Is there any true need for plastic wads?

[ElvisThePelvis]

I'm struggling to see why, other than with steel carts where there is no choice, anyone uses plastic wad cartridges. It seems to me that with the better fibre cartridges and a little more choke the days of slinging plastic into the environment should be over.

[Dougy]

Or use biodegradable plastic.

[eastdevon]

Fibre wad and 1/4 choke all the way for me!! Plastic wads will never go up my barrel all the while I own the gun. Biodegradable is fine if land owner is ok with them, hence why om using fibre!

[GingerCat]

Never noticed a difference and I suspect most won't either other than the cost. Personally fibre is the way forward but each to their own.

[sako751sg]

Dont know.

But thats all i use,and im a happy fella,

[zipdog]

In a ideal world I would love to shoot a fibre wad paper cased cartridge. Sadly this is not the case and when it come to the gun shop many customers will buy the cheapest option. The cartridge manufactures know this and, in order to appeal, have to produce a low cost cartridge. Which consequently means plastic wads and casings.

[Walker570]

I seem to remember that an investigation done by BASC (I think)showed that fibre wads contained more lead residue etc., than plastic and the fibre wads were more likely to be ingested by cattle grazing, so whichever we use there is going to be some contamination to the environment. All manufacturers should have to produce biodegradable plastic wads and biodegradable cases and all cases should therefore be totally plastic. I used to shoot some total plastic back in the 70s, the make eludes me at the moment but they performed well. The question is, how far do we take it? It is not beyond the realms of possibility that cases/wads could both be made from vegetable matter. Such was used for internal panels in my Range Rover years ago.

Edited September 18, 2016 by Walker570

[sishyplops]

that cases/wads could both be made from vegetable matter. Such was used for internal panels in my Range Rover years ago.

 

 

 

That's what my entire Land Rover s made from lol

[Guest cookoff013]

Plastic fantastic.

[Stonepark]

Plastic on average gives a 10% increase in pattern density, which if you are operating at the extremes it does provide a technical advantage. At normal ranges, adjusting choke can negate the advantage.

 

Manufacturers like it as it goes through the machines doing 3 jobs (shot container, pressure absorber and gas seal) and is both cheaper and less problematic than an over powder card and fibre wad and seating pressure over powder is less important.

 

On the other hand, i avoid plastic wads where i can as i don't like littering the planet for 1000 years (normal plastic) or 100 years (so called biodegradable).

 

What we need is some pressure moulded hemp all in one shotcups/wads which could rival plastic in performance but be truely biodegradable.

[dodeer]

Down my way the gunshops generally sell fibre wads as everyone wants them these days. However the bigger shops still sell a lot of plastics in game and clay loads.

 

I tend to only shoot plastic when using steel now or a fox load etc.

 

I feel bad when you see any empty cartridges or wads laying about and it doesn't give a great impression of shooters.

[grahamch]

Plastic is almost mandatory for steel and other non lead loads other than maybe bismuth so would rather use them than stop fowling

[TONY R]

Paper cases are romantic but ramming them into the chambers of your gun when they get wet is no fun, also the thickness of the card on the hull tube is more than the plastic cases so not ideal for effective gas seal with typical felts or any stronger wads nottro cards etc.

So for hulls the plastic tube hulls are more practical in use than paper cases.

As for wads you can make card cup wads that will shoot toungsten etc i saw them a few years ago from claygame but never used any, and im not sure if they will handle steel hard ctoungsten etc.

Fibre wads by themselves are seldom perfect gas sealers additional gas seals like card cups are preferable for efficient sealing and if your using say a 70mm in a 76mm or 89mm chamber the inverted card seal is not essential but certainly preferable.

Plastics if biodegradeable or otherwise are an advantage in ammunition these days i think we need it .

[roughshooter]

Well if I had a choice then I would use plastic in everything. Much cleaner bores, better speed and tighter patterns

[Guest stevo]

Well if I had a choice then I would use plastic in everything. Much cleaner bores, better speed and tighter patterns

This ⬆️

[Vince Green]

Plastic wads were introduced out of commercial necessity by the ammunition manufacturers in America because they needed to run their automated loading machines much faster than they could with the more fiddly fibre and card wads. They were also cheaper of course.

