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Shrink wrap for shot

John A.

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I know the longer you can keep the shot together after it leaves the barrel, the more accurate it is going to be at longer ranges.

This idea would work really well for long range turkey and coyote hunting.

Does anyone know of any sort of shrink wrap or sealable bag that could be placed in the wad to hold the shot that you load?
 
What would happen if you used some instant glue to fasten the shot cup fingers together? Might that make the shot stay together in the cup a bit longer before the cup falls away? Just a thought, I've never loaded any shot shells so I'm just guessing here.
 
That's not a bad idea. And there are some wads that are solid and don't have slits which help too. I was just asking to see if there was any sort of shrink. I've not been able to find anything, but I think would be a decent product.
 
No, just want something to hold the shot together longer on those long range coyote and turkeys that seem to want to hang up well beyond the normal usable range you'd want to take a shot at one at.
 
TOTAL WAG

Start w/ a Sixteen-ga wad and cut off most of the base. After the initial 12-ga wad opens its petals then the next wad must then start opening. Maybe it'll fit, maybe it won't.

Thinking out loud. I have no idea. But I'd try it myself just for kicks if I had some 16s.

What about a section of fired 20-ga hull cut to be the inner tube? It does fit inside a 12-ga wad pretty snug.

:)
 
That's some good thinking.

I have some 16 and 20 ga wads I could look at.
 
Hit up the local home improvement warehouse, or electrical supply place. Look for thin walled shrink wrap..
Wait, you worked in electrical and communications, you probably already thought of that.
 
Most all I used was really thick industrial stuff.

For this, I'm thinking something thin that will eventually break apart in flight.

I'm still kind of thinking about tiny ziplock bags like you see people selling meth in on livePD all the time might would work.
 
Didn't federal or winchester advertise a load using the same tech at some point.

I know one of the YT'ers tried using parafin poured into the wad to bold the shot together. I cannot recall offhand how well it worked. It was the Taufloudermouse (SP) channel if memory serves.
 
M&M candy wrappers, the little Halloween size.

For real

Thin Ziplok plastic will break and tear severely upon ignition.
 
You know that you just blew my diet.

I was thinking about loading the shot into the little zip locks, probably without snapping them together, then placing them upside down in the wad so when the shot leaves the wad, it is still somewhat encapsulated for a ways farther down range before whatever happens happens.

Then I was going to try it with the shot in the ziplock with the open end facing up out of the wad and see what happens. Though I assume that it still may group a little tighter than regularly at longer distance, but probably not as tight of a group as the baggy that is upside down.

The whole idea may shoot terrible and spread wildly too.

Don't know until I try.
 
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Have you considered some Federal's FliteControl or Hornady's Versa-Tite offerings? It seems they're designed to do just what you're looking for.

Of course, that would exclude the "do it yourself" satisfaction.
 
I do shoot a lot of versatite wads. The flite controls aren't sold aftermarket though.
 
Polyethylene plastic film shrivels so readily under heat that I can't imagine it would survive a hot barrel in one piece.

It might be neat to design a multipart slug that comes apart after a certain distance. It might have a retainer cast of epoxy glue, adjusted in size by trial and error until it melts at just the right moment in flight.

The problem with wax slugs is they melt in your car. Otherwise I think they would work.

But remember that there are all kinds of waxes that melt at all different temperatures. You might even be able to concoct your own formulation of shooting wax.

Yet as the gun heats up in use, these things are bound to change performance.

Waxes, plastics, epoxy, polyurethane, polyethylene, polypropylene, polystyrene . . . All these things have a definite melting point based on their particular chemistry. When they melt and reform their chemistry can change. They can have completely different physical properties than before.

HDPE, for instance, melts, and when you recast it it is brittle kind of like a Hershey bar that has been in the refrigerator. That might turn out to be an ideal situation. Or not. ;) (It gives off flammable gases & soot when you melt it, by the way, just like a candle. Don't do it indoors unless you have great ventilation.

All the fun of life is in the experimentation you see. That's why I do this stuff.
 
Won't there be a lot of extra residue sticking to the inside of the barrell ? I have no idea, just a thought.
 
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