I had a early end to my hunt last weekend when the first volley third shot of Black Cloud ammo blew my barrel. I have used it for several years no issue in my SBE II with modified Benelli choke. My buddy 10' away was hit in the arm by a pellet. Has anyone else seen this and what recourse do I have?

I took the gun to a very well know outfitter in Stuttgart AR and first question they asked was if I was shooting BC!

That's crazy. I stopped using it a long time ago just because of how dirty it was, figured that's why it was really called black cloud. I gave it away. Used it for half a season. From what I've read, there is a huge list of people this has happened to. Most answers tend to be that the wad got retarded and the edge of one of the special pellets caught the choke (even more common on ported chokes or barrels) causing it to rip and blow out the end of the barrel. Contact federal. Seems that everyone had federal replace their barrel.

Yeah. More common than you'd think

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

I've never had a problem out of bc it's always patterned right from all of my guns. I'll be making heavy shot rich from now on

Same gun I shoot, same thing happened to me earlier this season except my barrel only bulged about 6 inches from the end. Call benelli and send them your barrel and empty BC hull. They may replace it if they find fault with the load. Bad news is I have the same bottomland camo and they don't make it anymore. So its either gonna be black or another camo. I was shooting hevi metal, not BC. It could happen with any load if for some reason the wad gets stuck, or if you get your shells wet and they don't dry out properly. I should have been paying more attention, but was only worried about the next bird coming in

Had it happen to a friend of mine as well. Black Cloud has been garbage since day 1.

Was the choke in tight

I shot one last week that went off like a sparkler.

I shot about 2 cases when I had problems twice with them.They are dirty junk period

Well I replaced the gun and went hunting with heavy metal. I will purse this after season. Thx for the replies

Many of the newer shot shells coming up, from waterfowl loads, turkey loads, predator loads, etc... are putting more technology into the "wad" and using a full choke is becoming a thing of the past. If you use the newer technology shells, you need a more open choke and let the wad or cup do it's job. With BC for instance, they're all square and already packed in there tight, if you use a choke that is tighter than what they are already, guess what...something has to give. Round shots can cram and find themselves a newer location when compressed. Winchester is stepping up the game on shot shells, for the record Im not a fan of BC, but they're "Longbeard" shells are freaking awesome. However, you dont use a "turkey choke" with them, they will pattern tighter and better with a IC than the older turkey shells did with a extra full choke. I remember when a 45 yard turkey kill was something to brag about, now its 75 yards and not uncommon. If you're trying new shells, I suggest going to pattern it and start with a IC and work down seeing what the results are, if the pattern starts getting holes in it or peanut shapes, irregular patterns, etc, you're too tight.

http://youtu.be/WvVdIH1XKeQ

So, two odd things in the video...check out the very first shot...and then the slo-mo of it. What is it that hits the water hard...well in between me and the first of those three birds dropped?

The tracer looking round is around the 2:00 mark and then a slo-mo at 2:08.


Most liberals seem to suffer from the same mental condition....it's called stupidity!

I have a old beretta at the house with a bulge in it from shooting black cloud. Unfortunately it's 20 years old and I can't just send it off and get another barrel on it without a good bit of work and money involved. However last year whenever Hevi-metal had their issues I had the wadding get stuck in the end of my super vinci. Luckily I checked it since it didn't sound right when it shot or I'd have been in the same issue. I have heard of several more stories of black could consistently doing this, the Hevi-shot was just a recall they had on a couple hundred cases. I would be looking into different shells. I personally think the Hevi-metals are the best shot made and they're around the same price of black clouds and aren't near as dirty..

I had good luck with black cloud, was killing the crap out of some ducks with my 870...my buddy wanted to try a round...first step was a doozy, bulged his bare

This thread has me paranoid. I started shooting BC pretty exclusively this year because I found it by the case at Rogers for 189 a case to my door. Aside from this I patterned my gun this year and they patterned the best. 3" 1 1/4 #3's. May just go to the heavy kents they were a close second and can be had for around 150 a case. I put 8 boxes through my gun this year with no problems, I am shooting factory IC, bought a BC aftermarket choke by pattern master but haven't used it.

Surely if this was as common as it's made out to be they wouldn't be on the market? They just pattern so damn good...


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You see that's what I don't get. Every friend I have that shot black cloud ended up getting a new barrel or a new gun, in my experience 100% of people that used it had the problem. So I will never think that it is uncommon. In all seriousness the only reason it sells is because the marketing hype they got from duck commander. Because that's what the duck men shot if you remember the commercials. So yes buy something different

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

It's always different, I bet you federal premium will pattern better than b/c. Maybe not. But good chance. Every load is different for every gun. But for the safety of yourself and your equipment. Why not quit shooting it. Change your choke and find a different load. Problem solved, crisis averted. Shoot a modified instead of i/c. I bet you'll find a different load to pattern even better if you wanna do the leg work. Your argument is the same as saying your car runs better with 110 octane low lead avgas, but it's still fucking up your car.

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

Put in legwork? You think I only patterned this one? I patterned like 10 loads, it was best.


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I'm not trying to downplay your work. I didn't know the extent of your testing, but I'd try it with a modified choke and different loads if I found irrefutable evidence that a particular load is really hard on guns. You couldn't pay me to shoot black cloud unless you gave me enough money to buy a different gun every year. If anything find a close second. 5% less pellet density is worth the price of a gun in my opinion

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

I shot 4 cases of estate steel this year and was very happy with it in every way, zero malfunctions. The couple of off boxes of hevi metal and nitro steel I shot had multiple misfires and pattern horribly


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From everything I've heard it's ported chokes or slightly loose chokes causing the problems. The petals on the back of the wad hang there and cause the pressure to spike. This is all second hand because I refuse to pay those kinds of prices for steel shot.

Winchester superX is best IMO. Best for price and performance. Buy em on sale and free shipping on most sites and are deadly. Never had a problem with them. I shoot a stoeger with Carlson chokes and don't have any complaints. Never shot heavy metal but cant justify paying that much more for shells when I can pay about 12$ a box and put birds on the water.

I spend the extra money cuz it's more ethical to me. Just my opinion and experiences I've never had a duck fly away wounded with its beak blown off just to die somewhere else. I'm a believer in the heavier non toxic metals

It's simple. get a mud motor. shoot ducks in the face.

I had 4 wood ducks coming over me on a hunt a few weeks ago and when I pulled the trigger on the lead bird my gun just went "whoooof", no bang, I manually ejected the blackcloud shell and it was open. I checked the barrel expecting to see the wad, but it was clear. Pissed me off because I could of limited out right there. Haven't tried any more BC's since.