Trimming the rib from Clay Buster wads for slugs

[Rcmaveric]

So here i am with three different variaties of Clay Buster wads. All of them are different flavors of Winchester knock offs. So has any one thought or tried to just trim the rib out of the petals? I saw a video on you tube. Now thats some thinking out of the box. Regardless i plan on trying it. Just wanted other thoughts.

I finnaly had a smidge of succes with the Lee slugs. Its not good enough yet but my end goal is a reliable hunting load to abouts 50+ yards.

I am thinking thay trimming those ribs out and replacing the foam filler wads with a stack of hard cards. Might be the ticket.

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[Hogtamer]

Not gonna happen. Wads are cheap, get the ones you need. And that slug sits too far above the wad as pictured I believe. The greatest diameter (top shoulder) of the slug needs to be just in the wadcup as the slug is tapered. You'll get there...keep at it!

[megasupermagnum]

I'd give round balls a try. Easier to cast, easier to load. With a card wad underneath, the ribs most likely wouldn't affect a ball.

[Rcmaveric]

Wads arent the easiest thing to get around here. I dont shoot slugs that much either.

Thinks for the tip on the slug height. Those foam fillers compress and drops the slug height. I am thinking of dropping the foam fillers and trying cork or just hard card stacks.

From what i read, the ribs on the petals will make it so a RB does not work either.

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[Hogtamer]

Here you go....the 1 1/8 oz wads like this, then go to hulls/once fired and pick up a hundred Fed gold medals for 11 bucks. Total $17 bucks plus shipping. 20 ga 1/8" hard cards too if you need them.
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/No.../products/771/

[Retumbo]

Ive had good luck with Windjammer wads and a few nitro cards

[Rcmaveric]

I figured a different wad would be needed. Just trying to make whats on hand work.

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[dsh1106]

If those are the replacements for the Winchester WAA12SL wads, you might be able to use a .678 RB in them with a single 20 ga nitro card under the ball.

The Claybuster replacements work well enough for shot, but the tapered petals don't perform very good for slugs.

[Blood Trail]

So here i am with three different variaties of Clay Buster wads. All of them are different flavors of Winchester knock offs. So has any one thought or tried to just trim the rib out of the petals? I saw a video on you tube. Now thats some thinking out of the box. Regardless i plan on trying it. Just wanted other thoughts.

I finnaly had a smidge of succes with the Lee slugs. Its not good enough yet but my end goal is a reliable hunting load to abouts 50+ yards.

I am thinking thay trimming those ribs out and replacing the foam filler wads with a stack of hard cards. Might be the ticket.

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Ryan, I told you on Buck and Slug Reloaders that your slug sat too high. I didn't know you were on this site. Small world! lol!

I have literally close to 15,000 wads of various types (I'm a packrat when it comes to reloading with a nasty habit of impulse buying).

I'll be more than happy to send you some samples so you don't wind up with 20 different types of wads like I have.

[Blood Trail]

Here you go....the 1 1/8 oz wads like this, then go to hulls/once fired and pick up a hundred Fed gold medals for 11 bucks. Total $17 bucks plus shipping. 20 ga 1/8" hard cards too if you need them.
https://www.ballisticproducts.com/No.../products/771/

If yall order from BPI, use the discount code of FBLG18 for a flat rate $5.99 shipping in the states.

[bikerbeans]

BT,

Thanks for that code, getting ready to throw more money at BPI.

BB

[rsrocket1]

The Windjammer and Lightning copies (8 petal) fit perfectly with the Lee 1 oz slug. The petals are thinner than the Winchester clones and they fit perfectly in a Remington Gun Club hull or any other Rem hull.

[Hogtamer]

Yes they do but you'll need a card under the wad or the wad will jam up in the base of the slug when you shoot.

[Rcmaveric]

Ryan, I told you on Buck and Slug Reloaders that your slug sat too high. I didn't know you were on this site. Small world! lol!

