filler

[renovato]

I use a general rule of thumb for my filler. I eyeball out what would make a column of filler about as long as the bore is wide. I just guestimate this. Then I set the powder measure to throw that same amount each time. Twice as long works just as well too. I don't think there's any hard and fast rules about it. I prefer corn meal, but cream of wheat or grits works just as well.

I generally use a lubed felt wad lately because it's easier and faster. It works about as well as corn meal.

MikeC, you don't need to use filler, but it has improved the accuracy in every gun I've tried it in so far. If a gun has good hunting accuracy and is generally just used for hunting, filler or wads would be a waste of time, IMO. But I'm a hardcore benchrester and that obsession seems to intrude into every aspect of the shooting sports for me.

 

[roundball]

Most commercial lubes for BP will not harm powder, by design...and nothing is normally required to protect a patch when only using 80grns of 2F...that's a mid-range powder charge in a .54cal, barely more than a target load...so a well lubed patch should be all you need...I think the more variables that get added to the configuration of a shot can introduce their own set of problems...