12 gauge shotshells loading question

[NightKnight]

I purchased the AEA Zeus in .72 cal. Would be nice if they made a smooth bore option. Anyway, most of the loads that are for sale have a very small payload area that won’t hold much shot. Serpent Arms sells empty shells I can fill myself and these have significantly more payload space. Only issue I have with these is they cost $3 plus lead per shot and are single use. I’m thinking of utilizing an idea I saw from a demo video of using a standard shotgun wad with a foam cap. The problem I need help solving is how to effectively keep the edges of the wad closed. How bad would it be to apply some tape to the end and have the wad tapered inward a little bit. My worry is junking up the barrel when I fire it.

 

[JimD]

I don't know if it would fit but have you thought about using a whole spent shotgun shell? The shell can be crimped over the wad to hold it in place. You will probably need to drill out the primer area to give the air a good chance to enter and use a filler of some sort to fill the area the powder would go into. A really inexpensive way to load pb shotgun shells is a "Lee Loader". That would include a manual crimper.

 

[NightKnight]

I don't know if it would fit but have you thought about using a whole spent shotgun shell? The shell can be crimped over the wad to hold it in place. You will probably need to drill out the primer area to give the air a good chance to enter and use a filler of some sort to fill the area the powder would go into. A really inexpensive way to load pb shotgun shells is a "Lee Loader". That would include a manual crimper.

I did think about that but don’t think I could get that to work. The entire shell is sent down the barrel when you fire, so in addition to drilling holes, the entire metal part of the shell would have to be flush with the rest of the shell, and I don’t know if shooting that bit of metal would damage the barrel rifling or not.