Great accuracy requires consistency in the loading of the gun, shot after shot. The wadding was used between the powder and the PRB to seal the gases of the burning powder behind the PRB, and to prevent the hot gases from burning holes through the patch material. Today, we have very well made( woven) patch material, and great lube. Fabrics were more than a bit " iffy 235 " years ago.
Today we have vegetable fiber wads, cork wads, and Felt wads, dry, or pre-lubed for you to buy. We can also use Hornet's nest material, or fillers made from natural materials like corn meal, cream of wheat, cat tail "tails"( The brown thing at the top of the stalk), and any number of man made products( synthetics) to perform the same function of protecting the patching( firewall) and sealing the gases behind the ball.
Doing these things allows for much more consistent velocity, shot after shot, and greater accuracy. Sometimes, a shooter can actually reduce the amount of powder he had been using in his rifle before using OP wads- there is so often that much of a change in the Muzzle Velocity achieved when OP wads or fillers are used. That means an expensive pound of powder will last a bit longer, and that is a savings of real money.
When I began using an OP wad under my PRB in my 20 gauge smoothbore, Velocity rose close to 250 fps at the muzzle, and the Standard Deviation of Velocity dropped in half! POI at 25 yards rose about 6 inches! I have since bought some thicker patch fabric to use in that barrel, but will continue to load an OP wad on top of the powder to act both as a firewall and a gas sealer. The thicker fabric will simply carry more lube to help lube the bore of my fowler.
So, give all these result your consideration when you decide whether to try OP wads or cards in your shotgun or rifle. Its more important to you that YOU find a good reason to load your gun this way, than anything we think about it.
When I was first shooting, I did a lot of casual target shooting( Minute of barn door) just to get used to firing a MLer. I was not looking for point accuracy. Later- and not much later- my club got me involved in doing shooting demonstrations in front of crowds at various gatherings. We marched in bi-centennial parades, and set up camps to help audiences better understand how people lived back then. The Shooting demonstrations started out pretty tame, but soon older people began asking us to make " trick shots", like cutting a ball on the edge of an axe blade, to break two clay targets leaning against the back end of the axe, with the one shot. Or, splitting a playing card on edge. And, later, snuffing candle stick flames out without touching the stick or the wick. We shot bottle caps, but found people could not seem from behind the firing line well. We shot eggs suspended on lines, but again, found that people could not see the targets, particular in sunlight. We shot clay targets resting on nails in boards, and then shot the centers out and fired at the edges after that. The Black dust mark on light colored plywood made it easier for the crowd to see what we were trying to shoot.
None of us wanted to miss in front of a crowd. So,. I began listening to what older shooters were telling me to do to get better accuracy. That is how I came to test OP wads, and fillers, of all descriptions. They work.
Now, If I am plinking targets at close range, and don't need to be able to hit within an inch of where I am aiming, I will still load simply a PRB, lubed with spit, in my gun and fire away. But, If you ask me to do a bit of " Shootin' ", to quote Alvin York, well- you will find me loading my gun a lot more carefully, and I may just have to wipe the dust off that front sight, just like Alvin did! :grin: :wink:
