Fiber Wads

[White Oak]

Anyone here like a fiber wad or something of that nature between the powder and patch and ball or is that just over kill? I guess I was just thinking of an additional gas seal.
If so, what are you using and do you lube that wad?
Thanks,
Ed

 

[Supercracker]

I used to use a leather OPW punched out of thick saddle leather soaked overnight in a melted lard/beeswax mix. It tightened up my groups a little, but in the end I decided it wasn't worth the trouble just for hunting.

 

[BrownBear]

I've always been able to find happiness simply by finding the right patch material. Any time I've experienced patch failure, the better answer for me was to change patch material rather than ignoring the symptoms and putting something between the powder and the wrong patch.

 

[Billnpatti]

The effect of OP wads seems to vary from one gun to the next. A properly fitted OP wad (slightly tight) will prevent burning through thin patches when shooting a heavy load. They are helpful with keeping fouling down when they are properly lubed with a light amount of lube. Too much lube, especially if it is a thin lube such an some kind of oil, can contaminate your powder charge. My personal choice for OP wads, when I use them, is 1/8 inch thick hard Duro-Felt. I usually use them dry but in some rifles, I will put a small amount of Ballistol on them to keep my fouling down. You can order sheets of Duro-Felt from the company by that name and you can find it by simply Googling "Duro-Felt". You will need a punch to make your wads and I highly recommend one from one of our Forum members who goes by the name of Ohio Ramrod. He will custom make a punch for you for an extremely reasonable price of about $10. You want your wads to be a snug fit and you can't always get that if you use a commercial hollow punch. If you want to lube your wads with something like Bore Butter, just spread a thin coat of it on a sheet of your felt and put it in the microwave for a few seconds to melt it into the felt. Then just punch out your wads and you're good to go. When I use Ballistol, I find it easy to put some Ballistol into a small dropper bottle and just apply two drops to each wad and them put them into a pill bottle and let them sit for a couple days to allow the Ballistol to soak into the wads. Properly lubed, they will feel practically dry and you will not be able to squeeze out any lube when you squeeze them between your fingers as hard as you can. When you fire your rifle, there will be enough compression to squeeze out a tiny amount of lube and it will take out some of the fouling as it moves down the bore. Of course, it is always best to wipe between shots to keep the fouling down and keep the bore the same from shot to shot. Use a patch that is just damp with a mixture of 1 part Ballistol, 1 part Lestoil and 10 parts water. Run your damp patch down your bore with one single stroke, and then remove it with one single stroke. Do not pump it. One single stroke down and one single stroke out will keep your bore the same from shot to shot.

Go ahead and use snug fitting 100% wool felt OP wads, they will not hurt a thing and most likely will help. Use them dry or lightly lubed, your choice.

 

[cynthialee]

I like to use a thin card.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use leather over powder wads and find they help prevent , lube fouling the powder when using mini's hunting, and prevent patch burning with prb. :idunno:

 

[hanshi]

I'm in the habit of using felt, hornet nest, etc op wads. I use them mostly because I use liquid lube and don't want the powder wet. It does help prevent patch burn through. I could easily do without them, but......... :idunno:

 

[White Oak]

Whether you do or don't use them, thanks to everyone for your input.That is one of the things that makes this stuff interesting. Many times everybody is right and no one is wrong just a lot of different ways of achieving the same thing.
Billnpatti, thanks for all of the detail! :bow: I copied this post for future reference as I would never remember all of it and that was very good info.I enjoy trying different methods discarding the ones that don't work well for me.
hanshi, gotta tell ya , I think I'll pass on the hornets nest but I sure would like to know more about it.
Thanks again all,
Ed

 

[TinStar]

I agree with Billnpatti. Seems to make a big difference in my smoothie. I too use Durofelt and Ohio Ramrod's punch. Use Durofelt in my shot loads too.

TinStar
Soli Deo Gloria!

 

[hanshi]

Hornet nest is tops for any kind of wad. It doesn't burn, is free and easy to use. Just make sure the nest you use is already in foreclosure. :rotf:

 

[coloradoclyde]

I like thick leather in smoothbore, I've been collecting wasp nests to give them a try and your right wasp nest does'nt burn, found out the hard way.

 

[coloradoclyde]

A thin card :hmm: havn't tried that please tell more.

 

[White Oak]

hanshi,where on earth do you find these hornets nests? I have stumble around in the woods all of my life and never ran into one. Always considered that kind of fortunate. Now ya got me curious and I am afraid the more I know the worse things could get. How the heck do you use them if you get lucky or unlucky enough to find one?
Thanks,
Ed

 

[Wes/Tex]

That was always my comment. Hard to stuff a yellow jacket nest down a bore with any real hope of success. Those guys up north have a different kind of wasp, actually hornet, then we do! Finally, one of our posters took pity on the doofus from Texas and mailed me one...WOW! All the difference in the world.

 

[bpd303]

Anyone here like a fiber wad or something of that nature between the powder and patch and ball or is that just over kill? I guess I was just thinking of an additional gas seal.
If so, what are you using and do you lube that wad?
Thanks,
Ed

I discovered a wad material quite by accident. It is the blue shop towels that come on a roll and can be obtained at most auto parts stores and Walmart. I was using it to wipe the bore using moose milk and my patches were being torn to pieces. I just wadded up the used wiping patch and stuffed it into the bore then the patched ball and rammed it all down. Patches came out looking like they could be used again and accuracy improved considerably.

 

[stude 283]

The damp patch doesn't foul the powder?

 

[coloradoclyde]

yep we have lots of hornets/yellowjackets or whatever up north I,m not an entymologyst my shed is full of them pocketed 3 today moving a pile of lumber. I wonder if you could use an oversided hollow punch on them to make wads so the load easier.

 

[bpd303]

Not that I could tell. My Moose milk is made from equal parts of Murphy's oil soap, Hydrogen Peroxide and rubbing alcohol. It evaporates quickly leaving mostly Murphy's.

 

[chironomidkraut]

I use the same mix as you, but a guy told me true moose milk is made from machinists oil :idunno:

 

[stude 283]

I use Dutch's formula which is mostly water with ballistol,pine-sol and peroxide.I'm afraid it might wet the charge.Maybe I'll try yours(my grandchildren seem to love to mix moosemilk?)