 

To get the public to accept the new wads a lot of very dubious claims about better patterns and performance were put out through the American shooting magazines that were really only ever marketing hype.

 

Some of those dubious claims still endure today as shooting myths but the real truth is they are cheaper and the ammo companies make more profit and can produce more cartridges.

Edited September 19, 2016 by Vince Green

[rimfire4969]

I hate plastic wads, a walk along my local beach and I always see loads of the bloody things washed up. On my syndicate its also fibre only including non toxic for the ducks.

 

At some point plastic wads will be a big thing in the countryfile type programme and used by the anti shooting / green lot to add more pressure on shooters.

[dodeer]

⬆️ I have always said this.

Majority of the best game shots in England use fibre wads so can't see why most mere mortals need plastic

[Dekers]

⬆️ I have always said this.

Majority of the best game shots in England use fibre wads so can't see why most mere mortals need plastic

 

 

...because the majority of the best Game Shoots stipulate NO plastic!

 

Edited September 19, 2016 by Dekers

[shaun4860]

We are a Fibre only club and have had people walk away and not shoot rather than use Fibre,

 

We still have one person that occasionally turns up and uses plastic,

 

We have almost narrowed it down to who it is and he will be "Educated"

 

I only use Fibre and don't have to worry about if I have the right cartridges when I go elsewhere

 

[fortune]

Well if I had a choice then I would use plastic in everything. Much cleaner bores, better speed and tighter patterns

+ yes. they were designed to be an improvement over fibre. One of my mates want to go back in time. He wants to shoot a black powder percussion double barrel shotgun. It does the job but it takes him five minutes to reload it.

 

 

 

...because the majority of the best Game Shoots stipulate NO plastic!

 

 

Edited September 19, 2016 by fortune

[Walker570]

I have been shooting fairly regularly for near on 50yrs on a weekly basis, clays, game, driven and walked, ducks , geese, pigeons, you name it, if it was legal I have shot at it with many friends. I go out today and I really should be up to my knees in plastic wads as a result of me and thousands of others using them over those years. Commercial clay grounds yes there will be a concentration but not rocket science to suck them up, if they can devise a machine to suck horse doo doo(polite word for you know what) they can suck up plastic wads. IF I see a cartridge case on the deck or a plastic wad on a shoot day I pick it up with my empties.

I really don't mind what I shoot plastic or felt as long as I can still shoot. One of my syndicates is felt only , the other no regulation other than non toxic for ducks. The occasional individual commercial shoot day I have normally there is no designation. I just go with the flow.

[Continental Shooter]

plastic but is a choice based on scientific proof

 

Plastic pattern best, more consistently and provide perfect seal for the gases hence allow you to play with the pressure; they also saves powder and allow the use of cheaper shorter hulls without compromising the characteristic of the shell

 

From my perspective is only the first and second point that matter as i won't go through as much powder as to make a save but, a variation of 0.05-0.1 per shell....makes a lot of difference for the manufacturer (without taking into account the ease of reloading them in factory machines).

 

Even if you use Bior vs fiber, the pattern is better (all other components are the same, including choke); to have a similar result with fiber you need a plastic seal...which is plastic anyway.

I wouldn't personally shoot a high pheasant or goose with fiber just coz i wouldn't be confident i'd put enough pellets in it to take it down (but i know many of you will swear by it).

[deershooter]

Ask yourself this why does George Digweed , Paul Chaplow ,John Lee ,Nick Hendrick and all the rest of the big boys not use fibre wads ?

[Feltwad]

Never use plastic wads with black powder especially in damascus barrels , it is the first thing to cause barrel ripple and can cause a bulge or burst barrel .Black powder burns all the way up the bore and through time there is deposit ot melted plastic inside the bore , this is a obstuction and I have examined many damascus breech loaders ruined with barrel ripple because of plastic wads.

Feltwad