Recipe Tested 8ga with Gualandi wad

[Craig Larter]

With the difficulty obtaining Remington SP-8 wads I decided to develop a target load for my 8ga shooting. I started by just replacing the SP-8 wad with the Gualandi wad, same shot, primer, powder charge. I got the results back and was a shocked because the load using the SP-8 is in the 8500 psi range. The Gualandi load came back 10500psi @1250fps, hot in my opinion. So I dropped the charge of Clays from 30gr to 26gr and it came back 9700psi@1200fps, still to hot for me. Next I dropped the charge to 22.7gr Clays and the load is what I plan to use at 8200psi@1100fps. A copy of the results are below. I am not recommending this load it is for information only. Just show it is reloading roulette when you replace one component and assume your will get the same pressure and speed.

[charlie cleveland]

it seems that you have found a nice load for shooting clays with the 8 ga...good on the shoulder and good on the gun...I would never have thought that by just changing a wad it would have made that much difference in pressure...thanks for the info..charlie

[Milton C Starr]

From what I know there are 2 different 8 ga Gualandi wads a sporting one and industrial one. I would hazard a guess the industrial one will create higher pressures since they can run a bit oversize according to the guys in the UK.

[Craig Larter]

The ones I have from Ballistic products measure .830 which is n
ot oversized I would guess they would be for sporting guns? Anyhow I have 2500 of them.

[Craig Larter]

I shot this load and one big draw back is significant lead fouling. The issue is the wad shot cut is taken up by the nitro cards so the shot is exposed to the barrel walls. I do not plan to utilize this load and would not recommend it to anyone. Back to the drawing board. Craig

[Aaron Beck]

If I understand the nc is for filler? could it go under the wad or over the shot and allow the shot to fill the cup better?

[6pt-Sika]

Originally Posted by Aaron Beck

If I understand the nc is for filler? could it go under the wad or over the shot and allow the shot to fill the cup better?

Whether I use 1/8” card wads or some sort of bean to displace space they go in the bottom of the shot cup with the shot on top .

[charlie cleveland]

hope you find that magic loadyou will succeed just keep trying.....charlie

[Mike of the Mountain]

I really like the 1 1/2 oz and 30g Clays. I think it shoots soft and turns them into diesel smoke. I still might test your latest 22.7g load.

[Craig Larter]

Well I finally got the load I wanted after the fourth try. Win 8ga hull 3 1/4", WW 209, 23.7gr Clays, Gualandi 8ga, 1. 1/2" 10ga fiber wad, 1. 1/8" 10ga card wad, 1 1/2oz # 7 1/2, 6 fold crimp. 6835 PSI, 1130fps. Minimal barrel leading.