Hemp for wadding material

[kingsax26]

I recently found a large roll of hemp romp in the shed that had become moldy , and no longer suitable for use as rope. I shredded some by hand and its nice and fluffy...was thinking it could make good wadding material with a bit of wax/oil. Has anyone ever used it? also, i have only ever used fiber wads.....how does one use beesnest, hemp, etc for wadding?

 

[AZbpBurner]

Wad some up into a ball bigger than the bore & set it over powder. Drop in a ball & follow with just enough of a wad to keep the ball in place. If you can get some Spanish Moss from Florida, it should work well, too.

I've tried TOW and fiber wads with and without any lube. I mix 5 parts denatured alcohol with 1 part castor oil for a patch lube, & it works good for fiber and TOW, too.

 

[hawkeye2]

It should work but I'm a little concerned that the discharged wad might ignite and possibly start fires. Give it a try and let us know what happens.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

Keep an eye out for the DEA!

 

[MSW]

Keep an eye out for the DEA!

sometimes I end posts with the phrase "make good smoke," but that's not what I mean ... :rotf:

seriously, I would be concerned about starting a fire with the smoldering wad, but I have heard of tow being used and I can't see why hemp wouldn't work ... especially if there was a bit of lube in there to calm things down ...

hmmm ... now I'm thinking - there's a horse farm where my kids learned to ride, just down the way ... they have (as most of these places do) a huge pile of baling twine which ahs been cut off of the hay bales and put in a big tray because (since we're thrifty Vermonters) nobody wants to throw it into the dump ... I doubt they'd have any problem about giving me a few pounds...

:hmm:

 

[Stumpkiller]

When I first got into smoothbore m/l (pre-internet) and before I had lined up a source for tow flax I used some hemp from a length of ancient 1" rope I had in the garage. It worked well enough - especially for cleaning.

One concern was all the grit an old bunch of rope can pick up.

Note that it works OK dry provided you run a saliva damp worm of hemp/tow in every fifth shot or so. You can then re-used that wad as wadding. I never lube my tow.

Also note if you keep the tow/hemp worm loaded up the second time you stick it in your mouth to dampen it while pulling the rammer your hair will stand on end and the wax will shoot out your ears.

 

[Flintlock]

With the help of friends and family, I collect all the old bee's and wasp nests I can find to use as wadding. We had a real dry year here a while back and found our wads and patches would smoulder for a long time, we really limited our shooting. I've Found the bee's-wasp nests make great wadding and give good patterns while not catching flame or smoldering, it's not completely foolproof but the best free wadding I can find. As previously mentioned, old rope might act like sandpaper with all the dust and sand it can pick up, although shredding and fluffing it like tow will probably get rid of most of the debris.

 

[tenngun]

I buy the hemp yarn in craft shops and strip it down to fibers. It makes little bundles of fluff that works well as fire starting, cleaning and wads. I grease it heavy as I don't want to make too good of a smoke :wink:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Ought to work...give it a try. Hell, I've used leaves and grass and once even clover! Seemed to work and made an interesting shower! Not as colorful as pink Easter basket grass, but that's a whole 'nother story!! :wink: :rotf:

 

[nhmoose]

Are these smoke able? :stir:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Are these smoke able? :stir:

Nah...pink Easter basket grass tastes terrible rolled up!

 

[azmntman]

Are these smoke able? :stir:

Nah...pink Easter basket grass tastes terrible rolled up!

GEEZ! Use a pipe Man....rolled up pink easter basket grass? :slap:

 

[BillinOregon]

Smoldering wad would smell like you are a resident of Oregon, Washington or Colorado ...
Just sayin'.

 

[Wes/Tex]

Smoldering wad would smell like you are a resident of Oregon, Washington or Colorado ...
Just sayin'.

Why worry about the smoulder smell when you've been soaking up sulphur powder smoke all day! :wink: :haha: :rotf: