Shotshells for Handgun Cartridges

[Hawk]

Okay, I got to test a couple of rounds today.
Both rounds were tested at at a range of approximately 6 feet. The snakes head is about 1-1/16" wide.
The first two pictures (labelled with a red No. 1) are the same, the second just zoomed in and are:
4.0 Gr. Red Dot
one over power wad
80 Gr. of No. 12 shot
Two over shot wads.

Wads were punched out card board from Ritz Cracker boxes.




The next two pictures (labelled with a red No. 3) are the same, the second just zoomed in and are:

3.0 Gr. Red Dot
Two over power wads
80 Gr. of No. 12 shot
Two over shot wads.



The 3.0 gr. of Red Dot loads all stayed on the 8-1/2" x 11" paper. Dropping to three grains opens up quite a bit of case space.

The 4.0 gr. loads grouped about 15" north to south and 8" wide.

All loads penetrated (mostly) both sides of an empty one gallon plastic water jug.
Neither would cycle the action and were basically powder puff loads.
The 3.0 gr. load was definitely more dense, but I think either one would do the trick.
I was amazed at how well these two loads performed.

I'm thinking about putting a thin layer of Elmer's glue on the top wad, to try to seal it up and to hold it in place better. Anyone ever done this or is that a big no no? I thought about some wax lube, but would be afraid it might melt in a hot truck glove box.
I do have a friend that drinks Makers Mark, so I could get some red wax from him.
Any thoughts?

 

[S Mac]

Oughta work. I think I would try #8 shot, would be an interesting test, better penetrating. Surely the Elmer's wouldn't hurt, probably better in the heat than wax.

 

[popper]

Did they jam? Close to what I got from 40sw CCI shot shells about same range. CCI may have larger shot, not nearly as many. Pattern got really bad at 15'. Yup, Elmers (school house glue) should work fine.

 

[Hawk]

Well, my thought was for protection as I'm walking thru swampy, boggy areas.
I've got to walk about 150 yards thru a swamp to check a game cam on a small high spot that the deer and hogs cross.
I've got and used no. 9 shot before, but the patterns weren't as good.
There are 4 times as many 12s as 9s for a given weight.
I figure this load will make hamburger out of a small snake at short range and definatly mess up the Wa of a larger one!
I imagine at 10 to 12 feet, the energy level drops considerably, but if they were that far out, I couldn't see them anyway.

 

[fiver]

well.
I think I'd go with maybe 3.5grs.
your gonna be in ''oh crap a snake'' mode and a half a pattern on target is better than a miss in that situation.

 

[Hawk]

Exactly what I was thinking.
45 pellets in the head neck area is nice, but a slightly wider pattern might be my friend.

 

[Ian]

I like that.

Tougher overpowder wad definitely made a big difference. Seal the mouth with sodium silicate (water glass). Get some at amazon or the hardware store in the wood stove section, it's in a 4 ounce bottle labeled "stove gasket adhesive". Don't confuse it with muffler or stove cement that is the same stuff but packed with clay and fine sand.

 

[CWLONGSHOT]

Glad you have something your happy with!

I have used candle wax for ever you only need enough to seal. If your wad fits proper nothing will migrate into the shot. I havent had any melting problems. But I dont leave the shells in direct sunlight and temps here generally are below 100.

CW