The Radical New Wad Inside Remington’s Ultimate HyperSonic Steel™ Shells

Written by Nick Sisley   
A research team at Remington has developed a revolutionary new wad design that lets steel shot fulfill its long-promised potential as the ultimate waterfowl load.
For waterfowl hunting, steel shot is the odds-on favorite. Other non-toxics are available, and most all of them result in better performance than steel. But these other non-toxic waterfowl loads are not purchased in huge quantities for one basic reason – they are more expensive than steel loads – a lot more expensive.
If you shot any of the early steel loads from several decades back you know those loads were very poor. They shot horrible patterns, produced a lot of powder fouling, and maybe crippled more ducks than the lead pellets that ducks ingested. Slowly the shotshell manufacturers improved on the steel loads. One factor that helped this along was new powders designed with steel in mind. This resulted in less powder fouling. Those who shot semi-auto shotguns at ducks cheered this breakthrough as this meant their shotguns now kept shooting instead of jamming so often.
Another factor that helped steel loads kill ducks more effectively was that the ammo companies were able to increase velocities with the new powders. Since steel is less dense than lead (lighter by 30 percent), the increased velocity helped steel enhance its killing power.
However, current steel loads are at their maximum – both from a velocity standpoint and from a chamber pressure standpoint. In fact, most high velocity steel loads produce chamber pressures that are right at the top of what experts consider safe. Increase chamber pressures further and we increase the chance of starting to blow up some shotguns. No ammo company is going to do that in these sue-happy times.
So how can we (1) reduce chamber pressures and still keep velocity of steel loads at current levels, and/or (2) increase steel shot velocity levels – and still keep chamber pressures within proper safety standards?
A research team at Remington went to work on this problem, and they have come up with a solution that promises to be a major breakthrough in shotgun ballistics – not only for steel shot but lead loads as well – in fact maybe all future shotshells.
Remington developed a totally new concept in a plastic wad that makes all of the above possible. The wad design is so new that we don’t even have any new loads to test – that have these wads installed. Remington is so confident in this wad’s potential that they are calling this the biggest breakthrough since the introduction of the plastic wad itself.
Remington had a name for this wad, but they have pulled that name back in hopes of a better one. Maybe now you’re getting some appreciation of how new this technology really is.
DRAWING
Check the accompanying artist’s rendition of this wad. The main breakthrough is the precision engineered “ignition chamber,” the smaller cylindrical part at the base of the wad. This ignition chamber is designed to nestle into the top of the primer pocket.
The powder is dropped in a normal manner. When the new wad is seated some of that powder works its way into the ignition chamber. To insure that powder fills that ignition chamber a ball-type powder with tiny grains will be used. Now remember that the ignition chamber is sitting right on top of the primer.
When the primer is ignited the small amount of powder in the ignition chamber gets ignited first, thus the burn is started. In turn, the wad and shot column move slightly forward, and this allows the burning powder in the ignition chamber to ignite the rest of the powder charge.
How can this reduce chamber pressures? It’s all about delaying (slowing down) full ignition of the powder. Use of the new wad system means that powder ignition is stretched out over a longer period of time – and that’s how chamber pressures are reduced. Bottom line – these researchers had to think out of the box to come up with a new way to reduce chamber pressures.
While I like the idea of the new wad for reducing chamber pressures in steel shot loads – I’m thinking to the future – and hopefully building this wad technology into target loads and field loads using lead shot. Being a recoil conscious freak I’m hoping the new wad will reduce felt recoil in target loads – via reduced chamber pressures – but still maintaining standard target load velocities.
Remington says they will be using slow-burning ball-type powders with the new wad and their new steel loads. I know of no current slow burning ball powders available to reloaders, but evidently Remington has worked with a powder manufacturer to develop such a powder.
An example of a slow burning powder and the resultant reduction of felt recoil would be reloading with slow burning IMR 7625 powder to develop an 1150-feet-per- second load with 1 ounce of shot in 12 gauge.
Work up the same 1-ounce, 1150-feet-per-second load using a fast burning powder, and it won’t take any rocket science research to feel that the 7625 load is very soft in comparison. Of course, 7625 is not offered in a ball-type configuration, but I can only assume that the science to do that is doable. The same principal that allows a slow burning powder like 7625 to have less chamber pressure – is now offered via a wad – a wad that slows down the burn rate and results in lower chamber pressure – and lower chamber pressures mean less felt recoil – a gentle shove rather than a sharp rap.
Remember – as the ignition chamber powder ignites the wad and shot charge move slightly forward – increasing the area for the rest of the powder burn – and thus we get the slower powder burn – ignition stretched out over a longer period of time.
A second new feature of breakthrough wad will be the “stress concentrators” built in near this wad’s base. Again, check the artist’s rendition. The new wad is not split down the sides, as most all other wads are. The “stress concentrator” areas, however, start the wad slits upon powder ignition. There are internal “slits” inside this wad, making it easy for the stress concentrators to start and complete the wad slitting up the sides. But because the slits start opening from the bottom, the pellets in the wad are held there longer, which Remington says results in tighter down range patterns.
Initially, (which means Fall 2010) Remington will only offer the new shotshells with the new wad in 12 gauge and in steel 3-inch and 3 ½-inch loads. All these loads will be at the same velocity – a whopping 1700 feet per second – which means no lead changes no matter which of these loads you are using.
Remington is calling the new shells HyperSonic Steel. Interestingly 1 1/8, 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 ounce loads will be offered in the HyperSonic Steel – again all at 1700 feet per second. The 3-inch 1 1/8 ounce loads will be offered in BB, 2 and 4. The 3-inch 1 1/4 ounce loads will be offered in BB, 1, 2 and 4. The 3 ½-inch HyperSonic Steel will be offered in BB, 2 and 4 at 1 3/8 ounce.
As much as I’m excited about these new steel loads with the new wad I’m looking farther into the future – and lead target and field loads that utilize this new wad technology that permits slower burn rates with resultant lower chamber pressures and less felt recoil.
If a slow burning powder like 7625 in ball form could be used with this new wad chamber pressures could be reduced even further. Think of shooting a 1-ounce 12-gauge load at 1200-feet-per-second that results in even less recoil than we see today using slow burning 7625. The 7625 is used only as an example here, for there are other slow burning powders, though when it comes to 12 gauge shotshell powders IMR 7625 is one of the slowest.
I predict you are going to be hearing a lot more about this new wad design, and this wad could be the biggest advancement since the development of the plastic wad – especially if the wad technology can also be applied to lead loads.
Nick Sisley has been a full-time freelance outdoor writer since 1969. He writes a regular shotgun column in Wildfowl magazine, Sporting Clays magazine, the Skeet Shooting Review and others. He's authored eight books and penned thousands of magazine articles. He can be contacted at nicksisley@hotmail.com.
Remington Ballistics:
http://www.remington.com/products/ammunition/ballistics

