Loading ultra spread 12g shells

Get some spreader wads from Ballistic Products and load some spreader shells ....

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Has anyone recommending these spreader wads used them? Just wondering how effective they are, and i don't exactly trust anyone from a marketing department.
 
Evanguy said:
Really, they are probably the vicious animal I have ever encountered in my life. They will wipe out whole flocks, they start to kill and don't stop until all the commotion stops. They don't eat more then 1 chicken, they just kill for fun.

We have had over 20 chickens killed in a night by a single pine martian at least 3 times over the last 5 years. We now don't keep more than 50 chickens in a coop to limit the death tolls.

They sneak into the coop in the day and wait hiding for night. This one had dug a hole under the chicken tractor and then chewed it's way to the inside and kill 8 chickens.

Of then I can hear the commotion and run over if it's during the day because all the chickens freak out as soon as they see one.

Last year I upset a den of them that was living under the ramp to one of the cops I shot 5 in about 20 minutes. It was like wack a mole but with a 12g and pine martians.

I don't often take pics but here is the one from today and the one I'm holding was the first one I got after we lost 17 chickens that night before. He was hiding in the coop (turn the sound on for the video)


Luckily they are very curious animals so when they run away and take cover they always poke there head back out to see what's happening and that's normally when I shoot them but I'd love to get them on the run more often.



Also thanks for the all ideas guys. I'll take one of my shotguns and cut the choke, I dont have a rifles barrel to try. But that's not a bad idea.

I was thinking of using no8 shot with no shot cup and just a cardboard wad over the heavier powder charge to blow the shot out, Because often factory shells are designed to group well and I want the opposite.

I'll look into those X streams.

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A prospector I worked with was a pro trapper. He said the only animal that scared him even in the trap was a marten. He carried a .22 revolver for them.
 
Ok so I picked up 10 conibear 120 traps. I'll have to put the boxes so dogs, farm animals or kids can't get into them.

I was using live traps a lot but always have to reset them from chickens getting in them or new bait due to mice eating it or it going bad (I use can tuna 1/4 can per trap). They arnt able to be ran 365 days a year and I mostly put them out when I see one but can't shoot it, even if there has been no attack.

So now I'll do a more proactive approach opposed to a reactive approach.

I will also but some of those wads X wads, I plan to watch some comparison videos on them.. And I will also cut down one of my intersurplus sxs to 18" barrel with no choke, I may even try and ream the barrels out at the muzzle a mm or two ..I will also test some heavy shot loads with no shot cup or was, just some cardboard.
 
Spreader loads will open up your shot patterns one choke from tight choke barrels: Full to modified or modified towards improved cylinder.
I've tried the x-stream wads from BPI. I wasn't impressed.
You will get better results with a cylinder bore shotgun if you want the most spread pattern. Up close your pattern area will still be small.
 
Evanguy said:
Ok so I picked up 10 conibear 120 traps. I'll have to put the boxes so dogs, farm animals or kids can't get into them.

I was using live traps a lot but always have to reset them from chickens getting in them or new bait due to mice eating it or it going bad (I use can tuna 1/4 can per trap). They arnt able to be ran 365 days a year and I mostly put them out when I see one but can't shoot it, even if there has been no attack.

So now I'll do a more proactive approach opposed to a reactive approach.

I will also but some of those wads X wads, I plan to watch some comparison videos on them.. And I will also cut down one of my intersurplus sxs to 18" barrel with no choke, I may even try and ream the barrels out at the muzzle a mm or two ..I will also test some heavy shot loads with no shot cup or was, just some cardboard.
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Cut the barrels for cyl but reaming cyl barrels most times will end with a hole in the pattern. With X-wads you won't gain much with cyl bores, cut the petals off most any load and you will open the pattern a bit 1oz or 1 1/8 oz of hard # 7.5 or #8 should be the bomb. IMO
 
saskbooknut said:
Spreader loads will open up your shot patterns one choke from tight choke barrels: Full to modified or modified towards improved cylinder.
I've tried the x-stream wads from BPI. I wasn't impressed.
You will get better results with a cylinder bore shotgun if you want the most spread pattern. Up close your pattern area will still be small.
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The promo material lays it out exactly as you say. Not too sure why it keeps getting recommended since even if that's accurate it's effectively nothing towards the OPs goal.
 
Thunderhog said:
It doesn't surprise me that Pine Martens would kill all the chickens like you describe. This killing frensy is a normal weasel family trait.

However that first pic you show on the lawn looks a lot like a mink. Mink normally have white under their chins, but not always. Pine Martens normally have an orange color under their chins, but not always.

That live footage sure looks like a Pine Marten.......:)
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So after doing some reading on this island, and looking back over any pics I can find of these animals my wife or I have tanken over the years. I now think we have both pine martens and minks. There are most with the orange under then chin and big ears, triangle head and there are others with a definite white patch, rounder head/smaller ears.

I never really thought about it I figured they were the same animal with maybe a winter coat on vs summer or generics, or age difference. I moved here 5 years ago and also have never seen one before 5 years ago, the people here called them all pine marten
 
Evanguy said:
So after doing some reading on this island, and looking back over any pics I can find of these animals my wife or I have tanken over the years. I now think we have both pine martens and minks. There are most with the orange under then chin and big ears, triangle head and there are others with a definite white patch, rounder head/smaller ears.

I never really thought about it I figured they were the same animal with maybe a winter coat on vs summer or generics, or age difference. I moved here 5 years ago and also have never seen one before 5 years ago, the people here called them all pine marten
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Your Pine Marten description is excellent, orange chin patch, big ears, along with that triangle shaped head........:)

That one pic on your lawn is definitely a mink, the round head, smaller ears, with the white chin patch. They get mistaken for each other when habitats over-cross.

Oddly enough mink usually like, creeks, streams, ponds, small lakes, and even rivers. Whereas Pine Marten enjoy the boreal forest. These days animals are very adaptable and will choose wherever there is food, shelter, and safe areas to live and mate.

I used to trap both of those members of the weasel family. Skunks, otters, and fisher included. Never caught a wolverine but have seen about ten in my lifetime.

Good on you to research what animals you have and have trapped. Either way, you want them to stop eating your chickens.......:)(y)
 
If you're experimenting and only need to load a couple boxes worth per year you can try adding a few homemade card wads inside the shot column. Something like a 1/16" thick card every 1/4" of shot has worked before. You can also flatten the shot a little with a hammer so they look more like Smarties candy or saucers that tend to fly in more random ways. More shot / payload and lower velocity might also help if shooting indoors.
 
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