doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com AA Featherlites?

They were selling flats of these at BassPro here for $120 and a buddy of mine picked up a couple flats to use on clays. They don't call them "Featherlights" specifically anymore but they sure do work the same. Great reloadable AA hulls, minimal report and soft-recoiling. Is there a way to find out the pressures these shells generate?

I haven't seen them for sale for years so I'm taking this as a good sign of more to come. They seem as soft (or softer) than my regular RST loads.

I would talk to Bruce Ducksworth. I've posted his info recently. Precision will not test factory ammo. I don't know of Tom Armbrust will or not.

You already know the answer.
Buy a case, send a sample set to Tom Armbrust.
Get the result.

Low chamber pressure is not the ambition in producing that cartridge. Low recoil is.
They only need to meet US ammunition std’s. for gauge.

CZ: a practical solution, no doubt, but I'm guessing that what I'm feeling and hearing is indicative of reduced pressures as well.

They bust clays with abandon, have shot with 6% antimony (according to Winchester) and should (in my mind) make for great hunting loads in fine old(er) guns (with appropriate chambers). They were slow enough to affect my timing on long crossers, but still should work great on gamebirds. I'm going to load up on 'em here. RST is still slow in coming back to a full-range selection of their shells for sale and these should do in a pinch.

It's interesting to note that their designator (for ordering) is AA12FL8. Pretty sure I know what the FL is for.

When first introduced the ‘Low noise Low recoil’ 15/16 oz. AA12FL was independently measured at 6,200 psi
That is more than the B&P Comp One 7/8 oz load at 1160 fps.
Things change, and Winchester won't disclose pressures.

Dr. Drew: I'd have to guess that they're pretty close to what they used to be (they certainly feel & sound the same). I can live with 6,200 psi in most all of my field guns. At 1 full ounce, they might be a little more pressure...but not much. The 1-ounce Fiocchi's I regularly use at the club are noticeably more stout (much louder, w/more-recoil, at least half-again more) and what's funny (at least to me) is that these are advertised as their "softer" loads. They are also almost 300 fps faster (at the muzzle, of course).

There is power in "convenience", and these Featherlites are darn convenient at the moment. Let's hope that continues.

A few years ago, I bought 10 Flats of Herters Low recoil shells (12 ga 1oz. 1050 FPS 7 1/2’s) on a close out for $27 a flat. I thought the grandkids would shoot them up, but they didn’t care for them. I shoot some at Skeet once in a while, but IMO not a great Sporting load. They do serve their purpose for someone recoil sensitive, but not what I would call a target crusher. They would likely work for pin raised birds.

I'm not at all surprised that these AA shells have low recoil and low report with a subsonic muzzle velocity of only 980 ft./sec. I'd also agree that the pressure is probably on the low side too, but trying to guess pressure is never a great idea. That said, after reading the destructive tests on Damascus barrels by Sherman Bell and Buck Hamlin, I don't lay awake at night worrying that some 8500 psi load will turn sound unpitted barrels into shrapnel.

A greater concern is that, while they may break clay targets well... with some adjustment for leading the target, that much reduced velocity is going to have a substantial effect upon the kinetic energy of those little no. 8 shot pellets. Penetration into game is going to be less as well. Lighter boned birds like doves and woodcock don't seem to take much killing at closer ranges, but I'd expect more cripples on larger birds, especially at longer ranges. So I'd be inclined to stick with something a bit more stout for hunting loads.

I answered your question Lloyd.
There is no way to know what the pressure is unless you test cartridges from the same lot.

Everything else is just a guess.

Or a hope.

They produce that cartridge for low recoil, not low pressure.

I believe you could easily concoct a red dot load at 1000 fps and 7/8 oz that hit the SAAMI max.
With powder shortages world wide, manufacturers buy whatever they can work with that stays legal.

Use facts, not hope in safety related decisions.

CZ: You're right of course. But...I don't live in fear. These shells will be fine for my purposes. I just don't think Winchester will be surprising me with a pressure-spike anytime soon (as they fully-understand product liability).

After two degrees and 30 years working in the earth sciences I have come to trust my instincts. Life is full of risks and if you'd spend all of your time negating them to the best of your ability, you'd never have time to enjoy anything else. I could afford newer, but I mainly drive older cars that don't have many of the nanny-state devices (some have none, only seatbelts), I butcher my own animals and only use freezer paper and saran-wrap (no fancy evacuators and sealed heavy plastic) but... I do test for CWD when there's any risk of it. I occasionally drink alcoholic beverages (gasp!) even though I know that it's likely not good for me. I eat lots of red meat (even bacon) and I really like shellfish (had oysters for lunch yesterday). I would shamelessly eat veal, foie gras, and even swordfish (if I had a hankering for it). I don't ever wear a life-preserver when fishing out of a boat (I do, however, have enough of them in the boat to satisfy the fish cops) & I would even smoke a good cigar in the right circumstances (an even bigger gasp).

Some would call that dangerous living. As an older refugee from Appalachia I would just say that it's a "reasonable" approach to life.