My (bad) experience with Walters wads.

[Claudius]

I learned about LDPE wads here and wanted to try them in my black powder cartridges, but in Italy I had a hard time finding LDPE in sheets. So I read about Walter wads and asked him if he could send 4 bags of 1000 wads each to Italy. I was told that it was possible and that the shipping cost would be around $28. In fact, the shipping cost was $38 and the package took 40 days to arrive in Italy. This is not Walter wads' fault, but I would have believed that 38 dollars to ship 4 plastic bags, the time and cost would have been more comfortable. Finally, after 40 days I received the bags, I immediately checked that they fit in 45-70 cases, but I quickly saw that they fit badly because they were cut at about .477 "instead of .460". When I placed the order I clearly wrote to John Walters that the size should have been .460 "and that the wads were intended for cartridge cases 45-70. I sent an email to Walter wads complaining about the problem, but I have not received a reply yet. .
Bottom line: never again order goods from the US, shipping costs and times are a nightmare, and sometimes it happens that someone is not even able to cut the wads correctly.
Usually I receive goods from all the countries around the world, but it seems that the US companies don't care about selling to us, non american citizens.

[Edward]

Yup why bother coming here with your complaints ,order somewhere else ! /Ed

[William Yanda]

Thank you for sharing. To receive .477 when .460 was specified does not indicate customer satisfaction as a priority.

[Claudius]

Yup why bother coming here with your complaints ,order somewhere else ! /Ed
Sorry, no more orders from the US. This experience was a real nightmare.

I want share with you a little thing I learned in the meantime, after received these wrong wads, I realized that a 45 Colt case could punch the right size wad for the 45-70 Starline fireformed cases. Fortunately I friend of mine found the LDPE sheets here in Rome, and tried to punch the new wads with my new luxurious 45 Colt case. They are perfect at .461" diameter. Lesson learned.

[indian joe]

I learned about LDPE wads here and wanted to try them in my black powder cartridges, but in Italy I had a hard time finding LDPE in sheets. So I read about Walter wads and asked him if he could send 4 bags of 1000 wads each to Italy. I was told that it was possible and that the shipping cost would be around $28. In fact, the shipping cost was $38 and the package took 40 days to arrive in Italy. This is not Walter wads' fault, but I would have believed that 38 dollars to ship 4 plastic bags, the time and cost would have been more comfortable. Finally, after 40 days I received the bags, I immediately checked that they fit in 45-70 cases, but I quickly saw that they fit badly because they were cut at about .477 "instead of .460". When I placed the order I clearly wrote to John Walters that the size should have been .460 "and that the wads were intended for cartridge cases 45-70. I sent an email to Walter wads complaining about the problem, but I have not received a reply yet. .
Bottom line: never again order goods from the US, shipping costs and times are a nightmare, and sometimes it happens that someone is not even able to cut the wads correctly.
Usually I receive goods from all the countries around the world, but it seems that the US companies don't care about selling to us, non american citizens.

Claudius --yes shipping costs from the US can be ridiculous - IF the person sending it is not prepared to wrangle for a decent deal - even after that it is expensive - about double what it would cost to send the same package to them from us.
Last visit I made I wanted to send a carton of PVC pipe fittings home (had the option of extra baggage on Quantas at $100) - first quote in the local Post Office (Grant Nebraska) was right on $400US - that was the no questions price - we ended up at $68 took about 15 minutes counter time to figure it out. I never order anything from the US unless the price quote is in writing and includes shipping.
I couldnt find LDPE in Australia either (it would be out there someplace I guess but not easy) so I used HDPE - have had good results with it. I made my own wad cutter and cut .460-.462
There is a lot of weird trade restrictions on any gun related stuff - maybe the problem is not all the fault of the seller?

[Claudius]

@Indiana Joe: I accepted the $38 shipping and the 40 days waiting, but I cannot accept the WRONG .477" wads and their silence on my complaints.

[flynth]

I order much less than I used to from US (I'm located in Poland) these days, but I have some hopefully useful advice. When ordering stay away from companies like stakry, shipito etc. Those companies promise you "seemless shopping experience", repackaging and reshipping your purchases, but all of them have ridiculous non-consistent exclusion lists. Of course you can't buy guns ammo, and other things like rangefinders, night vision etc. That is understandable. However, after contacting them few times and being assured "it is fine" to order things like a leather sling, a recoil pad, a lyman casting ladle etc all such items were intercepted as "having to do with guns". I have emails from managers in those companies telling me in writing such items are OK. Then they get blocked anyway.

Never use them. Period. There is one company I have had good experience with. I'm not sure if I can say their name as it might be considered advertising. PM if interested. They are not a tiny company (they have few locations in US). I use their Vegas location. They advertise it as. Po box rather than reshipping and one peculiar thing is that if you want to use them you need to have your European ID notarised by a US notary... It sounds elaborate, but can be done over a 10min Skype call.

