Felt wads

[Magungo1066]

Hello all. Will lubed wads affect the pattern of shot if a wad is used on top of the shot as well as on top of the powder? What about tow? Will that blow the pattern? I am shooting rabbits, so for now I only need the pattern to be good out to about twenty yards.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Some folks have reported good results using as large as a 1/2" lubed wad on top of the shot. (iirc) You will need to test your particular gun to see if they apply well with your load.

LD

 

[oldwood]

Two of us bought Pedersoli 12 ga. sbs shotguns when they first came on the market. We quickly found out that modern card and fiber wad columns caused blown patterns in our new m/l shot guns. Experimentation eventually showed that the culprit was the wad column. We subtracted the felt wad component and used a.125 card on top of the powder w/ a 1/2 of a .125 card wad on top of the shot.
Only thing I could understand from our experiments , is that the thinner , lighter card wads slowed down and dropped out of the shot cloud more efficiently than a standard felt wad component. Seemed like , the more wads we mixed w/ the load column , the worse the shot pattern got. Back then there was lots of game in Pa.. , so we tested our loadings on squirrels , pheasants , rabbits , etc. w/ excellent results. oldwood

 

[Magungo1066]

So felt wads are probably a no go for over the powder? I hate those little cards because they are so difficult to load but I will do it if necessary. I have regular access to tow as well, and a limited supply of wasp nest (found a big one yesterday. I have zero interest in using a PRB because I am a history nerd haha.

 

[oldwood]

I've read 10 or 15 books such as those compiled by folks like Lyman Draper and others , who printed the accounts of actual life experiences of pioneers living on the trans-Appalachian frontier from 1750 to 1800 . Concerning the use of flax tow in reference to m/l guns , nowhere have I read it was used for anything but cleaning the bores. It's an amazing natural product as it can be washed out in any water puddle , when filthy , and reused. There are references to using dry leaves and hornet nest for wadding. Still trying ta learn what happened and why....oldwood

 

[Grenadier1758]

Hello all. Will lubed wads affect the pattern of shot if a wad is used on top of the shot as well as on top of the powder? What about tow? Will that blow the pattern? I am shooting rabbits, so for now I only need the pattern to be good out to about twenty yards.

The simple answer is yes.

Do a search on the Forum for the "Skychief load". The out of the box thinking put a heavily lubricated wad on top of the shot and patterns were drastically improved.

 

[ohio ramrod]

for shot loads I use two leather wads between powder and shot and use a paper cartridge for the shot. I make the cartridges using three thickness of newspaper wrapped around a dowel tied with kite string filled then folded over and tied. I load folded side out and let the paper serve as an over shot card. For hunting I also use a wax paper cartridge. I rip open the wax paper dump the powder down and use the wax paper as the first wad.

 

[SDSmlf]

Using @Skychief loads tightened up my shot pattern significantly in my Pedersoli SxS 12 gauge. Plenty of posts on the @Skychief load to review.

 

[Feltwad]

All you need is two 1/8 inch card over the powder then the shot and a 1/16 card over the shot , for the overshot wad do not use anything smaller than a 1/16 because smaller thickness wads are prone to bypass by the ramrod and cling to the wall of the bore which then becomes a obstruction and will burst or bulge the barrel when fired. Wads such has felt or other saturated material are not needed and a waste of money. I have used the card wad method for many decades on gauge sizes from the large 4 to the small 32
Feltwad

 

[NorthFork]

OP, google SkyChief load.

 

[NorthFork]

Here's some threads to get you started

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/your-skychief-load-in-pictures.121544/

 

[Magungo1066]

Thanks everyone!

 

[GREENSWLDE]

I've always found in Smooth Bores-- Powder No6 for Game No,4 or 2 for clays, 1/16" hard card,3/8"or 1/2" Grease fibre or Greased felt with 1/16" card over. Shot to please, then 1/16" hard card. Pretty standard in UK. Just like our old 2 1/2" B/L cartridges "My records show it works for me in cap locks For Flint locks I change the powder to 2 for Birds or 1 for comps. OLD DOG .

 

[Rich]

Skychief load. Works in my 20 and 12 bore. Good Turkey busting patterns

 

[Brokennock]

Thanks everyone!

My offer to head to the range with you still stands. But as of now I won't be able to go until the 18th or 19th

 

[Magungo1066]

My offer to head to the range with you still stands. But as of now I won't be able to go until the 18th or 19th

Ok I will let you know! I am away on my farm in South Carolina right now but we could certainly meet up once I am back around!

 

[GREENSWLDE]

My 12b. Games loads shewn earlier were for Grouse, Peasants, Quoise and Shushies. For water fowl I go up to 4's. We don't shoot anything larger than foxes with smooth bores LEGALLY in UK. I do also shoot M/L rifle up to .461"Metford & .451"Henry M/L's and a RARE .452 C/B/L Cooper's Rifle as M/L and with paper cartridges (Hope that doesn't disobey the rules.. OLD DOG..

 

[Kev308]

Silly question time, regarding the Skychief load- the last wad to go in is heavily lubed, is that to keep the fouling soft? Or just kinda grease the skids for the whole load??

 

[George]

Silly question time, regarding the Skychief load- the last wad to go in is heavily lubed, is that to keep the fouling soft? Or just kinda grease the skids for the whole load??

It apparently has nothing to do with lubrication, just the weight of the wad. As I recall, Skychief found that the heaver he could make the lubed cushion wad the better his results were. Saturating the wad added weight.

Spence

 

[Eterry]

My good friend Ken has shot black powder trap at matches from Brady to Friendship to Phoenix for over 50 years. His grandson was nationally ranked several years ago, so they've been to a few trap shoots. They threw away the fiber over powder wads years ago, saying they add nothing to the pattern.

I attended the last Spring Soiree at the RRR trap, skeet and sporting clays range. I didn't see anyone using fiber over powder wads. The caveat is almost everyone shooting trap and sporting clays also uses a choked barrel, skeet shooters usually not.

That being said, many on here are having great luck with the Skychief load and cylinder bore. So as many have said, only a pattern board and time will tell you which is best for you.