The Game Shooting Census, conducted by GunsOnPegs and Lycetts, has revealed a growing appetite from game shots to see an end to the use of plastic wads for game shooting. The hunt for biodegradable wad systems was on. But I don’t think anyone expected that what arrived would actually improve cartridge performance. But, according to Gamebore, that’s just what their new 100% biodegradable Quad Seal wads do.
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Increased striking energy
The Quad Seal gets its name from the four-ring gas seal design, which provides a four times better seal than a conventional plastic wad. This improved seal reduces the leakage of gas past the wad and down the barrel. This means that more gas is driving the payload out of the gun, delivering improved performance and increased striking energy downrange.
Improved Patterning
Gamebore’s ballistic lab demonstrated that this improved seal provides greater consistency over fibre wads, but also over standard plastic wads, again down to the reduction in gas leakage caused by the Quad Seal.
Reduced Recoil
With a traditional fibre wad with a powder card obturator combo, the pressure caused by the rapid expansion of gasses can leak behind the powder card when you fire the cartridge, which results in the need for more powder to compensate. Because the Quad Seal’s reduced leakage, cartridges with this component harness more of that energy, meaning there’s no need for that extra oomph. Consequently the recoil is noticeably reduced, giving a far smoother experience when shooting.
Biodegradable
Although Gamebore say that their initial aim was to create a cartridge with better ballistic performance, they have been able to achieve this using 100% biodegradable, non-toxic materials. In fact, the Quad Seal should fully dissolve within a shooting season, and far quicker even than the powder card obturator found in most fibre-wad cartridges. The Quad Seal is made from material that is fully biodegradable, conforming to the CEN 13432 European standard for compostability.
GunsOnPegs Managing Director Chris Horne has been using the cartridges this season and had this to say about them.
“I used the Black Gold Dark Storm with Quad Seal on my first two days this season and was astonished. I have killed birds that have taken a pattern that I have never seen before - at that range - through my English side-by-side. I think it is now fair to say that a ‘non-plastic’ wad is better than plastic. In terms of recoil, they were a vast improvement on the 28g Dark Storm that I tested last season - so much more comfortable to shoot.”
Frank Stephenson, GunsOnPegs Director of Sales, has also been giving them a try. He told me that they gave him confidence that when he missed, it wasn’t the cartridge’s fault! “They were really smooth as well,” He added. “We also handed out a few to the rest of the team of guns and the approval was universal.”
They’re not the only guns to have been impressed. Luminaries of the shooting world such as Dave Carrie, Simon Ward and George Digweed MBE have also expressed their approval. The latter of these echoed Chris Horne, saying “The Quad Seal has finally made an environmentally friendly wad perform as well as a plastic wad, if not better,” while Simon Ward described them as “without a doubt the best game cartridges I have ever used.”
The Quad Seal is currently available in Gamebore's Black Gold Dark Storm 12G in a 70mm case, but there will be a 65mm option available for the 21/22 season and Gamebore are developing a 20G varient as well. The Quad Seal is also used in the new Black Gold Dark Storm Precision Steel cartridge.
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