Plastic or Fibre Wad

[tonky70]

Sorry If this has been asked before 

but what is people’s choice or the better option 

plastic all the time (where possible)

or

fibre all the time 

And do that pattern differently 

 

[MartynB]

The only way you will find out how any gun/cartridge/choke  combination will work is to actually pattern it .  My methodology is plastic where possible as it’s cheaper like for like , fibre where mandatory , and of course always use fibre on game shoots .  For the clays I just split the thousand price and buy 750 Oly Blue plastic , and 250  fibre both in 7.5  . It wouldn’t be the first time I’ve run out of plastic , and used the fibre up and I don’t notice any difference ... At my level of shooting the cartridge is never , ever , the limiting factor , I am ! 

 

[Rod M]

This depends a lot on individual circumstances. ..

Plastic:

• cheaper
  
• has better patterning on average (the impact on actual scores likely to be slim to nothing?)
  
• no wad 'confetti'
  
• more environmental impact
  
• can't be used at a lot of grounds outside of registered comps
  

Fibre:

• better for environment
  
• can be used everywhere
  
• more expensive
  
• wad 'confetti' in some cases
  

Personally, I use fibre as I don't mind paying a modest premium for the environmentally better option. Crucially though, I only shoot for fun (no comps), so am not bothered by a potential lost target due to pattern from time to time and can't shoot plastic at most local grounds anyway. I also don't shoot huge volumes, so price diff doesn't build up that much.

High volume, comp shooters, will obviously lean towards plastic!

 

[McTrucky]

Lots of reading if you Google this.  Consensus is plastic wads tend to produce a tighter pattern, so you may want to consider going up a choke with fibre.  Some believe fibre doesn't break clays as well at longer range - but this is most likely again due to the wider spread meaning less pellets impact the clay.

Pattern board tend to show even spreads of pellets, so no advantage/disadvantage with either.

There is some concern about loose wads in over bored barrels allowing gas to escape past the fibre wad (plastic almost universally have a cup that expands to seal the wad against the bore).  This could cause disruption to the pattern and cause pellets to clump into significant lumps of lead with considerable lethal range.  Not seen this myself, but may affect your choice if you shoot somewhere with marginal safety zones.

I think in this day and age, it is a no brainer that we should use fibre on ecological grounds, and ignoring that is a big political mistake.

Edit : here is a link to an interesting article on this

http://www.shotgun-insight.com/fibreVsPlasticSporterShells.html#introduction

 

[Rod M]

I'd add that I personally believe that plastic wads should be phased out (via regulation/legislation) as it is difficult for anyone to argue against the need to reduce plastic use in general.

 

[tonky70]

It’s just a question i have as I’m looking to buy 1000  and didn’t know whether to mix 500/500 or 750/250 or just a straight 1000 

 

[salop sniper]

For me its plastic at every opportunity. But I do have some fibre wads for fibre only grounds.... not that I visit many. 

 

[Centrepin]

I buy fibre only as that's all available in this area despite all the local grounds allowing plastic.

My dealer has several slabs of 30 and 32g clear pigeon in plaswad he can't shift. He never buys in anything plastic anymore unless ordered and paid in advance.

I pay £188 per 1000 or £47 a slab for cheapest. My son pays £55 for what he considers better quality. Neither make us shoot any better.

 

[Wonko the Sane]

I'd add that I personally believe that plastic wads should be phased out (via regulation/legislation) as it is difficult for anyone to argue against the need to reduce plastic use in general.

This is the sort of statement that the anti's love.  I personally find it difficult in the extreme to worry over strewing a few plastic wads on a shooting grounds when the Indian sub-continent is dumping several tons of plastic per hour into the ocean.  I have no idea what the rate is from the US but I'd hope that it is somewhat less egregious than that.

JMO of course 

 

[McTrucky]

This is the sort of statement that the anti's love.  I personally find it difficult in the extreme to worry over strewing a few plastic wads on a shooting grounds when the Indian sub-continent is dumping several tons of plastic per hour into the ocean.  I have no idea what the rate is from the US but I'd hope that it is somewhat less egregious than that.

JMO of course 

Disagree.

