Cylinder fillers

[Oldnamvet]

I have always heard that for best accuracy you should have the ball just seated into the mouth of the cylinder, enough so the cylinder rotates but not way down in there. To do this with target loads, you need a filler to take up the extra space. Cream of Wheat is one I have heard used. What are others and are there any real differences between them?

 

[dickydalton]

I'm using corn meal. The wife keeps stealing it for corn bread. :grin:

 

[Musketeer]

I'm using corn meal. The wife keeps stealing it for corn bread. :grin:

So...Just start using the corn bread as filler. Take a big hunk of it out with you and take a bite, then crumble some up and load it into the chambers, take another bite, and so on. You might gain considerable weight shooting this way, but you gotta do what you gotta do. :haha: :hatsoff:

 

[hawkeye2]

At least you can eat corn meal if you don't shoot it. That's more than I can say for Cream of Wheat.

 

[curator]

The most common fillers for reduced loads in cap & ball pistols are corn meal, grits, wheat bran, and Cream O' Wheat cereal. I once witnessed a serious competitor using plastic shot buffer, so there are probably several more useful fillers out there. Corn meal is compressible and forgives a moderate amount of variation in loading. So too are wheat bran and grits. Cream o wheat does not compress and must be measured to avoid a ball standing proud so the cylinder won't turn. The compressability of corn meal and the other fillers is often mentioned in recommending them. However, the inability to compress may be a significant reason to use Cream O' Wheat(COW). Being able to provide the same compression on each powder charge with filler and ball will result in more uniform burning and velocity spread. My carefully protected Chrony has shown that a load of 27 grains of Goex FFFg, 13 grains (measure) of COW, and .454 round ball has the same velocity (880fps) as 37 grains of FFFg and the same ball. Sure, the COW adds its weight to the projectile for hotter powder burn but I have not seen this with corn meal or other compressible fillers. Accuracy is much better as well, particularly where the chambers are a bit under groove diameter like so many Italian replicas have.

 

[Long Johns Wolf]

Many of the pards here shooting frontierman use coffee meal as a filler in their percussion revolvers. It is prefered over grits because it is nicely compressable. Most are using it with a loading machine.
They collect the coffee meal from the coffee machines in their companies, dry it in the oven and are ready to go.
Long Johns Wolf

 

[aeatwood]

Don't forget if you are making your own greased felt wads, you can just add 1 or 2 dry ones under the greased one. And if you aren't, why not? :blah:

My favorite filler is just more 2f. :thumbsup:

 

[Matt85]

Don't forget if you are making your own greased felt wads, you can just add 1 or 2 dry ones under the greased one. And if you aren't, why not? :blah:

My favorite filler is just more 2f. :thumbsup:

think im gonna try this, ill do powder/dry wad/lubed wad/ball.

this should also keep the powder and lubed wad seperate to help at times when id like to keep the gun loaded for a long period of time.

 

[dickydalton]

Powder/dry wad/lubed wad works fine.

 

[Al Cummins]

I got a container of oat meal from the grocery store that had popped open and got it free (my favorite price!) and started grinding it up and using it for filler. I liked it because its lighter and compresses well.... now I have used cornmeal and it does work but it can significantly increase cylinder pressure. I am now using felt wads cut from old hats a buddy of mine picks up at yard sales for next to nothing and soak them in olive oil, they work very well.

 

[crockett]

On a Colt Navy you can use an 18 grain charge, a thick, lubed wad, and have the ball pretty close to the end of the chamber without having to use any sort of filler.

 

[Flash Pan Dan]

I agree with curator. CoW produced the most consistent results and best groups of any filler I tried. I carry one flask with powder and one with CoW. I pour in the powder and then a measured amount from the flask with the CoW. I dab a tiny bit of lube and then the ball. I can shoot all day and if I do my part I get inch and a half groups at 25 yards from a rest.

 

[FishDFly]

In line matches COW seems to get the nod, not old hats.

rde

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Many years ago when I got my first cap and ball revolver, one of the shooters told a newbie to use Cream of wheat as a filler. Well he goes back to his camper and can't find any. But he does find some wheat flour. There was an unbelievable cloud of flame for the muzzle flash.

 

[Al Cummins]

Oh line matches.....ok...I do enjoy a sharp tongue. Nice gouge..... I thought we were talking about real world shooting...my bad.

 

[Blizzard of '93]

grits is one I've seen mentioned here. myself I use a felt atop medium charges for target shooting.

 

[zimmerstutzen]

Odd I load exactly the same for line matches or plinking or hunting. Didn't know there was real world shooting and "unreal world" shooting. :wink:

I always figured there was either target shooting or watching TV.

 

[swathdiver]

This week I'll be using Furina, someone actually ate the CoW!

 

[Gatofeo]

I've used corn meal or an extra lubricated felt wad for years. I load and shoot right away, so even on the hottest day I don't have concerns about lubricant contaminating the powder.
Besides, I use the home-brew lubricant named after me, after I posted it years ago: Gatofeo No. 1 Lubricant.
Never had a problem with it contaminating any powder, whether used in a bullet, wad or rifle patch.
Years ago I read of a guy who used GRASS SEED!
Guess he got it cheap. Said it worked fine in his .50 cal muzzleloading rifle. Don't know how it would work in revolvers.

 

[MSW]

wow -never heard of anyone using grass seed ... i use cream of wheat when i run out of grits.

do you know how hard it is to get grits up here? ... then they ask what you're gonna do with them and it gets ugly from there ...