten or tungsten alloy shot. The pellets are harder than steel. Tungsten pellets do not transverse the barrel and choke like lead. They have a dynamic I know nothing about. The wad column would also have to include a tungsten proof wad or shot wrapper to protect your barrel. I know even less about Nice shot.

Reloading these super hard/extra heavy shot types is still in its infancy. This is a topic best left to a real expert and somebody far more informed than I am. I'd also check whatever source of info you get on this topic very carefully. A decade or so ago when steel shot reloading was very new, I know of several folks who got into trouble loading steel shot because they tried using questionable data given to them by a self proclaimed local expert. Be cautious and good luck.

Member Joined: 24 Dec 2008 Posts: 37 Location: U.S.A.

Have shot about a thousand of these with a cheerio in the bottom, 7/8 oz. lead 7.5 , Unique, Cheddite plastic 2.5, 8 star crimp....shoots great......shake them up first in a bottle of powdered graphite...........

Simple, easy and fills the case just right IMO...............

Rgds,