Remington SP10 VS. Hornady Pacific Versalite wads
 

Has anyone tried substituting the SP10 wad with the old Hornady Pacific Versalite wad in the common short ten recipe using 1 1/8 of lead and 19 grains of Red Dot?

Other than having to substitute a whole 16 gauge fiber wad for a half to make up the extra volume it seems like an easy and viable way to use up any Versalite wads on hand as SP10's continue to dry up.

I loaded some and need to take them to the range but would love to hear from anyone else who might have loaded some of these in the past, or know of the results of this load being tested.

I have used the Hornady Pacific Versalite 10ga wad with Red Dot in the past and still have a couple of bags of them. They never worked well with Federal and most other hulls, I got a very high percentage of off sounding loads. The wad always cleared the barrel but I could tell the load was not all there in terms of velocity. I found them unsatisfactory/undependable for use in hunting or target shooting.

I believe it's because they are made for tapered hulls rather than straight wall hulls and they don't provide a proper gas seal in straight wall hulls. They do seem to work OK in the older Remington hulls, I can't think of the name of the color of those hulls but they are the brighter green/jade/turquois colored somewhat translucent hulls. They have less internal capacity than newer Remington hulls. I would avoid using them in cold weather even in the older Remington hull.

I also found the Versalite wads are a little bit narrower and worked better with 20 gauge filler wads vs. 16 ga

The Versalite wad has been out of production for a very long time, I don't see them offered for sale much anymore.

Let us know your results.

Let me begin by saying I've never tried or seen any of the Hornady Versalite 10 gauge wads . However if I did I'd give them a try but also heed Pete's words .

As to spacer wads while I think the 16 gauge card wad in the shotcup works wonderfully , however now I use grocery store red beans . For me atleast the red beans work quicker and easier , also they easier to acquire as sometimes pre cut wads are out of stock . A final point in favor of beans or cheerios or styrofoam or whatever are far less expensive than the pre cut 16 gauge 1/8" card wads .

Thanks for your feedback Pete. I have loaded black powder loads in plastic and brass so I have a supply of Circle Fly wads. I may try putting a card wad over the powder before adding the Versalite on a few to see what's what. I try these experimental loads that vary slightly off of tested pussycat loads in a hefty modern Spanish 10 with 3.5 inch chambers and sometimes even an Ithaca mag 10. I figure that it if it doesn't eject/cycle it can't be that hot.

a card wad before the plastic wad works great in the 10 ga and the 8 ga. I do this too all my 8 ga loads and no squibs or off sounding reports ever heard....charlie

I don't believe a 19gr Red Dot with 1 1/8 ounce of lead would be dangerous with the use of any hull, primer or wad combo in 10 gauge.

I curious if you have shot any loads using the Versalite wads and what your results were.