Flechettes! Ermagerd!
Okay, sorry. But haven’t we all seen flechette rounds — shotgun shells loaded with hardened steel darts instead of shot pellets — and wanted to shoot some ourselves? Well, the goofballs at Taofledermaus did too. But they have the advantage of people sending them ammo for free just so they could test them. Nothing wrong with that!
We don’t get to learn what brand flechette loads they use in this video, and it’s apparent from the video description that this was done on purpose…
You will note that he pronounces sabot “say-bow.” I prefer “sab-ut” myself, but different strokes for different folks and all that.
The first shot was at 10 yards, and in their words the flechettes flew “like garbage.” Each of the 6 impacts we see was from a dart that hit sideways, due to unstable flight. The shell purportedly contained 19 of the mean little darts.
In the second shot, 17 of 19 flechettes tumbled while 2 flew in a relatively stable manner. The two stable flyers did penetrate the body armor, which I guess is what some folks expect from a flechette round… piercing body armor, that is.
They fired into ballistic gel from just ten feet, in hopes that most of the darts will actually hit the gel. They do, and they make one heck of a mess.
At 35 yards they seem a tad more stable, but still less than ideal.
This brand claims on the box that it’s “better than buckshot,” but I can’t say I agree.
Check it out before you decide whether to buy some of your own… these shells ain’t cheap at $4-$5 a pop.
Have you ever used flechette ammo? Did your results match these?
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