Pace Reloadable Shells
Reloadable finned
projectiles
By GROG Copyright 2010 3LC Productions
Scot Pace sent me a few of his
newest plastic finned projectile as pictured above. These are machined, high
quality projectiles that fit perfectly in Scot’s reloadable smokeless 37mm
thin-walled casings, or his 40mm thick-walled casings. The base of the
projectile is machined with four fins to aid in stability during flight. The
center is drilled to accept a length of visco cannon fuse. The top is threaded
and screws into the base of the top payload section. The plastic used is very
flexible, and does not break when stressed. The fins make the projectile very
stable in flight. They are balanced very well, and do not end over end like
other projectiles.
Above
you can see the threaded section of the base.
In order to test these
projectiles I first placed a length of visco fuse in 6 bases. Using gorilla
glue I secured the fuse in place, leaving 1” out both the top and bottom. I put
gorilla glue on the interior length of the fuse, so that when the gorilla glue
expanded, it secured the fuse the whole inner length. I allowed them to harden
overnight. The tops of 4 of the projectiles I drilled a circular hole 1/8” in
OD on two sides, just above the threads. The other two I left with no holes.
(See why below)
I then covered these holes on
the inside with small pieces of masking tape. I filled the top of the
projectile with green smoke mix from Skylighter I bought years ago and mixed
with oxidizer this past fall. I filled the smoke mix up to the top of the
threads and did not compress the mix at all. I then put the fused base on the
top and screwed same tight. I placed the completed projectiles in Scot’s
reloadable smokeless 37mm thin walled casings. I loaded the casings with 5
grains of Bullseye, and used the .010 copper closing wad.
Once the projectile was loaded
in the casing, I used a ¼” thick foam wad to hold the projectile in the casing.
I then fired the rounds. Here is the video of one test launch using the
B&D UBL-37 launcher:
The above
video also contains a segment at the end where I used two of these projectiles
loaded in black powder casings. They didn’t launch all that great distance
wise, but the projectiles performed flawlessly. The performance of the rounds
was the fault of the reloader, not the projectiles in that case. If you want to
use these in black powder casings, I recommend a heavy wad with a hole in the
center for the fuse, right over the black powder charge.
50cal Beowulf with B&D UBL-37 attached and ready for action
I decided to mount my UBL-37 to
my Beowulf for this test. It was a very easy matter to use two 1” scope mounts
to grasp the Beowulf barrel, and simply attach them to the rail of the
launcher. If this were a permanent mounting, I would cut the lower handguard to
fit the open space between the mounts. I believe that those mounts could be
used to mount the UBL to any heavy barrel rifle. I had to use high rise mounts
to clear the sling swivel. If I had the gas block with no sling swivel, I could
have used low rise mounts and snugged the launcher even closer to the Beowulf.
I had to use the front scope mount outside the handguard area as the band would
not fit between the barrel and gas tube without bending it, and I didn’t want
to do that on the Wulf. The weapon system is a bit heavy, but for larger guys
this does not present a problem. It was easy to grip the launcher and fire same
using the Beowulf mag as a handle. If this were a permanent mounting, I would
camo the launcher to match the tiger of the Beowulf, and perhaps add a few more
scope mounts to hold the launcher better. The 1” scope mounts do a really nice
job of securing the launcher to the weapon. I plan on using this launcher as a
stand-alone, so this mounting was just for this test and review.
View of
top of interior of finned section of projectile where fuse exits. Notice the
fine details! Easy to gorilla glue fuse.
The
bottom of the finned portion. The fins stabilize these projectiles VERY well.
Also, finely machined to allow sealing of the fuse.
Cavernous
payload area for your smoke and flare mixes. For fused air burst you need to
use quick burning type fuse coated with nitrocellulose lacquer in order to
protect the fuse from the glue seal. Notice the threads machined into the base.
These seal positively with the finned base. These are fully re-useable so you
can get your loads right! I love these projectiles. Easy to load and use.
The latter two projectiles I
loaded with white Ninja smoke mix available from Firefox. As Ninja smoke is a
burst type smoke mix, I did not use holes for expulsion of the smoke. The
projectiles were left whole with no special modifications. They were loaded
into Scot’s 37mm smokeless ExD casings with a thin sidewall. They fit
perfectly. I used a very small amount of black RTV placed inside the rim of the
casing, slid the projectile in, and turned it 180 degrees, and left them for
the RTV to cure. A few things to note in the video. First off, you will notice
that my hands are not on the launcher barrel. Very important. Also, when I fire
the rounds, look at the rear of the projectile as it exits the launcher. You
can see the flame trail. Very positive fuse ignition. The ExD casings use the
vent plug that has a center vent hole, needed for fuse ignition. The casings
were loaded with only 5 grains of Bullseye, and I could have altered the angle
of the launcher to shoot them much further if I wanted. (I did not want to set
the woods on fire, however…) I would also add that the projectiles were very
easy to recover after the test, and were undamaged (very surprised at this due
to the burst, but apparently that does not ruin the threads at all!) They were
fired from B&D UBL-37 launcher:
REVIEW—I highly recommend these
payload projectiles for all 37mm launcher enthusiasts. They are very easy to
load and use, and easy to locate and recover, and use again and again. Easy to
clean, easy to fire. They can also be sealed to use in marine environments.
I give these projectiles a 10
out of 10 possible points. I can say nothing bad about these projectiles based
on the tests I conducted. The videos speak for themselves!
Please support the manufacturers
that make our site and hobby great! They all deserve our patronage. They go way
out of their way to provide us with cool stuff that was not available two short
years ago.
To purchase the new projectiles, please visit Scot’s website here: Scot's website
Copyright 2012
3LC Productions