Federal heavyweight rumor

[howl]

I asked Federal on their fb: "What changes to the Mag Shok Heavyweight line will there be for 2016? Will you offer shot sizes larger than #7? Will the 20ga 3" #7 load continue to be made?"

The following was posted by Federal in response: " all Heavyweight #7 SKUs will continue to be made. Given that #7 heavyweight has the same density as #5 lead and you get significantly more pellet count along with better downrange pellet energy and velocity, we are only offering it in #7."

[Izzyjoe]

Man, that sounds great, this year I'll stock up!

[357MAGNOLE]

I keep hearing about this shell, do they make a comparable shell for 12 gauge? If so, how do they perform?

[CrustyRusty]

They do, or did, but they can be finicky...

[Izzyjoe]

I'm impressed with the 20's, but the 12's just seem to not pattern very well for me, I read on the box that the FCW is to be used in more open chokes, and not ones with wad strippers, I've read on here that ported chokes don't do as either. I am wanting to try some hevi 13 7's, but everyone is out of stock.

[gatrkyhntr70]

The Trulock heavyweight 7's choke will resolve any issues with the wad.

[outdoors]

THATS GOOD TO KNOW
I ENJOY MY 20 ga.s

[Gobble!]

Why would you want anything larger than a #7 in that shot? If anything #8s would be cool.

[allaboutshooting]

Federal has learned a lot about production of the Flitecontrol Wad over the years and the composition of the newer ones is much better than the early ones. When I evaluated the 3rd Degree shells recently I had an opportunity to really look at these newer wads. They function much better now and both the brakes and windows open consistently. That was not true in the past.

What we've all learned is that chokes in the .650 range work best with these shells. Ports, depending upon where they are may or may not matter at all.

I found the .650 JEB's chokes work exceptionally well with these shells.

Right after I shot some of the "new" Magnum Blend shells, I shot some of the 3rd Degree shells and they both shot to the same POI. The 3rd Degree shells, through the JEB's did what is was supposed to and produced very good turkey killing patterns at 40 yards.

The #7 Heavyweight is a good shell and with the newer wad, it should be much more forgiving.

Thanks,
Clark

[owlhoot]

So Clark,
            When  did this wad improvement take place ?

[Devastator]

The Trulock heavyweight 7's choke will resolve any issues with the wad.

X2,my 2 rem.12's are shooting that combo awesome 

[allaboutshooting]

So Clark,
            When  did this wad improvement take place ?

I don't know. Frankly, I was very surprised when I examined one of the wads in the 3rd Degree shells. It was quite different from any of the wads I'd seen with Heavyweight shot over the years. It is much more pliable and thinner than the early wads and more resembles a lead wad than a Heavyweight wad in composition.

The wads in the 20 gauge shells have always been quite different from the 12 gauge wads. I suspect that they have learned a lot over they years with the #7 shot in the 20s and have just carried that over into the 12 gauge shells.

When that wad was introduced, most manufacturers still had a real fear of barrel damage from very hard tungsten-based shot. The Heavyweight wad was very thick and stiff. It was also shorter than the lead wad.

When #7 shot became the dominant size for Federal, I'm sure they learned over time that a thinner wad afforded all the protection that was necessary and phased that in over time. They still had a lot of the older shells in the pipeline, in inventory in warehouses and on dealer shelves however, so it probably took some time for those to clear out, if indeed they have. I suspect there are still some of those out there.

My early work with Federal in 2004-2005 was with the very first Flitecontrol Wad products. I was able to see some of the changes take place but what is out there now does not even resemble the early products.

Thanks,
Clark

[TRex18]

Clark,


Do you think all these changes will also be made in the wad for the 10 gauge shells HWs 7s as well? I noticed my NEF 10 Kicks GT 695 would through some of these shells to the Right....and sometimes High.....is that just the old wad ?

[allaboutshooting]

Clark,


Do you think all these changes will also be made in the wad for the 10 gauge shells HWs 7s as well? I noticed my NEF 10 Kicks GT 695 would through some of these shells to the Right....and sometimes High.....is that just the old wad ?

I suspect that you are shooting shells with at least something like the original wad material. I don't know when or if they have changed anything in the 10 gauge shells. It is a low volume item for them and I expect that many on the shelves today may have been manufactured quite some time ago.

It may also be that the wad ( petal or brake) is catching on one of the ports on your GT choke. That can easily cause the situation that you describe. You may want to take a look at one of the wads and see if there is damage to the petals on the rear of the choke or to the brakes. That was pretty common when shooting the older wads through some ported chokes, depending upon the design of the ports.

If you see damage, you'll want to use care when shooting those shells through that choke to make sure that the wad is clearing the muzzle each time you shoot. A stuck wad can be a very dangerous situation.

Thanks,
Clark

[TRex18]

You da man. Much appreciated....