Questions regarding plastic and fibre wads

[AW13]

I have heard and read that plastic wads give tighter and better patterns than fibre. I haven’t shot plastic wad for a long time as I normally shoot over fields but I am now starting to shoot at clubs such as Southdown and I was thinking about buying some plastic wad cartridges.

So my questions are :

Is there a material difference between the 2 types of wad or is it very marginal?

If plastic provides a much tighter pattern than fibre would that mean a difference in choke choice?

Thanks, I am still on the steep learning curve so any info gratefully received.

 

[Hamster]

Felt wads recoil more, are more expensive and don't suit all barrels particularly overbored ones. I personally don't think the difference in tightness is quantifiable to any degree and certainly nothing you couldn't cure by stepping up a single choke denomination if that but again speaking personally I have never liked them, I often wonder whether it's partly because felt shells tend to be loaded with cheaper lower antimony lead because they're not sold as serious competition fodder. 

 

[Gavin]

Night and day of a difference to me I hate fibre wads

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Will Hewland]

Night and day of a difference to me I hate fibre wads

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

I'm a plas fan but that's not quite fair. Decent fibre cartridges work very well, but are still never as good overall as plas, cost included. 

 

[Sian]

Fibre - smelly, dirty and noisy and some that give off loads of confetti trick me into thinking I hit the clay ?

 

[Gavin]

We will agree to disagree Will.....I'd go as far as saying if I could only shoot fibre I wouldn't shoot at all

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[DKGibbs]

I prefer plastic wads purely because they are some much smoother to shoot.

When I'm forced to use fibre my kills are no different to using plastic. 

Just personal preference

 

[Jonny English]

Nothing wrong with fibres, my 725 prints better patterns to almost 40 yards with fibre than it does plastic, my fibre patterns are lovely and even, plastic give a hot core. You shoot what you need to, plastic is obviously best for smoothness and distance, but I don't dislike fibres where necessary and inside 40 yards showing some face.

 

[AW13]

So... bearing in mind my relative inexperience I should not be concerned about pattern or choke choice.  Just whether I am shooting on fields and need to use fibre.

Hopefully I will be at Southtown later this week where I can use some plastic and try a comparison with fibre.  Probably won't notice any difference but it will be an interesting  exercise.

Thanks for the opinions 

 

[Oldblaster]

I had the same question as you, so l shot the same 100 bird shoot twice, same day, once with plas wads, and once with fibre, some of the targets quite testing, the score was virtually the same. Scored slighty higher with the fibre, but probably due to the fact l knew what to exspect second time around! My local clubs demand fibre so l use them all the time now. You can get them in 3% or 5% antimony so no problem with shot hardness.

 

[DKGibbs]

So... bearing in mind my relative inexperience I should not be concerned about pattern or choke choice.  Just whether I am shooting on fields and need to use fibre.

Hopefully I will be at Southtown later this week where I can use some plastic and try a comparison with fibre.  Probably won't notice any difference but it will be an interesting  exercise.

Thanks for the opinions 

If you're purchasing from Southdown's shop, try the power gold 8's in plastic wad. They are one of the smoothest cartridges out there! Lovely to shoot and the kills they produce are awesome!

 

[woody]

If you're purchasing from Southdown's shop, try the power gold 8's in plastic wad. They are one of the smoothest cartridges out there! Lovely to shoot and the kills they produce are awesome!

i find power gold 8's in fibre a great shell too.

 

[Cosmicblue]

With my limited ability there doesn't seem much difference between fibre and plas-wad other than recoil characteristics that Hamster has already noted.  I'm continually amazed that we ever get consistency between cartridges because the principles of a shotgun i.e smooth bore, restriction at the muzzle and ammunition pellets made from a soft easily deformed material accelerating from zero to supersonic over about 2 inches using explosive ought not to work at all well - and yet it does.      It's like the railways (steel wheels, steel track and wheel flanges that keep the thing on the track (hopefully)), given a blank sheet of paper in the 21st century you'd come up with a better thought out idea wouldn't you?

 

[perazman]

Fibre - smelly, dirty and noisy and some that give off loads of confetti trick me into thinking I hit the clay ?

I'm curious how fibre wads make a cartridge smellier and noisier? It's a given that your bores on average tend to be dirtier with fibre cartridges around the cones.

I've shot for a long time using both fibre and plastic and apart from the odd bit of confetti I struggle to tell them apart. Recoil appears identical to me and patterns seem either the same or slightly more even with an even spread out to the edges. I good thing for a newbie I'd have thought.

