Fiber Wads in Plastic Shotshells?

[Mean Matt McCord, SASS #24683]

Pards, I am toying with the notion of using fiber wads in plastic shotgun shells with my BP loads, in lieu of plastic wads. I'm thinking it will make for easier cleaning, as I won't have to clean out the melted wads from the insides of the barrels. Have any of you done this? If so, have you noticed any difference in shot spread during firing, or anything like that? As usual, thank you in advance.

[Yusta B.]

How are you cleaning barrels? Are you shooting real BP? With my Baikal it takes only to plug muzzle with rubber corks, fill barrels

with HOT water, let stand for 10 min., pull corks & push thru 1/2 paper towel -- clean as a whistle. Plastic snakes come out usually in one long piece with the water. Bore mop with Ballistol or your choice of rust preventative & it's done.

[Al OVERA, SASS#26238 Life]

Pards, I am toying with the notion of using fiber wads in plastic shotgun shells with my BP loads, in lieu of plastic wads. I'm thinking it will make for easier cleaning, as I won't have to clean out the melted wads from the insides of the barrels. Have any of you done this? If so, have you noticed any difference in shot spread during firing, or anything like that? As usual, thank you in advance.

I find that the fiber wad becomes a solid projectile and blows a hole in your pattern. Try using a couple overshot cards instead of a wad of any sort. Ya can get lots more powder in this way too.

Al

[Mean Matt McCord, SASS #24683]

How are you cleaning barrels? Are you shooting real BP? With my Baikal it takes only to plug muzzle with rubber corks, fill barrels

with HOT water, let stand for 10 min., pull corks & push thru 1/2 paper towel -- clean as a whistle. Plastic snakes come out usually in one long piece with the water. Bore mop with Ballistol or your choice of rust preventative & it's done.

Clean up is not that big a deal, Yusta. I am just looking for a way to make it easier. You know me, I'm lazy as all getout.

[Yusta B.]

Clean up is not that big a deal, Yusta. I am just looking for a way to make it easier. You know me, I'm lazy as all getout.

Or you could think of it as more prudent

[Cusz M. Dutch SASS Life 55326]

seems like the fiber wads would open the choke up to where I would need to go one tighter. Never did put it on a pattern board, so I don't know if it was blowing the pattern. 65 Goex and 118 shot Plastic just so much easier when reloading.

 

I spray the barrels down after the shoot and the snot usually would come out with one pass of the bore snake at home.

[Jefro, SASS#69420]

Clean up is not that big a deal, Yusta. I am just looking for a way to make it easier. You know me, I'm lazy as all getout.

Howdy Matt, yer still gonna have to clean out the BP fouling, might as well take care of the snake at the same time. I made a little T-handle out of some hard copper wire I had. Hook T into the barrels, pour about a quart of hot water down the pipes, the fouling and snake are all gone, no cleaning no scrubing. I spray a little Murphy's mix and push a half a paper towel through. Finish up with your favorite gun oil....Balllistol, Rem Oil...etc..etc Good Luck

 

Jefro Relax-Enjoy

[Nate Kiowa Jones #6765]

A lot will depend on your guns chamber/forcing cones. Many modern shotguns like the Stoegers have long forcing cones that are designed for plastic wads. If your gun has long forcing cones and you use fiber wads you stand the chance of the wad turning and stringing/blowing your shot pattern out. The old original shotguns with short cones were designed for fiber. The short cones doesn't give the wad time/space to turn.

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I used fiber wads for a long while. Yes, you do not get the plastic snake skin, but cleaning my SG takes no time at all. Wad up a paper towel and stuff in the chamber. Spray some windex down the barrel. Clean the rifle. Push paper towel through the barrels. Lube. Reassemble shotgun and put it in the safe.

You still got to clean it and the additional cost and time of reloading associated with fiber over plastic was just not worth it to me.

[Bull Skinner]

I load with fiber from Circle Fly. Like you I don't wanta mess with the snake. These fiber wad loads always nail the knock downs. I have used plastic and didn't like the mess either.

