Black Cloud BBB
Muzzle Velocity--1464 fps chronographed
Down Range 40 yards.
#1 = 868 fps
#2 = 821 fps
#3 = 855 fps
Avg: 848 fps

Reviewing some previous chronograph data covering the BBB steel pellet loaded by Federal Cartridge just prior to the big move in muzzle velocity figures being heralded today, I found that at a muzzle velocity of 1320 fps again chronographed, the BBB steel crossed over the 40 yard screen at 786 fps on average. This gives the canister sabot Black Cloud load a 62 fps advantage over the standard wad delivery systems used by Federal at the time of previous tests. However, being that the old Federal BBB steel shot load was sent down range at a full 144 fps slower at the starting line, we can see that steel is a weak sister to anything save for pure lead or tungsten iron shot. It takes a good deal of engineering to make up for the lag time generated by all steel shot, and even this small edge given up by Black Cloud is noticeable in the field when paired with the new Federal Flite Stopper shot design as well. In truth, I was quite taken back by the close velocity comparison I observed between the old Federal load and the new Federal Black Cloud. I would have guessed that Black Cloud would have been far better able to generate more retained velocity/energy down range. Again, as I have stated time and time again when you're shooting something akin to a ball of porous iron, velocity alone won't count for very much.

Shooting the #2 pellets in Black Cloud indicated that with a measured muzzle velocity a good deal lower than the BBB steel shot loads (1386 fps) the #2s go over the 40 yard screens at a uniform 746 fps When I rechecked older data that used a 12-gauge load of standard #2 steel at a muzzle velocity of 1369 fps I found that those loads sent the #2 pellets across the recording screens at 752 fps. If this all sounds very confusing, that's because it is. Measuring shotgun pellets in flight is tough business and requires a massive number of samples to cut through all the rough data and come up with accurate information. Today, the good news is that the computer will do that for us, where in the past, I spent days on end shooting for recorded velocity figures. Even with the ballistic programmed computer, we still must understand that shotgun pellets tend to have a mind of their own, and can be very unpredictable at best. Why is the new Federal Black Cloud any different from standard steel shot loads you're asking? Because by way of the pattern board and in the field test we see a clear and tight shot cloud that puts more shot on target. When patterned at 20 yards, the Black Cloud put all of its payload by way of a modified choke into a 14-inch circle. Even at that, most of that payload was pushed into an eight-inch hole that was all daylight at the center of the pattern core. I tend to believe that the sabot wad was still holding shot inside it at that range.

Additional anomalies include spent wad distance from the muzzle--even at level pattern or chronograph shooting in excess of 57 yards--with all wads reaching at least 40 yards down range. The normal shotshell wad will expire at about 15 to 20 yards. Additional test effects included getting pellets over the three- by eight-inch photo cell window. If shot comes in too high, it won't be recorded in terms of its velocity, and if off even a slight amount, it will miss one screen and cause an error on the chrono's digital display. At times, it took several rounds to even gain a single velocity figure because of these problems and I attribute these events to the very tight sabot delivery system of the Black Cloud loads.