If we adopt the attitude of not getting our house in order because someone else is not doing so, then we are no better than them.

Extreme example maybe, but do you condone fly tipping?  As a tabloid reading Townie uppercase oiks shooting plastic wads all over the countryside sounds just as bad.  No matter how far from the truth it is.  If we were all using biodegradable wads, all competitors would be on an equal footing, and we would have something positive to tell the press about when they come digging the dirt.

Again, just my opinion, and no offense meant, just hope you will pause to consider.

 

[vmax1010]

I made the decision 30 years ago to go fibre and don't feel any disadvantage even in big competitions 

 

[TheSherriff70]

I only shoot plastic as I don’t shoot anywhere that is fibre only.

In honesty, I should shoot fibre, and probably we all should.

 I suspect that more would move over to fibre if they price matched the plastic and did a bit more to persuade the shooter that they were every bit as good as plastic.

 

[FloodDefence]

Most of my shooting is plastic. The only alternative I’ve found that I would be happy to shoot in competition instead of plastic wad Ely superbs would be Eley VIP sporting however the difference in cost would be prohibitive/eye watering.

 

[MartynB]

IMHO In real terms on a  permanent shooting ground , or an organised competition allowing plastic , you are not contributing to any problem . Someone owns and runs the business , they are responsible for ongoing and  future remediation works . The costs associated , should be in their business model , just as recovering the  spent cases , pellets and the tonnes of clay debris  arising from their commercial activity are .  

I
 

 

[Rod M]

This is the sort of statement that the anti's love.  I personally find it difficult in the extreme to worry over strewing a few plastic wads on a shooting grounds when the Indian sub-continent is dumping several tons of plastic per hour into the ocean.  I have no idea what the rate is from the US but I'd hope that it is somewhat less egregious than that.

JMO of course 

This is the sort of statement that the 'bury their heads in the sand brigade love'. I'm not an eco warrior by any stretch and don't go to extremes to avoid plastic use, but I feel this is one situation where, bar a modest cost (on Just Cartridges, Gamebore White Gold is £251 in fibre and £244.50 in plas per 1000, that's 0.65p more per cartridge or £65 per 10,000...), switching to fibre is easy and correct. In isolation, will clay shooters switching to fibre make any difference to global plastic consumption? No. Is it still the right thing to do? I think so and I really don't think there is a credible reason against this and certainly not the weak one floated by Wonko.

I don't think this is something that should be forced on anyone overnight. Give manufacturers time to develop cost effective competition fibre loads and end users adjust to them. As McTrucky says, though, this seems a no-brainer positive story for the shooting industry in general.

 

[jwpzx9r]

Disagree.

If we adopt the attitude of not getting our house in order because someone else is not doing so, then we are no better than them.

Extreme example maybe, but do you condone fly tipping?  As a tabloid reading Townie uppercase oiks shooting plastic wads all over the countryside sounds just as bad.  No matter how far from the truth it is.  If we were all using biodegradable wads, all competitors would be on an equal footing, and we would have something positive to tell the press about when they come digging the dirt.

Again, just my opinion, and no offense meant, just hope you will pause to consider.

What a lot of merde! ...and deflection. At what point in a days shooting at a dedicated clay shooting ground do shooters litter the countryside with plas wads? Plas wads in the controlled environment of a well run shooting ground poses no threat to the public and should not be considered  pollution. Finally only a w'anchor would try to parallel fly tipping and shooting at a well run shooting ground.

I know your reply was to Charlie BUT from my perspective, I have paused to considered your opinion, but not for too long because it is sh*te and it does cause me offence. I hope you will pause to consider my opinion... but I do not give a fug what you think anyway you are the sort of person shooting could be doing without... in my opinion.

 

[McTrucky]

What a lot of merde! ...and deflection. At what point in a days shooting at a dedicated clay shooting ground do shooters litter the countryside with plas wads? Plas wads in the controlled environment of a well run shooting ground poses no threat to the public and should not be considered  pollution. Finally only a w'anchor would try to parallel fly tipping and shooting at a well run shooting ground.

