Corn meal - At our last muzzle loading trap shoot one said he was using corn meal instead of cushion wads. It seemed to work.

[jlatz]

Have others used corn meal instead of cushion wads in muzzle loading shotguns? The guy that was doing that was using the 1 `/8 dipper for the measure on the meal. He was putting the meal right over the powder, then shot, and then an over shot wad. He said he had seen a demonstration of this on a Youtube video made in England.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Hungary actually friend
I'm yet to try it.

 

[oldwood]

Cushion wads are pattern busters.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Much like using tow as a cushion wad, corn meal, as a granulated product, will break apart as it leaves the muzzle and will not bust up the pattern like a waxed cushion wad will sometimes do when too much powder is used.

 

[3Setters]

How will that cornmeal work walking for a couple hours shifting your gun around before firing a shot? Seems to me the corn meal will filter into the powder resulting in poor ignition.

 

[Kansas Jake]

If everything is seated solidly I doubt it will shift much.

 

[ZUG]

Corn meal will compress and act like a solid mass when loaded and break apart when fired as it leaves the barrel. It is not loose in the bore so no fear as to it acting like salt in a saltshaker . If on the trap range this would work well but as for hunting in the field, I would work up a load using conventional methods for quick loading. My two cents worth

 

[3Setters]

I have some old corn meal, will have to try it this weekend.

 

[hinamanra]

That was an interesting video. I'll have to give cornmeal a try.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I can see how it would work and work well. May even be able to up the charge more than normal!
I await the results.

 

[fillwa]

I load corn meal on top of powder in my rifle. Never had an ignition problem.

 

[PathfinderNC]

Wow! Great results with the corn meal. Did he say he used equal volumes of powder and corn meal?

 

[Shorthanded]

For my hunting load I put cornmeal over the powder then a lubed round ball, been doing it since the 60,s Gun always fired ,even if it sat a week before shooting at a deer
Works for me.

 

[PathfinderNC]

For my hunting load I put cornmeal over the powder then a lubed round ball, been doing it since the 60,s Gun always fired ,even if it sat a week before shooting at a deer
Works for me.

How much cornmeal do you recommend?

 

[jlatz]

He was using the 1 and 1/8th ounce dipper for powder, corn meal and shot for the 12 ga.

 

[3Setters]

Hmmmm, i only shoot 7/8 ounce shot from my 12 gauge. Do I go with a square load of powder, cornmeal, and shot, or do i need to increase the cornmeal i drop after the powder?

 

[user 48702]

Grits are a little coarser and work well. You can even use the biodegradable packing peanuts which are made from corn starch. Some of the peanuts are about the perfect diameter for a .62/20 ga. I break off about a 3/4" length and pack it down on the powder. Seems to pack and form fit the bore as well as wasp nest and has about the same consistency, plus the biodegradable peanuts are free. More and more shippers are starting to use them for shipping.

 

[Huntinshep]

Any suggestions on a 20 gauge load. Thanks

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just keep it simple. Use the same measure for shot or powder until you are happy if you feel you need to make changes. Nothing bad is going to happen after all.....

 

[ohio ramrod]

How will that cornmeal work walking for a couple hours shifting your gun around before firing a shot? Seems to me the corn meal will filter into the powder resulting in poor ignition.

Cornmeal has long been used to keep the ;powder dry when using greased bullets for hunting. Corn meal actually protects the powder. Many people use a light cloth patch between the powder and corn meal to prevent mixing the meal and powder, others just dump it on top of the powder.