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Does anyone have information on reloading AA hulls with fiber wads?

In the past few weeks, I've looked into the feasibility of handloading with fiber. As long as the hulls aren't tapered but are straight walled you are good to go. The AA's are straight walled (base isn't). The old Lyman Ideal Handbooks have recipes and directions for loading fiber wads. I have a 1953 Handbook, #39 that contains directions and recommended loads but most of the powders, other than Hercules Red Dot, are unrecognizable by me. (I don't know if the 1953 recipe for Red Dot is what we have now.) According to the manual, felt height (thickness) above the nitro cards should be approximately 3/4ths of bore diameter which is the compromise between 1/2 of bore and not exceeding bore diameter. Shell trimming maybe required to conform to this restriction. Plastic wad recipes are interchangeable with the felt, but a 5% increase in powder drop is recommended. Per powder is a recommended amount of pressure to be applied during seating. For instance, with Red Dot, 10-12 gauges require 70 lbs. Smaller gauges, 60. Sources on the internet (it's gotta be correct if on the internet. ) report 30-40 lbs. is adequate. I've seen where Ballistic Products has (maybe had) a flyer regarding loading with fiber wads and that may be the best resource for tested recipes and current powders. Gil

Gentlemen,

Is the benefit of using fiber wads to gain better patterns in older guns with tighter chokes?

Has Illinois gone non-tox for all hunting?

Caleb, that may be a benefit, but my interest is just doing it for the hell of it. That and looking to spend more time cleaning gun barrels from lead fouling....Gil

Thanks Gil...I hope you're enjoying that retirement!

Sorry to maybe upset my American cousins.
Fibre wadded , paper cased cartridges are far ,far better for the environment .
Better close range patterns may also interest some of you heathens.

Salopian,
Naw, didn't upset me. Trashin' up the lowcountry woods is a longstanding redneck tradition. Or so it seems judging from the beer cans, etc. I see in some places. Yesterday I found a Samsung Galaxy phone in a dried up mud puddle. Properly broken by someone's mudgrip tires. Gil

AA HS hulls are straight walled above the base reinforcement. If the powder fills beyond the lip you are good to go.
Needless to say, Black Powder and fibre wads work great.

When I began reloading card & fiber or felt was about all there was. If you are going for real fast production it's not quite as fast as popping in a one-piece plastic wad. Most of the really bad leading comes about from an overbore or long cone, either of which allows blowby which melts some lead. With a standard bore & cone, I never had any problem with leading that a bore brush wouldn't take care of. I did at that time use the "Ring-Waxed" fiber filler wads which also help resist leading.


Plastic hulls & plastic wads both began to hit the US market in the 1960s. In the beginning, there were several plastic obturating cup wads which were still used with filler wads. WW even brought out a line of shells which used a cardboard cupped wad in conjunction with a plain wrapper for the shot.

By the 1970s the one-piece plastic wads had pretty well taken over the field, due mainly to their ease in loading. What many did not realize then & still don't is they did not truly increase the choke effect. For the most part, a given choke would show a slightly higher pattern percentage, but this was primarily from bringing in the deformed & useless shot from the fringes, not an actual reduction of the "Killing Circle" of the original pattern.