I know your reply was to Charlie BUT from my perspective, I have paused to considered your opinion, but not for too long because it is sh*te and it does cause me offence. I hope you will pause to consider my opinion... but I do not give a fug what you think anyway you are the sort of person shooting could be doing without... in my opinion.

..  None taken.

Just a bit of perspective on where my views come from, not interested in an Internet slagging match.

I used to run a shooting ground, back in late 80s.  Never thought twice about selling and using plastic wads back then.

I was a member of Team GB, and have shot at world cup and world championship (Granada 2014) level, not with a shotgun, but the same team.  Returning to shotgun after almost 30 year absence. 

I used to own a zx9r (1999 c2 model, also had a 'blade and about 30 other bikes) so I must have some taste.

My point is, my opinion is valid, as is yours.  I handed in my self loading rifle after Hungerford.   I lost my full bore pistols after Dunblane.  Both time the shooting community was divided and part of it sold down the river.  We do live in a political sound bite, media controlled world.  We should be able to have sensible debate without resorting to division.

 

[McTrucky]

... start with getting rid of Plastic... then its lead and next they start complain about noise and eventually they sport as a whole!

The point is that I believe regulation is less likely to be forced upon us if we are seen to appropriately self regulate.  That means if the sport is seen to voluntarily encourage more environmentally friendly activity, there is less chance of any form of regulation coming our way.  

Consider a parallel you may be familiar  with (I am asuming you are a biker from your name tag?) - Where you have nice roads where you can have a spirited ride, possibly with in the speed limit if it is a twisty road, and at the speed  limit through villages etc,  You ride courtiously and everything is fine.  No one objects to you enjoying yourself because you are sensible.   Then a group of idiots start riding/driving the same road less sensibly,   quite possibly within the speed limit, but still dangerously,  people complain and then reduced blanket speed limits appear.  Inppropriately slow limits, and you are then forced to break the law, or stop enjoying the road.  Come to Surrey, hardly a road where you can go over 40 now.  The net effect is the idiots still drive like idiots, only the law abiding lose out as speed traps capture safe riders doing 50 in a 40.

With shooting, it is always the law abiding that lose out.  Criminals don't tend to obey the law, kind of a feature of being a criminal.  So it is in all our interests to have no one trying to legislate against us.  So my point is, again, let's not give ammunition to the uniformed that can be used against us, if we self regulate when there is no good reason not to, then we are less likely to face legal regulation.  And today's hot political topic is singe use plastics.

Whether plastic wads can be gathered and recycled from a large organised venue is not the point.  How many informal events take place where there is no attempt to gather wads?  I know I have never picked them up.  If the sport stopped allowing them in competition then people would stop buying them, the economies of scale would tip towards fibre wads making them cheaper, and most of the informal shooters would also switch to what was most easily available/cost effective.

This is not my hobby horse.  I am no eco warrior (I have a car track day at Donington on Monday  - can't get much less environmentally friendly than going round in circles at 7mpg), but this just seems the obvious sensible stand point to prevent the thin edge of an eco wedge being forced into a glaring crack.

Sorry for the long post.  I need to get a life. blockquote lockquote widget

 

[schmokinn]

I do so love the fact that all the new snowflakes on here want to save the world by cleaning up plastic from shooting grounds and banning lead,offended by a little bit of language and crying they are upset.

What you don't realise that giving  1 inch is putting more nails in the coffin of shooting but you happily keep spouting off and filling more of the media with your little posts declaring you are an environmentally sound shooter.

All you are doing is saying that many more aren't and fuelling the anti brigade.

No wonder most of the older members on here have left,sick of hearing the regurgitated crap about plastic wads and lead shot and the right of passage post "what chokes should i use"...rarely is there an intelligent post on here any more.

And as for actually searching the forum for something rather than just starting another thread obviously a f***ing impossibility!!!

You think by doing your little bit for the environment that you are setting an example to third world countries,well i will let you into a secret...they don't give a f*** and never will so what you do is a pointless waste of time but you keep patting yourselves on the back for being good little eco warriors in your fantasy land where the world gets saved.

Meanwhile i will be doing the opposite pushing as much lead and plastic out of my gun in the controlled environment of a shooting ground where it is doing no damage to anything but my shoulder