Original Article
The Radical New Wad Inside Remington’s Ultimate HyperSonic Steel™ Shells

Even Blind Dogs Can Hunt



Saturday October 24th
Back down to Springfield MN and Farm 1480 on this brisk morning. As I drove through town the bank thermometers were saying 25 degrees. I unloaded Marge and Tina to start the hunt. I put on a full coat and heavier gloves and was hoping that would be warm enough. Our first rooster got up pretty soon, too soon actually. We were working the tailwind along a batch of willows and the bird burst out of the far side before I was really ready. I should have been able to make the shot as I had connected on a few similar one at the skeet range a few evenings before. I didn’t connect. We moved on. This unit has a lot of cover and a lot of birds. Sometimes the going is slow because there is so much scent. We made to the end of the field moving just one more hen, as we hit the end we moved south along the fence line and then west along another fence. I was expecting to see a bird or two along the fence as it has heavy cover and bordered a field of cut corn. About 1/4 of the way down the field a small draw goes from the cornfield to the upper parts of the CRP field we were hunting. Both sides of the draw have heavier cover and the dogs start to work the area. The dogs were showing a lot of interest in the are so I moved out a little ways to give them some room and to hopefully cut off any pheasant on the run. The dogs started moving quicker and then stopping quickly. After about three lockups they held and I moved in and started to kick the clumps of grass and nice sized rooster came up. Remembering that I was behind on the first bird I shot at I tried to lead this one a bit more and when I shot I could see that it was a wing shot and the bird was on the move as soon as it hit the ground. Fortunately Tina had seen him go down and was working the cover and finally got him after a few missed lunges.

