The Wad Affect
Jul 10, 2020 19:48:47 GMT -5
Post by ET on Jul 10, 2020 19:48:47 GMT -5
To be honest I currently know little about a wad’s function at the moment but hope to eventually change that. For now, I want to look at some of the responses with wad usage and see what it might reveal.
I thought observing results with sabot-less loads would be a good starting point. I’ve noticed where some mention they get better results using a wad. Okay why is that? A wad is softer material that compresses to form fit its surrounding and aid in sealing the bore. When it does that it prevents less pressurized gases to get into the grooves that possibly slows down the obturation of the bullet. Okay we now have to take into account a bullets obturation characteristic and whether it’s smooth formed or full formed with grooves. Then there’s the powder choice and it’s burn rate to consider. Slower powders have slower Rise Times meaning the pressure impact on the bullet is not as strong as say with a faster powder for obturation. So what role would a wad play here?
Okay now I look at a wad used with a sabot. I personally don’t believe that a wad protects the sabot from heat resulting from the hot gases generated. The shot cycle is so fast that the sabot doesn’t have time to absorb heat to affect it. But I do know a sabot starts to soften as temp goes up. I have to wonder if the wad shores up pressure containment and protect the sabot skirt somewhat. In order to see a responsive benefit, I still need to try and maintain the load resistance. Trying to use the wad as a crutch for a softer sabot and looser bore fit won’t cut it IMO.
When I get to the stage of trying a wad it will be interesting to see the response.
NOTE: What I’ve conveyed here is from my own reasoning and at this point can’t validate anything. But from reasoning I have a starting point to compare to.
Now if anyone is inclined to sharing their experience with using a wad, sabot-less or sabot, I would enjoy reading about it.
I thought observing results with sabot-less loads would be a good starting point. I’ve noticed where some mention they get better results using a wad. Okay why is that? A wad is softer material that compresses to form fit its surrounding and aid in sealing the bore. When it does that it prevents less pressurized gases to get into the grooves that possibly slows down the obturation of the bullet. Okay we now have to take into account a bullets obturation characteristic and whether it’s smooth formed or full formed with grooves. Then there’s the powder choice and it’s burn rate to consider. Slower powders have slower Rise Times meaning the pressure impact on the bullet is not as strong as say with a faster powder for obturation. So what role would a wad play here?
Okay now I look at a wad used with a sabot. I personally don’t believe that a wad protects the sabot from heat resulting from the hot gases generated. The shot cycle is so fast that the sabot doesn’t have time to absorb heat to affect it. But I do know a sabot starts to soften as temp goes up. I have to wonder if the wad shores up pressure containment and protect the sabot skirt somewhat. In order to see a responsive benefit, I still need to try and maintain the load resistance. Trying to use the wad as a crutch for a softer sabot and looser bore fit won’t cut it IMO.
When I get to the stage of trying a wad it will be interesting to see the response.
NOTE: What I’ve conveyed here is from my own reasoning and at this point can’t validate anything. But from reasoning I have a starting point to compare to.
Now if anyone is inclined to sharing their experience with using a wad, sabot-less or sabot, I would enjoy reading about it.