Field Report: Polywad's 20 Gram Crak-Rs

A number of readers have opined on Polywad's new high-performance smallbore cartridge, the 20 Gram Crak-R, mentioned in the story on the 28 gauge ("Less is More", Nov/Dec '06). Because I wrote, "In November they'll be put to the ultimate test on high-speed, high-altitude pheasants," I thought I'd better chime in too. So after putting 100 rounds loaded with No. 6 shot and 100 rounds of No. 71/2s through a B. Rizzini over/under, I can add: They hit like lightning in the field too, not just on clays.

To recap: Crak-Rs have small but well-buffered payloads that depart the muzzle at about 1,350 fps, courtesy of a dense double-base powder. Their wood-fiber base wad and tiny Kraft-paper shotcup disintegrate in the air. Twenty grams of shot is 0.702 oz-even less than the normal 3/4-oz upland 28. This is a problem for shooters brought up to throw lots of lead, but the design and construction of the cartridge extracts top performance from every single pellet in it. The round detonates with a sound more like a 20-gauge than a 28, but recoil feels normal (i.e., minimal). The paper BioWad sends confetti into the air; in low light there's noticeable muzzle flash; and then a bird hits the deck. By comparison, conventional 28-bore cartridges felt . . . lame. Several wide-open and windswept drives at Corsewall, in southwest Scotland, produce high, fast pheasants. Others produce low, quick partridge. The 20 Gram Crak-Rs and a light 28 were effective on both, despite the head keeper's advice to "throw that thing in the ditch and go back to a proper gun." The No. 6s were my favorites, even on partridge.

For more information, contact Polywad, Inc., 800-998-0669; www.polywad-shotgun-shells.com .

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