Hey Rebel

[big bore 75]

I did your method well sort of anyway of wads instead of patches with me .715' out of short bess and off hand I was putting them in the 50 yard bulls eye of a shootem and seem targets got to say that hey that works Hell I even thought you were wrong well I was wrong I works going to be getting wads for the tulle soon as I can man all the powder, I was having fun at the range afterwards, only difference I did was I was splitting my cousin wads and soking the wads in olive oil loading powder spliy wad ball and slit wad prime and shoot I'm just wondering if a ball .002 ounder bore diamiter would be better, what ya think/ evryone should I do it? bb75 :hmm:

 

[Rebel]

Ok, glad you had some fun. I think that if you use a ball with no patch, and just wads, that the closer the ball is to bore diameter the better. The tighter the ball fits, the less bouncing around it does in the barrel. My method is
one of the thick overpowder wads that i poke a small hole through the center of to let air escape, which i then glue to a fiber cushion wad. After the glue dries, i dip the cushion wad in some melted Crisco to lube it, this helps to clean and lube the barrel, so i can shoot a lot without swabbing the bore. OK, now to load, pour in the powder, put in one of those wads just below the muzzle, now put your ball on top of the wad with the sprue up. Push this all down with your thumb far enough to get a thin overshot card wad on. Then seat it all at once. Prime and fire. Now do it all over again, and again. This way you only have to use the ramrod one time.

 

I use 1/2 wad over-powder, bare ball, 1/2 wad on top. Here's my theory: The ball is in the center of the column because the sprue ( or possibly just the dent of the roundball) is imbedded into the wads when you seat the whole mess on top of the powder. I shot a bunch of .54's in my 20ga ( because I grabbed the wrong bag-o-balls) and they were about as accurate (@ 35 yds) as the .60's are.--That's my story and I'm stickin' to it ! Bill/Oregon

 

[Rebel]

Well, as long as your stickin' to it, i guess there ain't much we can do. ::

 

[big bore 75]

I must have done sumtin wrong today, I tryed the smaller wads today and man accuracy droped and started sending the rounds to the left then to the right well they arn't worth a hoot, going to order me some 11ga wads real soon that should cure all me problems as well as some 24 ga wads too for the tulle, boy oh boy sometimes these things are so particular on what ya feed 'em. bb75

 

[Rebel]

Sounds like you were holdin' yer tongue wrong. :: I don't really know what happened. You say you were using a smaller wad. What does that mean? Thinner, or smaller diameter? I made me up a bunch of overpowder/fiber cushion wads yesterday and lubed them last night, for my Bess carbine. I am set to go when the rains stop. :: I have some .690 and some .715 rd. balls. Think i am going to try to get the .690's to work though, since i have a mould for them. I think i am going to try the overpowder/cushion wad over the powder then a thick denim patched .690 rd ball and see how that works. I know the .690 is a good tight fit in the bore with the denim patch, so it should work fine. Hope you get yours straightened out. Take care, and have fun.

 

[thomas]

Rebel, Did you get that bess yet? I'm going to try what you do with the wabs on my bess.

Thomas

 

[Rebel]

Thomas, yes i got it last Friday. I haven't shot it yet though. Been either out of town, had company, busy, or raining. :: Maybe here before long.

 

[thomas]

All Right! I'm glad you got it. I know when I'm waiting on the mailman the wife says I drive her nuts. Is it as good as you hoped {looks I mean}?

Thomas

 

[Rebel]

It is in real good condition. It came with a spare Serpent sideplate that covers the existing Bess sideplate, to give it a Tradegun look, 3 flints, and 47 .715 round balls, and a hardsided plastic foam lined case. There are a few dings in the buttstock because the person i bought it from put the balls in a ziplock bag in with the gun, and the bag broke and some of the balls were banging around inside the case. Nothing real bad, but some small dings. The bore is excellent, and the lock works fine. It is marked Grice 1762 behind the hammer with a Crown with G R under it in front of the hammer. I am not sure if i will be keeping it or not though. I may be putting it up for sale. I may not even shoot it, i don't know yet.