I believe that you are suppose to crush the sticks once they get in the barrel. They need to be broken from what I heard. But then I would never purchase them. I would go loose first and then there is no problem with how they react. Also they like a good tight sabot fit.

I have shot a lot of APP and believe it or not, it shot pretty good. And the loose APP in a traditional rifle shot roundball real well. Easy to clean, and no swabbing.