Some people find any debris confusing or distracting but to be honest I'm more likely to read a plas wad passing a clay as a chip than anything around the muzzle of the gun.

I think as a whole,Northern shooters seem to be more accepting of fibre as we're more restricted up here as to where we can shoot plastics. I know a lot of gunshops who shift far more fibre than plastic.

I currently use both as I got a good deal on plastics but life is a lot simpler if I stick to fibre and use them anywhere. Otherwise I need to keep four separate loads for my wife and I.

PM

 

[Sian]

I'm curious how fibre wads make a cartridge smellier and noisier? It's a given that your bores on average tend to be dirtier with fibre cartridges around the cones.

I've shot for a long time using both fibre and plastic and apart from the odd bit of confetti I struggle to tell them apart. Recoil appears identical to me and patterns seem either the same or slightly more even with an even spread out to the edges. I good thing for a newbie I'd have thought.

Some people find any debris confusing or distracting but to be honest I'm more likely to read a plas wad passing a clay as a chip than anything around the muzzle of the gun.

I think as a whole,Northern shooters seem to be more accepting of fibre as we're more restricted up here as to where we can shoot plastics. I know a lot of gunshops who shift far more fibre than plastic.

I currently use both as I got a good deal on plastics but life is a lot simpler if I stick to fibre and use them anywhere. Otherwise I need to keep four separate loads for my wife and I.

PM

I don't like the smell from a fibre cartridge and some times you do get quite a puff of smoke either from your own or someone using the fibre cartridge and there is a different noise you get from a fibre cartridge and I don't like it.  Sorry not scientific or anything just the way it is for me.   Also they are dirtier when compared to shooting plastic - again evidenced when cleaning.  I really don't like seeing confetti, this isn't as bad in all fibre as some are better but I am not paying the price they ask for them and I have actually recently been shooting and a mate was shooting fibre, the bloody stuff blew back in our faces - wind direction at the wrong time - this was a very wind affected day.  I will shoot fibre when I have to but it would not be my choice.  Luckily all of my regular grounds allow plastic and the very very few - perhaps one or two a year where I have to shoot fibre is fine.

 

[perazman]

I don't like the smell from a fibre cartridge and some times you do get quite a puff of smoke either from your own or someone using the fibre cartridge and there is a different noise you get from a fibre cartridge and I don't like it.  Sorry not scientific or anything just the way it is for me.   Also they are dirtier when compared to shooting plastic - again evidenced when cleaning.  I really don't like seeing confetti, this isn't as bad in all fibre as some are better but I am not paying the price they ask for them and I have actually recently been shooting and a mate was shooting fibre, the bloody stuff blew back in our faces - wind direction at the wrong time - this was a very wind affected day.  I will shoot fibre when I have to but it would not be my choice.  Luckily all of my regular grounds allow plastic and the very very few - perhaps one or two a year where I have to shoot fibre is fine.

As you imply,its a very personal thing. Just like recoil. Some peoples smooth cartridge kicks the life out of someone else. I can't say I notice those differences apart from the confetti issue which is probably lucky as we're stuck with fibre at a lot of northern grounds although I notice Thimbleby have recently dropped their plastic ban so it obviously effects visitor numbers. We also tend to shoot charity events,sim days and flushes which all tend to be fibre. 

My Perazzi is tightly bored which I think helps the wad seal and prevents the confetti effect some people get.

In answer to the OP,each to their own but neither wad will have an impact on scores when you're new to the sport and changing choke to match wad shouldnt be needed. If your grounds have differing rules either stick to fibre or keep both at home if you don't mind swapping over. Plastics certainly won't buy you targets in my view.

PM.

 

[Gavin]

Depends on the gun I hate them cause no fibre wad iv ever shot works in my gun. They don't seal well at all. weak breaks lack of recoil and a pop more than a bang.....I'm particularly down on them at them moment cause was forced to use them just last weekend and hated it. If your bore is tight they are ok but still no match for plastic

Sent from my SM-N910F using Tapatalk

 

[Jim Wheeler]

Biggest gripe for plastic`s is the amount of plastic `skid marks` ! in the choke, especially half and full choke. after a few thousand rounds i used to scrape it out with a stanley blade, no chemical will shift it ! cleaning up after fibre is super easy, and shooting with either makes no difference to me, i miss equally well with both .

 

[danq]

I prefer plaswads  think I get a bigger thump with them so assume I get a slightly faster result. I tried the same cartridge with fibre and plaswads and can feel the difference,

I use a 391 semi and the forcing cones really get marked with plaswads over fibre. I know use eds red which I make up myself and a bronze brush wrapped in very fine steel wool,works a treat