reloading shot shells perfected

[dancergene]

finally finished my experiments with various combo of paper, foam, cotton and felt. i shot into our daily load of catalogs in the mail.  distance of 10 feet. factory ammo penetrated .14".  ok, cut paper (i am using used post it notes) into half inch squares. for a dowel i am using an artist brush which just happens to be about the right size.  place plastic shell standing with breach end up, place paper square on it centered best you could, push paper into opening and now you have a sabot similar to the factory original. flip shell over, add pellets and another paper square pushed down to hold the pellets.  this gave me a 2" spread and .08" penetration.  if you want a little extra power put a 2mm plug of foam centered on the breach cup paper. that gave me 1 1/2" spread and .092" penetration.  i am using 7.5 shot, measure with a 22 short shell which gives me 15 pellets. nice thing is that you can put a bunch in your pocket and they don't come apart.  i think the cup shape is the secret and there is enough resistance to keep the piston from slamming into its stop. i would not be surprised if someone will improve on this method.