wad petals length change of shot pattern?

[kelljp]

Has anyone played with modifying wad petals length to affect pellet count in target with a black powder shotgun ? Keep running across people mentioning this and was trying to get a handle on concept.

 

[Newly O’Brian]

I have and the number of slits too.

Myself, I found 3 cuts, 7/8 of the way down patterned the best.

I made a wooden insert w cut guides to fit inside the shot cup to giide the blade staight and even.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Has anyone played with modifying wad petals length to affect pellet count in target with a black powder shotgun ? Keep running across people mentioning this and was trying to get a handle on concept.

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Ranger-Elite-12ga-Unslit-Wad-100_bag/productinfo/32212REUS/

It is a full length (-no cushion-) wad that has not been slit. It holds a healthy amount of shot. You can experiment with number of slits and how deep you slit the wad. You could also measure your shot height in the cup and trim it shorter if you wanted.

 

[kelljp]

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Ranger-Elite-12ga-Unslit-Wad-100_bag/productinfo/32212REUS/

It is a full length (-no cushion-) wad that has not been slit. It holds a healthy amount of shot. You can experiment with number of slits and how deep you slit the wad. You could also measure your shot height in the cup and trim it shorter if you wanted.

So if I'm understanding this by the slits you can change the pattern of the shot.
Is there any one type/brand of wadcup that works better or are all of them the same ?

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Not sure. I haven’t done any testing with these, but I do have a bag of them. I bought them for a 12 ga trade gun I had but then sold.

Yes a shallow slit will hold the shot together for a longer period of time.

The longer the slit, the quicker the petals catch air and wad falls away

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

…so you can play with your shot pattern by vertical depth of the petal slit

that’s the theory at least.

I have not tried it out yet. I do have some 12ga cups like in the link if you have a 12ga and want to try it.

 

[kelljp]

Thanks I ordered some WWA12R wads, I'll try it and see what happens.
Goal is to get a repeatable pattern that will cover a paper plate at 30 yards.

 

[Freedom]

Recovered plastic shot cups from a modern shotgun have their petals kinked hard and open at 90°.
When shooting the shot cups from my Fowler I'm able to gather them up and reuse the cups.
I think paper cups work about as well but they're still hit&miss.
It takes quite a bit of tinkering to put a decent pattern on a plate at 30 yards without a choke.

 

[kelljp]

I have one barrel without a choke tube and one with. Trying to see which I'm going keep.
One without is easier to load. The advantages of one over the other is fairly slim.

 

[Freedom]

Here's an interesting thread on extending the range of a shot pattern.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/wrapped-bird-shot.149620/#post-2109308

 

[kelljp]

Here's an interesting thread on extending the range of a shot pattern.
https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/wrapped-bird-shot.149620/#post-2109308

Just about the time I think I have a handle on it something else pops up. Who would have thought of using
melted beeswax to extend the range. And thought shotguns would be easy !

 

[Greg Y]

I'm new to the muzzleloader shot game, but I stumbled upon a fantastic load from the gate.

I load 80grs 2f swiss with a nitro wad on it....then I put a golf ball sized tuft of sheep wool on that and pack it tight. My shot goes in next followed by a tight fitting card and lastly a olive oil soaked fiber wad that I split in half to start the lube process.

My theory was the front lubed wad would keep the bore slick and the wool would pad and allow the shot to center up. What I found is my patterns at 40 yards from my 12ga are beautifully distributed and I have been hitting birds all week with this. I killed a pheasant at about 40 yards and yesterday a passing quail with a 100 yard run to get up to speed dropped at about 35yds with a mile of lead to make contact.

I'd try the wool before you dive too deep into plastic stuff as my bores are incredibly clean after shooting a few times.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

I have used standard AA shot cups in that 12g trade gun, and yea it gets streaky with plastic. I used boiling water to scald the plastic off the bore walls and it floated right to the top.

 

[longcruise]

Shooting those over BP makes it more likely to leave plastic.

When I would shoot modern shells loaded with modern powder i never had plastic in the bore. The same loads using BP did leave plastic. 0000 steel wool takes it out quick.

 

[Freedom]

I'd try the wool before you dive too deep into plastic stuff as my bores are incredibly clean after shooting a few times.

Raw sheep's wool works very well, comes pre-lubed, is period correct, and it will not start fires.
I have gotten some of my best patterns using a wool.

 

[bpd303]

I use Clay Buster resin shot cups from Midway just as they come and they do improve the pattern at 32 yards. The Clay Buster cups are the same as the WWA12R cups.
I've also used the load that Freedom put up except I use Kapok instead of wool, being frugal and all.