Shot cup wad

A round of ammunition comprising:

• a body;
• a propellant charge at least partially contained in the body;
• a wad at least partially received in the body, the wad comprising a sidewall at least partially defining an interior chamber for receiving at least a portion of the propellant charge therein;
• at least one latent deceleration feature located along the wad and configured for deploying to at least partially decelerate the wad after firing of the round of ammunition, the at least one latent deceleration feature comprising an impression formed in a surface of the sidewall of the wad, the impression being spaced forwardly from a rearward end of the sidewall of the wad.

A shot cup for small arms ammunition, the shot cup comprising:

• a body including a substantially cylindrical sidewall having a forward end and at least partially defining an interior chamber for receiving a payload therein;
• a series of longitudinal slits extending in the sidewall along a slit region of the sidewall so that the sidewall expands radially in the slit region after the shot cup is fired from a firearm for at least partially dislodging at least a portion of the payload from the sidewall, the series of longitudinal slits being spaced apart from the forward end of the sidewall;
• and
• a latent deceleration feature configured for deploying to at least partially decelerate the shot cup after the shot cup is fired from the firearm.