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

I find that the fiber wad becomes a solid projectile and blows a hole in your pattern. Try using a couple overshot cards instead of a wad of any sort. Ya can get lots more powder in this way too.

Al

This is not my experience. I use Circle Fly fiber wads that are impregnated with lube. I use the fiber wad, then a card wad, shot and crimp. I've patterned them....no holes or blown patterns.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

Well, talk about a coincidence! I just came upstairs from loading 3 boxes of STS and AA hulls with Black Powder and Circle Fly fiber wads. I would hate to guess how many of these loads I have shot over the years, but it must be several thousand. Thanks for reminding me I need to order more Circle Fly wads.

 

First things first. This ain't trap or skeet. We ain't trying to hit a little clay disk flying away from us at 40 mph. Mostly the targets are up close and personal and they're not moving. So there is no reason to be concerned about whether using separate fiber wads opens up the pattern one notch. It just does not matter. No, I have never patterned my loads. But I have fired several thousand of them at plates and knockdowns. If my patterns are being blown, I sure don't see any evidence of it. Personally, I think patterns are much more likely to be blown by overpowering the shot with too much powder than any effect that separate wads have. Everything I point my shotgun at falls down when I pull the trigger. And I have smashed lots of clay birds popped straight up too. No, I did not do too well when I tried a round of trap with my loads, but my 24" open choke SXS is not much of a Trap gun, and like I said, we ain't shooting trap.

 

I have used my loads with an old boxlock Stevens with 30" full choke barrels and my current 24" cylinder bore Stevens hammer gun. The loads perform fine with either gun. The main trick is to take a moment to actually aim. Yeah, I know somebody is going to chime in and say you don't aim a shotgun, you point it. But like I said, this ain't trap or skeet. I aim my CAS shotgun no different than I aim my rifle. I put the front bead on the target and pull the trigger. When I shoot Trap, I point the gun.

 

We can't put load data here on the wire, but if anybody is interested in my 12 gauge BP load with separate fiber wads, just send me a PM.

 

Did I mention this ain't trap or skeet?

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

I won't post load data here, but...

 

When I was doing fiber setup, i would do powder, one over power card, one lubed cushion wad, two more over power cards and 7/8 oz shot.

 

There was enough powder to get the height right.

 

Never had an issue with pattern or knocking anything down

[Nate Kiowa Jones #6765]

Well, talk about a coincidence! I just came upstairs from loading 3 boxes of STS and AA hulls with Black Powder and Circle Fly fiber wads. I would hate to guess how many of these loads I have shot over the years, but it must be several thousand. Thanks for reminding me I need to order more Circle Fly wads.

 

First things first. This ain't trap or skeet. We ain't trying to hit a little clay disk flying away from us at 40 mph. Mostly the targets are up close and personal and they're not moving. So there is no reason to be concerned about whether using separate fiber wads opens up the pattern one notch. It just does not matter. No, I have never patterned my loads. But I have fired several thousand of them at plates and knockdowns. If my patterns are being blown, I sure don't see any evidence of it. Personally, I think patterns are much more likely to be blown by overpowering the shot with too much powder than any effect that separate wads have. Everything I point my shotgun at falls down when I pull the trigger. And I have smashed lots of clay birds popped straight up too. No, I did not do too well when I tried a round of trap with my loads, but my 24" open choke SXS is not much of a Trap gun, and like I said, we ain't shooting trap.

 

I have used my loads with an old boxlock Stevens with 30" full choke barrels and my current 24" cylinder bore Stevens hammer gun. The loads perform fine with either gun. The main trick is to take a moment to actually aim. Yeah, I know somebody is going to chime in and say you don't aim a shotgun, you point it. But like I said, this ain't trap or skeet. I aim my CAS shotgun no different than I aim my rifle. I put the front bead on the target and pull the trigger. When I shoot Trap, I point the gun.

 

We can't put load data here on the wire, but if anybody is interested in my 12 gauge BP load with separate fiber wads, just send me a PM.