After putting the bird in the game bag continued down the field. As we came over a small rise I could see a number of roosters and hens jumping from the grass into the standing corn that was at the end of the field. I was hoping a few lazy / inexperienced birds would be left in the grass. There were a few but unfortunately they were all hens. After crisscrossing the field a bit more I decided to give these two dogs and myself a break.

I changed into a dry shirt and switched to a vest instead of the jacket. I also changed out the Beretta 391 Ultra Light for a 16 gauge Browning Lightening Feather. The 16 ga runs about 6 lbs and is a joy to carry. I’ve also found that since I am hunting over pointing dogs that most of my shots are coming off of a point and flush that I don’t need to take a lot of longer shots and the 16 ga provides plenty of power. It was Fergie’s turn to hunt. She gets shortchanged as she is always the last one out for a hunt and sometimes we get our two bird limit before her turn comes. We went to a section of over that is about 50 yards wide is bordered by a gravel road on one side and a fence on the other. We had a nice head wind and she was working pretty well, as well as a blind 11+ yr old dog can hunt. We made it through the first area with just a wild hen being moved. Shortly after moving into the second are she started to work harder and get a lot more birdy. After two short soft points she was getting serious about it all so I started to kick around and a smaller rooster came up and I was able to drop it cleanly. She was so excited to hear the sound of the shot after her work and then to get to smell her harvest topped it all off.

It was a day that I hope for whenever I head out. Great dog work and no lost birds.

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First Duck In A Decade


Saturday, October 17 started out with high hopes. I could tell it would be a sunny day out since I could see the stars in the early morning sky as I loaded the dogs into the truck. I left St. Paul on the way for a farm about 30 minutes west of Albert Lea. Sure enough as the sun came up I could see blue skies. When I hit Owatonna I could see clouds to the south and sure enough as I hit Albert Lea it started to rain. I got off the freeway and headed back north to Owatonna and another farm I had lined up.

As we got to the farm I could see that the corn was still up and the beans were still in. We tried working the edges of the crops and cover. After about 30 minutes Marge’s beeper went into beep mode. I struggled to get through the thick cover.. I couldn’t through quick enough and I heard the rooster cackle out the other side. We continued to work this farm for another hour and didn’t get any other bird action. We moved to a small 40 acre patch of crp another 15 minutes south. This parcel looks really good but I have yet to see a bird there. I keep trying it because it looks so nice. We didn’t see anything again. Off to the first planned farm. This area is west of Albert Lea and consists of two 40 acre units across a dirt road from each other. I started with the south portion as we’ve seen birds there on a regular basis. The beans were still in along 3 sides of it and the corn was up across the road. There is a U shaped area of heavy brush with cattails in the center and thinner crp cover on the outside. The dogs were working the inside of the U and I was walking the outside I saw a couple of hens get up a little ways out and then a rooster. I took a shot, longer than I usually take, and the bird kept going. We worked the rest of the way around the U and put up 4 more hens, a doe, and a nice buck. I switched guns to a waterfowl legal one and grabbed some steel shot and went across the road to the other parcel. In years where there is good rain this parcel has a small pond at the back of it and since we’ve had a lot of rain this fall I thought I’d take a look. We made out way to the back of the unit and I got down low as we approached the edge of the pond. There was quite a bit of heavy cover so I was able to get right to the edge before I stood up. The ducks saw me and took off. I got off a shot at one and was able to drop it. Tina decided she didn't want to go into the water to retrieve it so I went sloshing though the shallow end and got the duck and was happy to have worn Goretex. It is the first duck I’ve gotten in over a decade. I haven’t tried for any in that time but it was fun to get one.

We reworked both the sections in hopes of being able to make it a multi-species day but to no avail. We did put up another rooster but he got up and out through some thick stuff and I chose not to make the shot. It was a fun day but a lot of driving. Almost 300 miles of driving by the time we made it back home.

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