I was loading some 20 gauge field loads tonight and I pulled a partially used bag of WAA20F1-20 Ga. wads out of the back of the cupboard and when I was using them I started having problems with the wads hanging on to the wad seater ram and pulling out of the case on the up stroke. The problem was caused by the wads suport column being brittle and breaking off on one side letting the shot capsul pinch on the ram.
My guestions are what is a reasonable shelf life time expectation? Is 25 years too long for unused wads? Do plastic wads deteriorate in loaded shells if kept on the shelf too long? Will the patterns be badly blown? Thanks for any and all opinions.--Jack

I was loading some 20 gauge field loads tonight and I pulled a partially used bag of WAA20F1-20 Ga. wads out of the back of the cupboard and when I was using them I started having problems with the wads hanging on to the wad seater ram and pulling out of the case on the up stroke. The problem was caused by the wads suport column being brittle and breaking off on one side letting the shot capsul pinch on the ram.
My guestions are what is a reasonable shelf life time expectation? Is 25 years too long for unused wads? Do plastic wads deteriorate in loaded shells if kept on the shelf too long? Will the patterns be badly blown? Thanks for any and all opinions.--Jack

Don't know the answer to Q's 1 or 2, or 3, but my opinion(you asked) is that a weak support column won't allow correct cushion to the shot charge at ignition, which probably won't be conducive to good patterns. Out of curiosity, what's your recipe and what do your finished crimps look like? Personally, I'd toss 'em if I was getting a high percentage of fouled up wads. Wads are the cheapest aspect of reloading. But YMMV. BTW, I may be wrong, but I believe Winchester no longer makes that wad. I'll check.

Edit: Don't see the WWA20F1 listed anywhere.

Don't know the answer to Q's 1 or 2, or 3, but my opinion(you asked) is that a weak support column won't allow correct cushion to the shot charge at ignition, which probably won't be conducive to good patterns. Out of curiosity, what's your recipe and what do your finished crimps look like? Personally, I'd toss 'em if I was getting a high percentage of fouled up wads. Wads are the cheapest aspect of reloading. But YMMV. BTW, I may be wrong, but I believe Winchester no longer makes that wad. I'll check.

Edit: Don't see the WWA20F1 listed anywhere.

Thanks for the reply, I was thinking that under ignition the support cloumn colapses any way, so the early coplapse may do no harm. The the recipe for this batch was IVI plastic case with cardbaord base a CCI209 primer and 20.5 grs. of 4756 and 1 oz of #4 lead. This old Ponsness Warren puts a good tight crimp on almost anything that you stick in it.

Only one thing to do. Shoot some & see how they work. Sound like you got it under control. Take care.

I would strongly advise NOT to shoot them! Yes, plastic wads are designed to decay, some more quickly than others. Shelf life according to either Rem or Fed, forget which one responded, is 1-5 years in the component form and 1-10 years in loaded ammo depending on the storage conditions.

Degraded plastic wads can cause serious pressure issues when firing loaded ammo. The loss of ammo by disassembly is much less than blowing up a gun and risking the loss of life and limb.

Plastic hulls can degrade with age as well. I had a box of mixed brand ammo behind the seat in my truck for about 12 years (the just-in-case assortment box). They never got wet and were not exposed to sunlight, only the hot & cold temp swings but upon inspection, some cracked when squeezed, others shattered like glass. I then went through the ammo that was stored in the climate controlled house and upon cutting open a couple AA trap loads that were about 20 years old, the hulls seemed okay but the wads crumbled.

Chuck them into the garbage. I had some WAA20 white wads that were about 15 years old. They were definitely stiffer than new ones, and I suspect they'd break in another 10 years.

The Remington 1 oz wads are still available.
http://www.wholesalesports.com/onlinestore/control/category/~category_id=10520001092131/~pcategory=1052000109

Bye
Jack