 

Did I mention this ain't trap or skeet?

 

 

DJ,

Blowing a pattern and stringing the shot are two different things. But for you it won't make any difference, anyway. I have yet to ever see an old Stevens with long forcing cones. They are short cone guns designed for fiber wads.

[Warden Callaway]

Over the winter I wasted time loading 12 gauge with BP and Pyrodex. Most were loaded with Claybuster wads but I experimented with improvised wads. I'd shoot 25 loads and then clean the barrels.

 

I found no significant difference between plastic wads, plastic wads over over-powder card or homemade wads with and without lube with Bore Butter when it came to the amount of buildup. I recovered the Claybuster wads and found no evidence that any material was melted or even scorched.

[Branchwater Jack SASS #88854]

Over the winter I wasted time loading 12 gauge with BP and Pyrodex. Most were loaded with Claybuster wads but I experimented with improvised wads. I'd shoot 25 loads and then clean the barrels.

 

I found no significant difference between plastic wads, plastic wads over over-powder card or homemade wads with and without lube with Bore Butter when it came to the amount of buildup. I recovered the Claybuster wads and found no evidence that any material was melted or even scorched.

In my experience...The amount of plastic buildup is entirely dependant on ambiant temperature and number of shots fired in the string.

 

On days like yesterday, cooler and rainy, at most 4 shotgun shots, there was practically no plastic buildup. The barrels were constantly cool, and I never had an issue with heat buildup.

 

Last weekend, was hot and sunny. Sun shown down on my black barrels and they were warm to the touch without firing a shot. Shot multiple six round stages with the shotgun. When we cleaned it after shooting, a bunch of plastic was thrown out the barrel.

 

YMMV

[Big Sage, SASS #49891 Life]

Well, talk about a coincidence! I just came upstairs from loading 3 boxes of STS and AA hulls with Black Powder and Circle Fly fiber wads. I would hate to guess how many of these loads I have shot over the years, but it must be several thousand. Thanks for reminding me I need to order more Circle Fly wads.

 

First things first. This ain't trap or skeet. We ain't trying to hit a little clay disk flying away from us at 40 mph. Mostly the targets are up close and personal and they're not moving. So there is no reason to be concerned about whether using separate fiber wads opens up the pattern one notch. It just does not matter. No, I have never patterned my loads. But I have fired several thousand of them at plates and knockdowns. If my patterns are being blown, I sure don't see any evidence of it. Personally, I think patterns are much more likely to be blown by overpowering the shot with too much powder than any effect that separate wads have. Everything I point my shotgun at falls down when I pull the trigger. And I have smashed lots of clay birds popped straight up too. No, I did not do too well when I tried a round of trap with my loads, but my 24" open choke SXS is not much of a Trap gun, and like I said, we ain't shooting trap.

 

I have used my loads with an old boxlock Stevens with 30" full choke barrels and my current 24" cylinder bore Stevens hammer gun. The loads perform fine with either gun. The main trick is to take a moment to actually aim. Yeah, I know somebody is going to chime in and say you don't aim a shotgun, you point it. But like I said, this ain't trap or skeet. I aim my CAS shotgun no different than I aim my rifle. I put the front bead on the target and pull the trigger. When I shoot Trap, I point the gun.

 

We can't put load data here on the wire, but if anybody is interested in my 12 gauge BP load with separate fiber wads, just send me a PM.

 

Did I mention this ain't trap or skeet?

Couldn't have said it better.....

[John Henry Quick]

I load with fiber from Circle Fly. Like you I don't wanta mess with the snake. These fiber wad loads always nail the knock downs. I have used plastic and didn't like the mess either.

 

+1

 

I use powder, the one hard card topped with two fiber wads, then shot then and over shot card - works quite nicely.

[Driftwood Johnson, SASS #38283]

 

DJ,

Blowing a pattern and stringing the shot are two different things. But for you it won't make any difference, anyway. I have yet to ever see an old Stevens with long forcing cones. They are short cone guns designed for fiber wads.

