Claybuster wads

[Keith]

In my C-More M26 Shotgun thread, I finally found a load that seems it might work using the Federal 12S3.
Problem is I cant get any more of these and in fact I cant get any Federal wads at all.
A LGS has CB 2100 and CB 6100 which he says are for the straight sided hulls which I need. But I have no idea of the thickness of them. I hear CB wads have ribs. Does this make them thicker and a better fit? I am using the .678 RB ATM.
Some cushons are longer than others and if they are shorter than the 12S3 I believe I can just pack them with nitro cards over the powder then trim the petals if too long.
Any info on those wads would be appreciated.

Also I can get a Downrange DRA12 from a bloke with a heap of them. Would they be suitable?

[la5676]

CB 2100 and 6100 are pretty hard wads to beat. The seal far better than anything by DR I have seen and in fact infinitely better than those Federal 12S3s you were using. They were notoriously sloppy fits in SW hulls. I don't know what you are referring to as ribs, but they do fit well. You will not regret trying them.

I use a lot of PT, Fiocchi, and NSI wads. Grafs and BPI run good sales on them from time to time and I load up on them then.

[Minerat]

Ballistic Products says that the Fed 12S3 is discontinued but cross ref's them to the Claybuster CB2118-12.

[Keith]

Yes , looked at those but people say they are no good for slugs or RB,s because of the ribs in the petals

[megasupermagnum]

Yes , looked at those but people say they are no good for slugs or RB,s because of the ribs in the petals

After thinking about it, I wonder if they wouldn't work fine for you, since you seem to have too loose a fit as it is. If it's claybuster or nothing, try them for sure.

[gpidaho]

I bought a bag of 500 Downrange wads that are the 12S3 clone. I can't see any difference and I'm a fan of the original 12S3 and 12S4 wads. Gp

[Faret]

I bought a bag of 500 Downrange wads that are the 12S3 clone. I can't see any difference and I'm a fan of the original 12S3 and 12S4 wads. Gp

These would be the next closest one I would try.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings, I personally would never use Clay Buster for heavy slug or RB loads.
https://i.imgur.com/CtlOdHK.jpg
Hope you find this helpful.
Regards,
Ajay K. Madan
Super Blazing Sabots

[gpidaho]

My opinion? Claybuster is to shotgun wads What Hamm's is to beer. Gp

[Keith]

Things are a bit mad here. Phoned the shop with the CB6100 and CB2100 and he had sold all the CB6100 already. So I bought the CB2100 to try. Better some wads than none , right. Gun shops have been closed but still mail order non guns and non ammo.
During my ring around found another with Federal 12SO so bought those as well. Nothing else available.
I have a few hundred of some Eley 1 1/8 wads I was given. They are too thin for the RB or the Lyman 525 in the C-More but dont seem too bad in the Boito I put a rifled choke on. Still its something to work on.
Thanks for the info all and to Ajay for the chart.
My mould arrived for the .695 RB yesterday. I only ordered it a few days back. Great service from a local mould maker. C.B.E. here in QLD.

[gpidaho]

Keith: Though I've yet to do business With C.B.E. they are known to be a fine company to do business with even here in the North West US. And yes, Things are a bit mad here right now also. SO GLAD I stocked up on components big time over the last couple of years. Things may go clear "Wonkey" before this is over. Gp

[Keith]

Here is a photo of the mold while I fire the pot up.

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[Keith]

:oaded some of the new balls up and hope to get to the range later. I am the only one using it and its only 5 minutes away on a back road.:)
Here are the two shotties I am working with.
The M26 and an old Boito I cut to 16 inches and fitted an Invector choke system. Rifled choke fitted for the Lyman slugs
I drilled and tapped the receiver for a rough and ready peep sight.

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[SHORT SHELL]

