I am very excited to share two big announcements for 2024! As we all know, the war in Ukraine has made it extremely difficult to get new supplies of the European-style non-discarding shotshell slug wads that that were previously coming from Italy and Russia. A while back I began my own design for a version designed to meet the needs of North American shotshell loaders. After more than two years of designs, prototyping, and working to find a factory to produce them, they will finally be available in 2024.
This new design builds upon the classic seen in many Italian (and later Russian) designs, but features many modern improvements including a tighter powder reservoir, shorter overall length, larger overall diameter to enhance gas seal, and vastly superior production tolerances. Best of all, these wads are 100% compatible with all existing Italian and Russian stabilizer-style basewad slugs, including those from popular manufacturers like Svarog and ASM– meaning you can continue to use your existing tools.
In addition to this, I am equally pleased to announce my first two shotgun slug moulds; the Grand Slam (12G), and Piledriver (12G) are also currently in testing. Both are entirely made from stainless steel, offering casters the superior strength of steel, without the risk of corrosion. The focus with these and future moulds will be on value for dollar spent; blocks are specifically designed to use Lee Precision handles, allowing customers to reuse existing hardware without having to buy expensive, proprietary handles. In a similar vein, the vast majority of mould pins will be interchangeable, meaning casters can mix and match different sizes and styles of pins, from one mould to the next, allowing for dozens of casting possibilities.
Stay tuned for more announcements on these and other upcoming projects or visit my YouTube channel for a sneak-peak!