Also, regarding shipping from US to Europe. I found USPS International priority mail standard boxes to be the best deal. The only time things get delayed sometimes is during the hop over the Atlantic (it fell off a shipping crate I guess).

A funny story related to shipping with them is when I bought a vintage kenwood "band scope". On ebay in US and had it shipped to my po box. Then reshipped to PL. (another advantage of doing it this way is that you are both the sender and receiver so for used items bought in personal capacity in US and moved to EU you should pay no VAT - your mileage may vary depending on country). The item got lost on the way. I pretty much gave up on it after 3 months, but I filled a USPS "lost package" form. I supplied pictures of it, serial numbers etc. Then I forgot about it. Imagine my surprise when 18months later it arrived at my home in PL :-). It still have it and it wasn't damaged in transit.

Long story short - if you're buying from US use a PO box. Many companies will charge you and arm and a leg for direct International shipping because they have an exclusive shipping deal with FedEx or ups etc.

Also, just so no one gets an idea we're picking on US's shipping services. I have to say from all European countries I ordered various items from I have had ridiculously long transit times only from two Russia (far east so fair enough I guess) and Italy (sorry). Maybe I was just unlucky, but it happened twice!

Anyway, I hope no one is offended.

[DAVIDMAGNUM]

I think that the wads are sized to fit tightly bellow the bullet seating area in the case. This would be where the case starts to taper and the inner diameter increases. Just a thought....

[Martin Luber]

Do the wads work? Too loose is no good too. Flynth, you say use a po box but where? In the US then it gets forwarded overseas? Thanks

[Claudius]

Do the wads work?
The wrong size wads I received should work, but they are too tight to be inserted in the case without wearing your fingers.
The poly wads listed at BACO are .463", this should be the right size for 45-70 rifle cartridges:
https://www.buffaloarms.com/45-caliber-rifle-060-poly-wal463060poly.html

In the attached photo you can see the wrong size that Walters sent me, also they have a strange irregular shape.

284330

[Captain*Kirk]

I just ordered 1000 of these for .45-70. I will let you know how it works out when I get them. The order ticket says .462 dia

[smithnframe]

That would be like me ordering wads from Italy and expecting good customer service! Lost in translation!

[flynth]

Do the wads work? Too loose is no good too. Flynth, you say use a po box but where? In the US then it gets forwarded overseas? Thanks

Yes, exactly. The PO box is in Las Vegas (no sales tax in Nevada).It is not an actual box, just an address. It looks like a normal residential address. I never had issues ordering bulky items. Then once I have enough stuff there I ask the company to pack everything into one big box and ship it together to Poland. As it is basically my address they put my name as the sender. I'm responsible for all the paperwork etc. It makes things a lot easier regarding local customs. As you can imagine it costs far less than shipping individual items. Also, every single direct purchase I would make in US I would have to pay VAT on top (22%) inclusive of shipping costs. We have an exception for personal (not for resale) items that cost less than 20eur or so (I don't remember the exact amount), but including the shipping cost in the calculation basically ensures you always end up paying it if you buy anything directly from US.

[dverna]

Yup why bother coming here with your complaints ,order somewhere else ! /Ed

That is an ignorant post. I suppose you will not order molds from MP Molds and only order form US manufacturers so you do not get screwed?????

Claudius, you are correct in not being pleased that the incorrect size was shipped. I doubt you issue was caused by your foreign location or a language issue as you write well. Some suppliers are poor and we should know about them.

[Chill Wills]

Some suppliers are poor and we should know about them.

I am NOT going to be so quick to join those that condemn. Listing Mr. John Walters good side of the balance sheet would take a book to complete. I would like to hear a little more, or as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story". There may be a few key facts that we don't know or maybe even Claudius does not know yet.
The John Walters I know does not operate this way if he is aware of a problem, and that is for sure.

Just saying....

[tmanbuckhunter]

I am NOT going to be so quick to join those that condemn. Listing Mr. John Walters good side of the balance sheet would take a book to complete. I would like to hear a little more, or as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story". There may be a few key facts that we don't know or maybe even Claudius does not know yet.
The John Walters I know does not operate this way if he is aware of a problem, and that is for sure.

Just saying....

Gotta agree here... haven't had a bad experience with the man yet.

[Yellowhouse]

Sorry you had a bad experience. Check your spam folders for messages. Anyway, John Walters is one of the best ive ever known....cant imagine whats happened

[GOPHER SLAYER]

Claudius, I had the same problem with oversized wads. I bought this set of forged wad punches in a yard sale for $5. Of course they would be many times that if you bought them new. You can buy much cheaper sets that work just as well. You can use these to punch wads from milk cartons are whatever.