Keith, I live in Brisbane Aust & have you contacted a local agent for Ballistic Products here in Brisbane(TOP SHOT INDUSTRIES) but stocks are low waiting for shipping sometime this month from USA (snail shipping). I have played with .732 round balls with my home made mould which I then use my design of RIMIL MACHINE which makes the round balls perfectly round & rolls out the spruce section for many years & got average accuracy of around 2" at 50m. using 23 gn. of AP70 but it also is low on stock waiting for a replacement from ADI but I have been using UNIQUE with the same load. I have tried AP100(blue dot) but it does not work for me. The main problem is most 12g chambers here are 3 inch so with the 2-3/4" cases we have in abundance when loaded with slugs the poor things have to travel over the larger diameter "free bore" length to the forcing cone & if the chamber has a step to the cone it is anyone's guess what part hits the step first. It is also one reason petals fold back. All is good while the ball is supported inside the case but when free of it things happen as I have also found most gas seals do not open enough to seal the free bore area. I have also played with full bore slugs but they did not work as good until I tried attaching a wad to the back of the solid slug which I had made the mould similar to the Russian Svaroghunt segmented slug. I finally settled on the Ballistic Produgts flex seal double end gas seal (may also centre a round ball) which I centre it with the slug by using a cut off plastic hull in a roll crimp vice & attach the seal with a small sheet metal screw. Accuracy is much better with the all up slug weight of around 550gn similar to the round ball. If you tire of trying to get accuracy with the smooth bore a gunsmith in Ipswich has made 12 g. rifled blanks that work a treat. I have 2 rifled 12g. guns but one has a 2 " chamber (so no longer shells will fit for safety reasons) & also I do not need any other wads except the gas seal to take up the longer length of standard hulls & most important there is now NO freebore just a short forcing cone & I roll crimp the shortened case which also takes away the crimp folds. With this setup the short chamber Greener GP with inter changeable barrels now gives 3" groups with slugs at 100 metres & less when my 70+ eyes & finger do their parts. Of course I have long eye relief pistol scopes on the barrels.
I usually reload the hull twice. There are always heaps of empties laying around the range so I only pick straight wall hulls.

[Keith]

Thanks Short Shell. Interesting post. I did not know Ballistic Products had an agency here. You are much further down this path than I am but a similar age. I cant get anything like those groups yet. Eight inches at 50 yds so far but thats OK for gongs for fun.
I dont have access to fired shells so have bought a bunch of unbranded unprimed straight wall hulls for $10 per hundred. I have loaded them twice now.
The Federal wads I had seemed to seal well but the Eley I am trying until the Claybuster arrive show smoke stains all up the sides.
I will look at the BP range and see what I can get. I am inland from the Sunshine Coast.

[SHORT SHELL]

Keith, I have 2 sizes of round balls you may wish to try. PM me for info. I have sent you a PM but I am not sure if it gets to you.

[tomme boy]

Doesn't CB used recycled plastics? I thought that was the word years ago on ShotgunWorld forum

[megasupermagnum]

Doesn't CB used recycled plastics? I thought that was the word years ago on ShotgunWorld forum

Even if they do, who cares? Claybuster wads are fantastic for shot. I shoot a lot of them. The one and only problem they have is with slugs, because most if not all of their designs have ribs inside the petals. The ribs may or may not be a problem for Keith, but they are better than not having anything at all.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Almost all wads are made from High Density Polyethylene (HDPE) and they can be recycled almost forever without any ill effects.

[tomme boy]

The crush force was not the same on the clones when they first came out. That was the consensus at the time. They had wild psi swings and blown patterns.

[megasupermagnum]

The crush force was not the same on the clones when they first came out. That was the consensus at the time. They had wild psi swings and blown patterns.

I've been using Claybuster wads for 15 years or so, and have never heard such a thing. Some of the first wads I used were CB3118-12A bought at a garage sale, and was told they were 10+ years old at the time. I used those wads for some mighty fine buckbuster slug loads. I'm not saying it wasn't true way back when they started, but it surely has not been the norm for a long, long time.

[Keith]

The Claybuster and Federal 12S0 wads arrived. They look very similar but the Fed measure .720 and the CB .730 at the powder cup end. The Feds are a loose fit in the muzzle of the C-More with its IC choke and the CB are a neat fit.
The petals of the CB do have a slight thickening but with my .678 ball in there neither will go in the muzzle. Thats OK. I will load some up and when I get a chance try them out to compare
I am loading 22 grains of Unique as that was an OK shooter with the 12S3 but I dont have to put so much Farex under the ball.
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[Keith]

Not much difference. The loads with a gasket card under the ball shot a bit better than those with a 1.3 cc scoop of Farex. The Federal wads shot a bit better than the CB but I will have to repeat it. The Federal wads look a bit better than the CB, perhaps because they were not as tight through the choke.CB on the left and Federal on the right
None of the groups were anything to write home about with the Federal group and card running from top right to bottom left.
The CB group (not shown) with card was the opposite, top left to bottom right. Go figure.
The CB group with the Farex was much like the Federal one but more so. I had an aiming mark on the bottom group but it blew off.

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