bean bag loads ( revised ?)

[strangefire]

I would like to make my own 12 Ga. bean bag loads and I was wondering what kind of wads to use?    

I made the bean bags out of parachute material that I bought at wall-mart and used small nylon tie to tie the bean bag leaving a little tail and the problem I'm having is the Winchester WAA12 wad only allows me to use 3/4 oz. of shot in a bean bag and even then it's difficult to get a flat nice crimp so I was thinking about using 1/4" or 1/2" fiber wads thus leaving more room in the shot shell for a heaver bean bag and/or a longer tail to improve flight stability.

Can I use the 1/4" or 1/2" fiber wads? Or what I'm asking is the best wad that will give me more room?

                     Thanks

[rickyp]

I have played around with making my own bean bag loads. I used the plastic balls for the airsoft guns and I then took a big cleaning patch and sewed it closed and stuffed the bag with the airsoft balls and used a 1 oz load wad. it worked ok for real close range.

I shot a cardbord box with one it went trough the first side of the box but didn't even put a dent in the back side

[.45 COLT]

You can use the fiber wads, but I wonder if the nylon scrubbing on the barrel might open up your beanbags.

DC

[strangefire]

Thanks .45 Colt!

      Some of the real bean bags are made out of parachute material. when I make my bean bags I cut a piece of parachute material that is 3"x9" and then fold it three times so that it is 3 layers thick and 3"x3". The ones that I made already work great with 6-7 grains of powder. Now the one that I made with a full charge (Skeet load) do come apart either in the barrel or during flight.

     The reason I make them is cost. At $8-$10 each new I can make them for less then a dollar anyways, I have some nasty cows that don't respect fences (ele. or barb) and keep getting into my hay field and the BB gun they figured out that they can stay out of range but since I shot them with my bean bags they now stay out! It's either eat them or sell them and I have way to much invested in them to eat or sell.

      Back to the wads. Can I use the thinner 1/4" fiber wads? The more room I have the longer the tail, the more stable they are in flight and the heaver weight in shot will travel farther "I think". 

      The picture shows the bean bag I made with .80 oz of 7 1/2 shot and the tail is still to long to fit inside the hull using WAA 12 wad. Hope this helps clarify what I'm trying to do.

                        Thanks

[RB1235]

I made paraffin wax slugs in my mold for dogs. I tried cutting off the 1 oz wads first and it was too tall. Put an overshot card over the powder charge. It is for my bp shotgun with 12 bore. Was just a hair to big so I used a 1/2 dowel to get them straight down the shell. Made a saucer shape. Put the wax slug on top and it worked perfect. Have to report it does it's job well with no hole in the dogs. Was using dried okra seed but there wasn't enough range.

[.45 COLT]

  Back to the wads. Can I use the thinner 1/4" fiber wads? The more room I have the longer the tail, the more stable they are in flight and the heaver weight in shot will travel farther "I think".

You're going to need an overpowder wad in addition to the fiber wad.  I have OP card wads in .065", .135" and .200", they may come in other thicknesses? A light powder charge, a .065" OP card and a 1/4" fiber wad should leave you plenty of room. (Don't use just the fiber wad - it doesn't work too very good).

DC