Wad failure question

[Roosterbob]

Looking for opinions;

I have a good supply of BPI MultiMetal 12ga 2 3/4” wads that I’ve had for 5-6 years. Have loaded up several in a load recommended by Hogtamer. Load consist of Fed hull, Fed 209a, Steel powder(I reduced the charge by couple grains to start out), MM wad with 28ga hard card in bottom of wad, #1 hard cast buck, buffer, and fold crimp.

The wads appear soft and supple to touch but upon firing about 50% of them are recovered in pieces. Some have petals gone, most have the gas seal split in half.
Chokes tried were IC, Mod, and Full. Benelli M1 was firearm used.

Bad wads or something else??

Bob

[Rally]

The first thing I would suggest changing is the 28 gauge card to a 16 gauge card in the bottom of a 12 gauge shotcup. In my buck and slug loads it acts as another gas seal and helps keep things straighter at launch. Thin , multi petal wads tend not to fair well, and often form/ distort to the shape of the voids in the buckshot/ slug. The more violent/ velocity at launch the tougher the wad/ gas seal need to be. I don't tend to get real anal about losing petals off wads if performance/ patterns hold up, but when recovered wads, show major deformation and odd shaped patterns, I start looking for tougher wad columns.

[megasupermagnum]

Are you absolutely sure you have a multi-metal? The multi-metal wad was one of the thickest and stiffest shotgun wads ever made. They are a real bear to slit, and they are stiff as a board. They looked almost identical to what is now the TPS wad, but the MM was even thicker and stiffer than those.

[farmbif]

what is most important is how did your shot pattern. what where you after or trying to achieve with the load your putting together. #1 buck with buffer I'm guessing you want something like a 50 yard or longer shot. get a couple refrigerator boxes or 4x8 sheets of old plywood or particle board or something like that and set one up at 25 yards and one at 50 yards and see what kind of accuracy and pattern your getting. I never ever cared what shot cups look like its all about how the shells pattern and will they get the job done that you want to accomplish.

[tomme boy]

As mega said. They are tough. You differently have something wrong.

[Roosterbob]

In answer to a couple of above comments; yes, they are for certain MultiMetal wads and are thick and tough. I have a range in the back yard where I pattern test. I shoot, check pattern and retrieve the spent wad. The wads that stay together show good pattern potential at 40 and 45 yards but those that split the gas seal or shed petals.....well I’d do better using a slingshot.

I’m thinking of trying a hard card in the rear base of the gas seal????????
Bob

[Rally]

In answer to a couple of above comments; yes, they are for certain MultiMetal wads and are thick and tough. I have a range in the back yard where I pattern test. I shoot, check pattern and retrieve the spent wad. The wads that stay together show good pattern potential at 40 and 45 yards but those that split the gas seal or shed petals.....well I’d do better using a slingshot.

I’m thinking of trying a hard card in the rear base of the gas seal????????
Bob

Do you mean the card between the powder and the gas seal? If so you will probably find, like i just did last Monday, that the card will just deform the lips on the gas seal, and cause deformation of the legs/ cushioning area of the wad.
If you have access to some 16 gauge .135 or .125 nitro cards, try a couple and see if things straighten out some. They might be tight in the base of the MM wad, and may have to be buffed on the edges to get a good tight fit, but I'm betting they make a difference.

[Cap'n Morgan]

Any chance your wads were exposed to sunlight. I learned to only pick "the fresh ones" at our local shooting range as those a few years old will be quite brittle. (and I live on the 56 Northern latitude were the sun is pretty weak)