Moving to biodegradable wads

Shotgun shell manufacturers introduce new technology

By Craig Nyhus

Star outdoor newS

Lone

Hunters and clay target shooters are generally good about picking up their empty hulls. On a dove hunt, if they don’t, they know they may not be invited back.

There’s another part of the shotshell that doesn’t get picked up, though — the wad. The plastic wads travel up to 30 yards after the shotgun is fired, then taking years to break down into smaller pieces that can cause issues with the soil and water. And, plastic shotgun wad production is in the billions annually worldwide.

According to the Virginia Institute of Marine Science, plastic wads have been found in the stomachs of ocean foraging birds, and the smaller microscopic pieces have been found in worms, mussels, crabs and fish. Plastic wads also have been a subject of concern in NOAA’s Marine Debris Monitoring and Assessment Project.

A number of shotshell manufacturers are tackling the issue head-on. Baschieri & Pellagri, as part of the companies’ EnviroShield initiative, collaborated with the University of Bologna to introduce GreenCore wad technology, a 100-percent biodegradable shotshell wad that decomposes on exposure to bacteria naturally present in the environment. B&P said the wads are denser than water, allowing them to sink quickly and initiate the decomposition process.

BOSS Shotshells, in its copper-plated bismuth shells, introduced new wads that have a 1-percent (bio-tec) additive to the plastic which in a three- to five-year time frame deteriorates from the microbes in the water/soil digesting the plastic.

“This allows our wads to stay sustainable and strong while stored and being shot for optimal performance,” the company said. “They will only break down over time after they’ve sat with the earth after being fired.”

The new loads will appear first in the new Warchief loads this fall.

Other attempts at wads that degrade have been made over the years. Cornstarch wads and polyvinyl alcohol wads worked to a degree, but could degrade inside the shotgun shell if they were stored or used in waterlogged conditions, reminding some more experienced hunters of the old paper shells and wads that swelled when wet.

More recently, technological advances have several other manufacturers, and even reloaders, jumping in.

Kent-Gamebore is featuring its Silver Steel Bio-Wad shells. Rio has the Pro Eco Wad. And BIOAMMO claims it has developed the first 0-percent plastic cartridge on the market for both the wad and shell casing.