I have literally close to 15,000 wads of various types (I'm a packrat when it comes to reloading with a nasty habit of impulse buying).

I'll be more than happy to send you some samples so you don't wind up with 20 different types of wads like I have.

I figured there would be a bunch of us both sites, since casting is such a small niche of an allready small niche hobby.

No need for samples. I am taking notes on everyones suggestions. I plan on buying the correct wads when the wife gives me my allowance. I just happened to run a cross a youtube video of guy trimming out the rib of the claybuster wads for Lee slugs. I thought that was some thinking outside of the box. Was toying with making what i have work. I have all ready started using the claybuster wads with atleast better results than when i started. Maybe its a fruitless effort or maybe it will work. Wont know unless I try or ask. I watched Fortune Cookie 45LC video on wads. Lol definitely was a, i wonder why they dont work, kind of moments and now i know. They recommed trimming wads to the right length, so i thought why cant i just trim out the part causing problems.

I think i have a 50/50 chance of being better or worse. Lol i will change that column height for sure. Just want the nose sticking out a bit, correct? That way the nose of the slugs opens the crimp and not the wad. Which would mangle the wad?



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[longbow]

I once thought about making a tool to remove ribs from the zillions of Remington wads I used to have... they had internal ribs. My thought was to make a tube that just fit into the shotcup when inside a piece of 12 ga. barrel and sharpen it like a reverse punch so it slid down the petals and removed the ribs. However, wads are just too cheap to mess with like that unless you have no choice. Mail order is inconvenient but not the end of the world. It is how I get most supplies these days.

In fact next order will include a variety of wads because for all the slug shooting I have done over the years it has been with a pretty limited number of wad types.

Yes, buy some 20 or 16 ga. nitro card wads to put under those slugs. I like 16 ga. but either will work. It took me some time and quite a few pounds of lead downrange to figure out that wads were blowing into the cavities of my HB slugs. The Lee Drive Key slugs aren't as bad as regular HB slugs but wads (or at least some wads) do push up into the HB and jam or crack on the drive key.

If you haven't yet, take a look and try to find some of your wads after shooting. Recovered wads can tell you lots about your load. Generally if I have poor accuracy I am finding wads with blown gas seals, distorted shotcup bottom or damaged petals... or sometimes all of the above. If accuracy is good shotcups tend to look pretty good as well... not always, but mostly.

As with boolits, fit and consistency really do matter!

Longbow

[Blood Trail]

Here’s an example of what Long is was talking about in recovering your wads. They tell the story. In this pic, one had a 20gs nitro card under the slug, the other didn’t. Same load. Guess which one didn’t?



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[Hogtamer]

Worth 1000 words.

[centershot]

Wads arent the easiest thing to get around here. I dont shoot slugs that much either.

Thinks for the tip on the slug height. Those foam fillers compress and drops the slug height. I am thinking of dropping the foam fillers and trying cork or just hard card stacks.

From what i read, the ribs on the petals will make it so a RB does not work either.

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Not true at all! Not all "ribbed" wads are the same, mind you, but my experience with the Remington RP-12 has been very positive! The load is:
AA hull (old style)
WW 209 primer
19.0 gr. Red Dot
RP-12 wad
1/2 tsp. cornmeal
.662" ball
Fold crimp

Recovered wads show that the ball sets back and expands the petals due to the tapered ribs, thereby centering the ball in the bore. From an IC choke they group 4" @ 50 yds.

[longbow]

Yup! the undersize ball is the key there. You wouldn't likely get a Lee Drive Key slug or Lyman sabot slug in those wads.

That is the reason I like a variety of ball and slug sizes. You just never know what components may or may not be available... here at least.

My 0.662" ball does very well when patched up to fit in Winchester wads or Pacific Verelite wads. It also fits perfectly into steel shot CSD wads though I have not shot those yet. I'll get tuit.

Its always good to have choices!

Longbow