Nessmuck56
40 Cal.
Irish Mick said:
cotton ball wads?
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Billnpatti
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Yep, I made some for my 12 ga. muzzleloading shotgun. They worked great but, since I didn't have a proper punch, they were a pain in the butt to make so I went back to commercial wads. I tried making a punch from a cheap hole saw but it didn't work all that well. You need a good hole saw to make a good punch. The cheap ones are not strong enough. At least, that was my experience. If you want to make your own wads from Duro Felt, I recommend that you contact Ohio Ramrod [email protected]. He is a member of this forum and he will make you a custom punch at an extremely reasonable price. He has made three rifle size punches ( .45, .50 and .54) for me but I didn't ask about a shotgun size punch. Check with him to see if he can make one for you. If you have a drill press, be sure to ask about his drill press adaptor for his punches. You can use your drill press (not running) to press the punch through the felt. It's a lot easier than using a mallet. You want the wads to be a tight fit, especially in a double barrel, so that the load doesn't move off the powder. Tight is your friend. A good tight wad will be a bit difficult to start but just turn it sidewise and press it into the bore. Then use your rod to straighten it as you seat it. Felt is a littel bit easier to work with than the traditional fiber wads.
To lube your wads, just take a sheet of felt and spread the lube of choice on it like buttering toast. Get it nice and even. Then put it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the lube into the felt. Let it cool and start punching your pre-lubed wads. If you are using a liquid lube such as an animal or vegetable oil (never petrolium based), just dribble it evenly on the felt sheet and let it sit for an hour or so to be fully absorbed and you are ready to start punching out your wads
To lube your wads, just take a sheet of felt and spread the lube of choice on it like buttering toast. Get it nice and even. Then put it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt the lube into the felt. Let it cool and start punching your pre-lubed wads. If you are using a liquid lube such as an animal or vegetable oil (never petrolium based), just dribble it evenly on the felt sheet and let it sit for an hour or so to be fully absorbed and you are ready to start punching out your wads
Billnpatti
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I used them just as OP wads. I used simple paper cups that I made and I glued the Op wad to the base of the cup. As the cup exited from the muzzle, it opened up and acted like a parachute to slow the wad from punching a hole in the shot pattern. I got good patterns with that method. The shot cups are very easy to make. They are just a cross shaped piece of paper. The legs of the cross are 1/4 the diameter of the bore and just long enough to hold the shot. You use a tiny dab of glue to stick the wad to the center of the cross. When loading, after you add your powder, the wad goes in first. Center it over the muzzle and use a short starter to start it down the bore an inch or so. Pour in the shot charge and then seat the shot cup onto the powder. Lastly, put a card on top of your shot and you are ready to go. Try different weights of paper to see what works best in your gun.
I think I have some photos of this procedure. If you will send me your email, I will send you the photos. "A picture is worth a thousand words."
I think I have some photos of this procedure. If you will send me your email, I will send you the photos. "A picture is worth a thousand words."
Billnpatti
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It may take a bit of trial and error to find the weight of paper that works best in your gun to give you the pattern that you want. Usually either printer paper or grocery sack will work quite well.
For an even tighter pattern, you can make a paper cylinder by wrapping paper around a dowel to give you a cylinder that will fit nicely in the bore of your shotgun. Fold the end shut and put a tiny dab of glue on it to hold it shut. Then cut slits in the sides like one of the plastic wads used in modern shotshells. By varying the depth of the cuts, you can effect the tightness of the pattern. But be careful because if the slits are too short, the load of shot will act more like a slug. When this happens, the lack of a stabilizing rotation will cause the shot cup to tumble. This will cause the shot pellets to sling out as the cup tumbles. The result, after several yards, is an elongated pattern that has a very poor density. At shorter ranges such as 15 yards or so, it may well simply act as a slug and punch one large hole in your target. Have fun experimenting. Let me know how it works out for you.
For an even tighter pattern, you can make a paper cylinder by wrapping paper around a dowel to give you a cylinder that will fit nicely in the bore of your shotgun. Fold the end shut and put a tiny dab of glue on it to hold it shut. Then cut slits in the sides like one of the plastic wads used in modern shotshells. By varying the depth of the cuts, you can effect the tightness of the pattern. But be careful because if the slits are too short, the load of shot will act more like a slug. When this happens, the lack of a stabilizing rotation will cause the shot cup to tumble. This will cause the shot pellets to sling out as the cup tumbles. The result, after several yards, is an elongated pattern that has a very poor density. At shorter ranges such as 15 yards or so, it may well simply act as a slug and punch one large hole in your target. Have fun experimenting. Let me know how it works out for you.
