Federal's Flitecontrol wads extend the effective killing range of standard steel shot.

I was hunting ducks on a streambank of the Cheyenne River in southwestern South Dakota. On this fog-laced morning, my shotgun was loaded with a new type of non-toxic ammunition from Federal Cartridge Company in Anoka, Minn. The load was Black Cloud, and even though most of the guts housed in the payload delivery system are quite conventional, the wad is a one-of-a-kind deal. For some of its waterfowl shotshell line, Federal has turned to a wad design consisting of a tough plastic tube lacking any sort of forward-facing wad petals or flaps.

Based on a sabot-style configuration, the Flitecontrol wad uses air flaps on the side to stabilize the stiff plastic tube in flight, and a shuttlecock flaring petal system at the rear of the wad, a portion better understood as the gas seal section. When the wad is launched from the muzzle, the payload is trapped in the tube for an instant, and then sent from the wad in a controlled flow. The end result is a "jump" of sorts -- more payload energy and extension in range.

I performed tests of Black Cloud shells by shooting the loads in various shot sizes over my Chronotech 33 screens to measure velocity numbers. When compared to loads using conventional wads, the sabot system was moving over the screens faster with more uniform velocity. Further testing by way of ultra-high-speed photographs confirmed the wad was moving about 10 yards downrange and still retaining much of its payload in a tight, uniform mass.

On the river that morning with Black Cloud No. 2 shot chambered, I waited for my hunting partners to complete an over-the-decoys crack at ducks, and then sort out the departing targets to test the sabot wad system for additional range extension. As an advanced non-toxic steel load, Black Cloud fills the needs of pass shooters or hunters shooting longer ranges. As ducks climbed out of the kill hole -- in some cases flying almost straight up -- after being shot at by my associates, I confirmed three kills with shots longer than 55 yards. All were stone-dead greenheads in late winter feathering. My field test revealed that Black Cloud, using its "smart wad," was getting the job done by maintaining a tight pattern and good velocity retention.

Black Cloud loads hold a tight pattern at long range.

Different Choke Required
Because smart wads tend to perform differently than conventional wads in terms of payload control downrange, the choke needs to be unique. The so-called "stripper wad" chokes should not be used with Black Cloud loads. The raised studs, dog or groves will hinder the performance of the smart wad.

You don't want the wad to drop its payload at the muzzle and have the heavy plastic sabot unit run through the shot cloud, thereby tearing it up from the core out to the pattern fringe. Chokes designed specifically for the smart wad system include new developments by Carlson's, Pattern Master (special smooth tube) and True Lock systems. These chokes control the Black Cloud type payload delivery system, and thereby, get the most out of the new, advanced sabot wad.

The smart wad can be found in several additional Federal offerings. Heavyweight turkey loads first offered by Federal several years ago use it, as does the previously reviewed 20-gauge turkey killer, and now a brand new Heavyweight Coyote killer in a BB + pellet size. The possibilities in load design and development waiting for the installation of the smart wad system seem endless.