[Edward]

That is an ignorant post. I suppose you will not order molds from MP Molds and only order form US manufacturers so you do not get screwed?????

Claudius, you are correct in not being pleased that the incorrect size was shipped. I doubt you issue was caused by your foreign location or a language issue as you write well. Some suppliers are poor and we should know about them.

Not ignorant just an opinion based on fact ,and I own several MP molds one I purchased here (a 4 cav brass 9mm). poster is known to spout (stuff) on other forums too !/Ed T

[Don McDowell]

Another, something's gone seriously wrong here, because the John Walters that I've done business with over the years doesn't even come close to the description made in this thread.

[tmanbuckhunter]

Been working with John over the last few days to buy some tin. He took a few days to get back to me but he did get back to me and my tin is on the way. He has probably just been busy. With the profit margins he has on his products (small) I can't imagine this is a full time job for him. Go easy.

[indian joe]

I am NOT going to be so quick to join those that condemn. Listing Mr. John Walters good side of the balance sheet would take a book to complete. I would like to hear a little more, or as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story". There may be a few key facts that we don't know or maybe even Claudius does not know yet.
The John Walters I know does not operate this way if he is aware of a problem, and that is for sure.

Just saying....

Also .....bein nice when you encounter a problem goes a long way to getting it fixed - foot stamping does not work very often.

[Claudius]

I am NOT going to be so quick to join those that condemn. Listing Mr. John Walters good side of the balance sheet would take a book to complete. I would like to hear a little more, or as Paul Harvey used to say, "the rest of the story". There may be a few key facts that we don't know or maybe even Claudius does not know yet.
The John Walters I know does not operate this way if he is aware of a problem, and that is for sure.

Just saying....

"the rest of the story" is quite simple: now I have 4000 wrong size wads. I ordered them for 45-70 cases because all the BPCR guys here know the good quality of the LDPE wads, so I decided to order them from John Williams.

I didn't say that John Williams is a bad person, his service was good and I paid in advance with Paypal, but he didn't test his wads before shipping.

This is my original message to him:

Hello, can you send me a lot of your LDPE wads for my Pedersoli 45/70 Sharps? I think that 0.060" thickness and .460" should be right. I live in Italy.

I sent to Williams another email this morning.

[Chill Wills]

Good luck with this. I don't know what else to say that I have not.
John (in my opinion) will make it right if he can.

Interestingly, looking at Walters wad size options, I don't even see a 0.479" wad listed as available.
0.463" is the standard 45 rifle diameter.
Again, good luck and I hope that Mr. Walters gets your message.

[tmanbuckhunter]

"the rest of the story" is quite simple: now I have 4000 wrong size wads. I ordered them for 45-70 cases because all the BPCR guys here know the good quality of the LDPE wads, so I decided to order them from John Williams.

I didn't say that John Williams is a bad person, his service was good and I paid in advance with Paypal, but he didn't test his wads before shipping.

This is my original message to him:


I sent to Williams another email this morning.

Are you sure your calipers aren't off? Just one thing to check.

[Claudius]

Are you sure your calipers aren't off? Just one thing to check.

My calipers aren't off, but above all my Starline fire formed cases aren't off, and accept only .460"/.463" LDPE wads.

[Hiwall55]

John got me on poly wads too.
Have done business with him for years, but the last bag of poly wads I got were horrible, punched 2 at a time and all stuck together, ordere 44 rifle, .451 diameter, came at .457. To small for 45, too large for .45's.

[john.k]

A lot of sheet plastics are very tricky to work.....they dont punch out the same size as the dies used......In any case,if I got plastic wads a few thou oversize ,I would make an inserter to compress them a bit as they went into the case,and use a round nosed punch to push them in.

[rjmelehan]

"the rest of the story" is quite simple: now I have 4000 wrong size wads. I ordered them for 45-70 cases because all the BPCR guys here know the good quality of the LDPE wads, so I decided to order them from John Williams.

I didn't say that John Williams is a bad person, his service was good and I paid in advance with Paypal, but he didn't test his wads before shipping.

This is my original message to him:


I sent to Williams another email this morning.

Claudius,

I would take a few of the wads and tape them to a letter and mail them to the seller.
With a note that says something like.:

Dear Mr. Walters (sp?)

I thought you might want to verify for yourself that the product you mailed to me
is defective. Enclosed are a few samples.

I trust that you will make good on your reputation and send the correctly sized wads
at your first opportunity.

Sincerely
=================

If he doesn't then let us know.
I don't know what it costs to mail a letter but I think having
a sample of his defective product in hand will help motivate him.

All good business people eat their mistakes.

[Tar Heel]

....and here I was thinking that everything in the world was perfect all the time, every time. Dang!