Actually Nate, and I do respect your knowledge tremendously, my old Stevens 24" SXS had its forcing cones lengthened when somebody cut the barrels down. That may be part of the reason that I couldn't hit squat with it on the trapfield.

 

But I still maintain what I said before. The targets are so doggone close that it just does not matter. With my old 30" full choke Stevens somebody once commented that my patterns were the size of a dinner plate when they hit a shotgun plate. I suspect my patterns with the open choked SXS are slightly larger, but at 10 or 12 yards hitting a motionless target it just does not matter.

[Garrison Joe, SASS #60708]

Over the winter I wasted time loading 12 gauge with BP and Pyrodex. .... I recovered the Claybuster wads and found no evidence that any material was melted or even scorched.

Well, weather was not hot enough and dry enough, then. I shoot nothing but plastic wads in my BP loads, and have found both the amount of plastic left in the bore, and the amount melted off the wad where it rubs the bore, increases with hot and dry weather. As have many other pards.

 

If getting the fouling and the "snakeskin" out of the bore is a problem, then most likely shooting frontier powder is not for you. It's just as easy to get the skin and fouling out as it is to just get the fouling out. Same steps, same cleaning tools. Don't see why you want to slow down your loading of shells,PERHAPS accept a looser pattern, and pay more for the experience, to shoot fiber wads, but you can if you want to.

 

Good luck, GJ

[SASS# 23321 Canelo Kid]

Over-powder card, fiber wad, shot, crimp. Never had any problems with blown patterns and I hunt dove and upland with these loads. I squirt a little water in each barrel, one swipe with a good bore-snake, and my bores look as new as ever.

[royal barnes sass #5792]

Powder, 1/8" card wad. 1/2" fiber wad, shot, overshot card, crimp works fine for me and has for years. I have never used plastic wads with BP shells. To each his own but BP and plastic in the same sentence leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

[Monco]

Powder, 1/8" card wad. 1/2" fiber wad, shot, overshot card, crimp works fine for me and has for years. I have never used plastic wads with BP shells. To each his own but BP and plastic in the same sentence leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

This method works well for me and so did plastic wads. Takes more time to assemble rounds with fiber and cards though. I haven't patterned any of them but they all knock down CAS shotgun targets.

[Larsen E. Pettifogger, SASS #32933]

I don't do anything that adds to the reloading time. I use progressive presses and adding fiber wads and overshot cards are more steps and not needed. With BP the plastic comes out of the barrel with little or no problem. The tiny bit of extra time it takes to clean the plastic snot out of the barrel is no where near the extra time it takes to use multi-piece fiber and overshot wads. A lot of people don't think about it and don't clean their smokeless shotguns all that much, but they also will build up a layer of plastic in the barrel. It just takes a lot more shots. Getting that out of the barrel is far harder than cleaning up after a BP shoot.

[Mean Matt McCord, SASS #24683]

Pards, as usual your knowledge is overwhelming, not to mention vital. Thank you again.

[Bull Skinner]

Well boys, do as ya like. I will continue to use fiber wads as was shot in the old days. I'm retired. Reloading is as much a hobby as CAS is for me. Heck, I reload 44/40, 45 Colt, 44 Special and 44 Russian as well as several bottleneck cases. I load all of em on the RCBS Special single stage that I bought in 1979. I ain't in no hurry.

[John Henry Quick]

Well boys, do as ya like. I will continue to use fiber wads as was shot in the old days. I'm retired. Reloading is as much a hobby as CAS is for me. Heck, I reload 44/40, 45 Colt, 44 Special and 44 Russian as well as several bottleneck cases. I load all of em on the RCBS Special single stage that I bought in 1979. I ain't in no hurry.

 

+1

 

I'm using an old Rock Chucker. Plastic is just fine for speed, but I actually enjoy assembling new loads. The load I described up above works well for star crimping, but I want to reduce the stack and only use one fiber wad, so I just received a case cutter from Ballistic Products and I'm going to try cutting them down and gluing a thin wad on top. For some of us strange puppies, making ammo is just as interesting as shooting it...

