anyone ever use flechettes in a shotgun?

[Magiccarpetrides]

I ran across some surplus 1" flechettes and thought it would make for an interesting load...anyone ever tried these...they are pretty cheap at only $10 per lb

[Guest TurboniumOxide]

J.B. Dix?

No, but I have thought about it.

[Guest gunslinger707]

They would make good H/D round's!:D

[Defender]

When I was in the USAF, we had some of those in 40mm. Talk about a room clearer!

[Mike.357]

aren't they illegal, not to possess but to load??

I must be wrong.

[Guest clsutton21]

aren't they illegal, not to possess but to load??

I must be wrong.

I think they were outlawed by not only the Warsaw Pact, but also in the 1971 NFA.

In my opinion, I think they would be illegal to produce because they would probably be considered armor-piercing rounds. Here's how one guy did it though:

DESIGN:

1) I cut the forward end off the plastic shell (the crimped part) and emptied the lead shot. I figure that shot will blast the crimp open to allow the shot out of the shell, but it seems like the flechettes will puncture the crimp before blasting it open, so it seems best to leave the front open.

2) I pulled out the wad. The wad consists of three sections: a cupped part at the back that sits against a capsule of the powder, a somewhat collapsible middle section, and then a forward cup that opens up along slits in the sides upon exiting the barrel, to release the shot.

3) I cut the wad into pieces, separating the two cups from the collapsible middle bit. I discarded the middle bit.

4) I carefully inserted the rear cup back into the shell in its original location, pressing it snugly against the powder.

5) I then inserted the forward cup back into the shell facing in its original direction - it will now be sitting directly against the rear cup, making the wad much shorter than it was previously. This gives the flechettes more room inside the shell (without the modification to the wad, the flechettes would protrude out of the front of the shell.)

6) I cut a normal drinking straw (like the ones available by the handful at most fast food restaurants) into short pieces, just a bit shorter than a flechette. 7 pieces of straw will fit into a 12-gauge shell, inside the forward cup (one in the middle, surrounded by six others). This provides several "cells" that will contain flechettes; upon exiting the barrel, the cup will spread out as originally intended by its manufaturer, allowing the seven straw pieces to separate and fly toward the target (theoretically, until wind resistance separates the light plastic straws from the heavier steel darts inside.)

7) I then loaded two flechettes into each drinking-straw cell - they fit just snugly enough that they wouldn't fall out when the shell was inverted and shaken, but they seemed to be loose enough to be released from the drinking-straw cells when the wad is blasted free from the shotgun. I am hoping this should effectively allow a total of 14 steel flechettes to be blasted towards the target at full speed, while facing the right direction in at least a somewhat aerodynamically stable position, striking with enough force and momentum to penetrate deeply enough into the target to make an effective weapon.

[Magiccarpetrides]

I dont believe so because you can buy actual flechette shotgun rounds, but they dont have very many flechettes in them(they pack them very light).

[I_Like_Pie]

It would be novel, but still no more effective than buckshot

[molonlabetn]

Not sure how these would be any better than buckshot... especially to those worried about overpenetration. Apparently they were great for wounding through cover, such as underbrush in jungles.

[Mike.357]

everyone's favorite retailer, CTD, used to sell them

[Magiccarpetrides]

www.bigdogammo.com has them quite often for sale.

[Mike]

We loaded up about 20 shells worth and fired them at cardboard silhouettes. Not only were they a pain to load, they weren't effective at all.

Most (estimating 90%ish) went through the cardboard sideways or just stuck in the target. As far as them being AP, They would probably work on a flak vest or soft armor when loaded up properly. Hard armor would not be affected by this at all I wouldn't think.

I wouldn't bother trying to load them for serious use. Novel idea, highly ineffective out of a 12g though.

[enfield]

Not in my barrels! Steel on steel?? Huh-uh.

[Guest clsutton21]

Not in my barrels! Steel on steel?? Huh-uh.

http://www.tngunowners.com/forums/hero-gear-llc/30591-remington-870-stock-sets-18-barrels-dope-deal-pricing.html

[Will Carry]

I have read about them experimenting with flechets in Viet Nam. They came to the conclusion that they were less effective than the round shot loads they were using.

I used to load cat's eye glass marbles into 16 gauges shells when I was a kid. Now THAT was cool. They would go through 3/4 inch plywood and shatter.

[Guest Traumaslave]

My Dad loaded up a couple hundred rounds full. One day while we were trap shooting I noticed a strange whistle when he shot. He did manage to break 3 outta the 4 times he shot til we figured it out.:D:D:D:D:D:D:D

edit: He had no intention of using them for trap shooting, it was a mistake in grabbing ammo.

[Magiccarpetrides]

haha thats pretty cool.

[Smith]

We think alike! I've been wondering about these things since I saw them on ammunitiontogo.com as well.

[Guest faust921]

Not sure how these would be any better than buckshot... especially to those worried about overpenetration. Apparently they were great for wounding through cover, such as underbrush in jungles.

In Vietnam, flechette rounds were used on snipers hiding up in the jungle canopy. When I have seen the flechettes, they were crimped on one end like stabilizer fins and were oriented both ways in the shell casing. I don't know what patten this results in, it would be worth testing. Buy some at the next gun show, open them up and see whats in there.