Home made shotgun wads

[hunter thompson]

Since your new to smooth bore. There is a fire hazard when using some materials for wadding. I won’t use paper for that reason. Cardboard. Felt. Leather are ok. I use leather for a ridged over shot card. Check out the “ SkyChief” load. Works well for many shooters. Search for it on this forum. Have fun

FUNNY it reminds me.... this anti gun nut was screaming at us going duck hunting walking in when it was a dry fall...WHATYA DOING? HE holloring over n over ..you,ll set the woods afire.

 

[Troyfairweather]

I've made a few punches from old shotgun choke tubes, just file a edge on.

 

[kid_couteau]

Well howdy Bill

 

[11Bravo]

I'm 22 and it's 1970. Bought a kit from Dixie Gun Works and put a cheap 20 ga together. First time I went out duck hunting with my Dad I fired at a duck on the wing.Missed the duck but Dad started yelling at me because I used toilet paper for the wadding. He said "you kill them with pellets not burning embers".

 

[L W Smith]

I'm 22 and it's 1970. Bought a kit from Dixie Gun Works and put a cheap 20 ga together. First time I went out duck hunting with my Dad I fired at a duck on the wing.Missed the duck but Dad started yelling at me because I used toilet paper for the wadding. He said "you kill them with pellets not burning embers".

 

[L W Smith]

As good fortune would have it , i lucked into a 12 ga. T/C Tree Hawk !!!! O.K. , education time ! Due to no shot cup , is "copper-plated" shot safe to use ? Are shot cups safe to use in this muzzle loader ? If so , how will they affect pressures ? Where do you home manufacturers get your virgin wool felt for making lubed wads ? Where do you get your cutter ?? All answers and leads appreciated !!!!

I have used1.5 ozs of copper coated #4 shot and a shot cup with punched out cardboard wads over shot for years and have killed many turkeys with 80 hrs of pyrodex select Thru my knight tk2000 my barrel is shinier than a new dime ....!!

 

[Britsmoothy]

I have used1.5 ozs of copper coated #4 shot and a shot cup with punched out cardboard wads over shot for years and have killed many turkeys with 80 hrs of pyrodex select Thru my knight tk2000 my barrel is shinier than a new dime ....!!

80 hours and an inline!

 

[L W Smith]

80 hours and an inline!

Sorry...lol ...80 grains...

 

[recurvebill]

Well howdy Bill

Well , fancy seeing you here , Kid !! Thanks for tipping me off about the "forum" !!!! Good people here !! No hokie B.S. , i like that .

 

[flntlokr]

As good fortune would have it , i lucked into a 12 ga. T/C Tree Hawk !!!! O.K. , education time ! Due to no shot cup , is "copper-plated" shot safe to use ? Are shot cups safe to use in this muzzle loader ? If so , how will they affect pressures ? Where do you home manufacturers get your virgin wool felt for making lubed wads ? Where do you get your cutter ?? All answers and leads appreciated !!!!

in a pinch. 2 squares of toilet paper work just fine, but they leave a bit of confetti behind on the range,

 

[Zonie]

During the early part of the CV 19 panic my wife bought some toilet paper that would probably work very well for wads.
I doubt that it would burn very easily and there is no doubt it would scour the bore, both while loading and as the gun was being fired.

 

[megasupermagnum]

Well, I just threw a roll of toilet paper in the range bag to test out. I'm about to go look for a scrap bit of leather. I won't make any guarantee's about doing my test this weekend. It would probably be Sunday, and we have a snow storm predicted 1"-3". If it isn't too horrible, I will shoot in that. If it turns out to be a rain downpour, I may not.

 

[Troyfairweather]

A good size leaf folded into a square works pretty good, I always wanted try try short pieces of hemp rope, a size that would fit tight in the bore.

 

[Walkingeagle]

A wad of green poplar leaves work great.
Walk

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I haven't tried felt wads but for cutting patches for my rifles I use the correct size hole saw with the teeth ground off and the edge sharpened. I spin it my drill press. It will cut multiple layers of cloth as fast as I can move the material under the quill and lower the handle. I use a block of wood of course to run the cutter against. Tomorrow I may try using kapok in my 20 gauge for round balls. Log Cabin Shop had a good assortment of shotgun wads the last time I looked.

 

[bud in pa]

During the early part of the CV 19 panic my wife bought some toilet paper that would probably work very well for wads.
I doubt that it would burn very easily and there is no doubt it would scour the bore, both while loading and as the gun was being fired.

OUCH!!!!!!!

 

[megasupermagnum]

Bingo, I knew I had some scrap leather. I just cut out a handful of wads of cow leather to test.

 

[Troyfairweather]

Bingo, I knew I had some scrap leather. I just cut out a handful of wads of cow leather to test.

be careful the leather likes to turn it not fit perfect, one can be a pain to get out. I've made a bunch from old baseball gloves, there's a surprising amount of good leather in them.

 

[megasupermagnum]

I'll be using a range rod with a full diameter jag on it, so it shouldn't be an issue. Thanks for the heads up.

 

[GREENSWLDE]

4 to 6 inch wide concrete expansion strip is a good place to start and makes very good fiber wads with a rotating punch. OLD DOG..