[Bull Skinner]

John, a friend a mine used to accuse me of only going shooting so's I could empty the loaded cases for more reloading.

[Cheatin' Chamberlin]

I shoot true black and use plastic wads. It only takes me about 5 minutes to clean both barrels of my Stoeger SXS. I just take the barrels off. Take it over to the sink and use the spray nozzle. Hold it against the chamber end of each barrel. The hot water takes it right out.

 

Then I use a dry shotgun cleaning wad and dry it out. Then a thin coat of oil in the barrels using a shotgun mop. Done! The inside of the barrels still look new and I have been shooting bp out it for 4 years now.

 

 

Cheatin'

[Monco]

Yea, and I'll probalby use up the fiber wads and cards that I bought just to try something different and go back to plastic wads once they are used up. It is definitely easy to clean out the plastic left in the barrels but it is also entertaining to load the way it was done in the past. I can at least say I've been there, done that. Might keep a few around in the event I decide to play with brass shells in an old shotgun in the future.

[Roger Rapid]

You can have the best of both worlds by using a Flys cardboard wad along with plastic. A friend show me that you can simply cut the bottom loop off a Claybuster 1oz wad and put a Flys 12ga cardboard wad behind it. Works pretty darn well… R

 

[The Shoer 27979]

I use fiber wads in both my plastic shells and brass. But I was given (I don't remember the brand) 20 boxes of each 3/8 fiber wades, 1/2 fiber wad, overpowder cards and overshoot cards, so I don't need to buy any for a very loooong time. I have recently started using a plastic shot cup to my brass shotshells

[Utah Bob #35998]

This is not my experience. I use Circle Fly fiber wads that are impregnated with lube. I use the fiber wad, then a card wad, shot and crimp. I've patterned them....no holes or blown patterns.

Ditto! Haven't used plastic wads in 10 years.

[Mean Matt McCord, SASS #24683]

Well, talk about a coincidence! I just came upstairs from loading 3 boxes of STS and AA hulls with Black Powder and Circle Fly fiber wads. I would hate to guess how many of these loads I have shot over the years, but it must be several thousand. Thanks for reminding me I need to order more Circle Fly wads.

 

First things first. This ain't trap or skeet. We ain't trying to hit a little clay disk flying away from us at 40 mph. Mostly the targets are up close and personal and they're not moving. So there is no reason to be concerned about whether using separate fiber wads opens up the pattern one notch. It just does not matter. No, I have never patterned my loads. But I have fired several thousand of them at plates and knockdowns. If my patterns are being blown, I sure don't see any evidence of it. Personally, I think patterns are much more likely to be blown by overpowering the shot with too much powder than any effect that separate wads have. Everything I point my shotgun at falls down when I pull the trigger. And I have smashed lots of clay birds popped straight up too. No, I did not do too well when I tried a round of trap with my loads, but my 24" open choke SXS is not much of a Trap gun, and like I said, we ain't shooting trap.

 

I have used my loads with an old boxlock Stevens with 30" full choke barrels and my current 24" cylinder bore Stevens hammer gun. The loads perform fine with either gun. The main trick is to take a moment to actually aim. Yeah, I know somebody is going to chime in and say you don't aim a shotgun, you point it. But like I said, this ain't trap or skeet. I aim my CAS shotgun no different than I aim my rifle. I put the front bead on the target and pull the trigger. When I shoot Trap, I point the gun.

 

We can't put load data here on the wire, but if anybody is interested in my 12 gauge BP load with separate fiber wads, just send me a PM.

 

Did I mention this ain't trap or skeet?

Yes I would, thank you.

[Roger Rapid]

Just want to clarify my previous comment and photo (above) of using a Fly's fiber wad beneath a cut-off 1oz Claybuster's plastic wad: I just came from reloading some BP 12g a loads and realized that I tear the 1/2" Fly's wad into 1/3rds - so the photo above is misleading because it shows a full 1/2" Fly's wad. My bad - but the idea is the same. .. RR