In the past few weeks, I've looked into the feasibility of handloading with fiber. As long as the hulls aren't tapered but are straight walled you are good to go. The AA's are straight walled (base isn't). The old Lyman Ideal Handbooks have recipes and directions for loading fiber wads. I have a 1953 Handbook, #39 that contains directions and recommended loads but most of the powders, other than Hercules Red Dot, are unrecognizable by me. (I don't know if the 1953 recipe for Red Dot is what we have now.) According to the manual, felt height (thickness) above the nitro cards should be approximately 3/4ths of bore diameter which is the compromise between 1/2 of bore and not exceeding bore diameter. Shell trimming maybe required to conform to this restriction. Plastic wad recipes are interchangeable with the felt, but a 5% increase in powder drop is recommended. Per powder is a recommended amount of pressure to be applied during seating. For instance, with Red Dot, 10-12 gauges require 70 lbs. Smaller gauges, 60. Sources on the internet (it's gotta be correct if on the internet.
) report 30-40 lbs. is adequate. I've seen where Ballistic Products has (maybe had) a flyer regarding loading with fiber wads and that may be the best resource for tested recipes and current powders. Gil
