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What the old style flat disks could do, however – and what special disks can still do (refer to some of the recipe notes) – was to provide bulk when needed as reload recipes for powder and payload changed. Only one shotcup is used in a load today, but felt or cardboard wads can still be stacked if necessary when shell components change.

In separating the burning powder from the lead shot, the wad or shotcup helps prevent the extreme heat of the burning gas from melting the lead. Lead melts at 621.5 degrees Fahrenheit and boils at 3,164 degrees. According to Mike Daly at Hodgdon, today’s smokeless powders generate heat in the range of 2,800 to 3,200 degrees Kelvin. That computes to a range of 4,575 to 5,300 degrees Fahrenheit. That is easily hot enough to melt your lead shot if the temperature is sustained for more than a few seconds, which of course it is not. It is hot enough to fuse some of the pellets if these hot gases slip around the wad and decide to mingle. Imagine the havoc this will wreak with your carefully constructed shot pattern. Disastrous!