Homemade Cards, Cups, & Wads

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

I will be trying my luck with a smoothbore for hunting for the first time fairly soon.

I know that cards and wads are pretty cheap and you get a bulk amount when purchased, but I was wondering how many of you make your own shooting supplies for muzzle loading shotguns?

Cards made from cigarette boxes, cardboard egg cartons, or brown paper material would be probably the materials I would consider, and if you have made them and used them how well did they work?

Please keep any information or suggestions restricted to old time materials or materials that could have existed back in the day when most of these arms would have been in use.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I make my wads from leather scraps, and use a "paper shot cartridge" made by rolling three thickness of newspaper around a dowel and tying off with kite string. All period correct :idunno: :idunno:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Lot's if things work...I know you're not interested in some materials but I'm going to list things I've used for reference....

Leather wads
shot cartridges similar to Ohio Ramrod's
wads made from corrugated cardboard
overshot cards from cereal and cracker boxes
Wads made from heavy weight (poster board like paper)
Wads made from old belly milker belt.
wadding from tree bark
wadding from rope tow.
wads from automobile insulation
papers from TP to notebook paper and everything in between.
wasp nests
green leaves
wool felt
cork wads made from wine corks
Cloth
and some things I can't remember.....Basically if I see something that I think might work, I try it.

My favorite is a .20 thick vegetable tanned leather wad and a cereal box over shot card.

 

[Stumpkiller]

I make paper cups from grocery bags.

Cuts down leading and seems to make the patterns denser.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I took your wonderful idea and improved it by cutting out the sections that fold over and make ears....this allows me to use heavier paper....
This one has been fired and is reusable.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Beer mats work.

B.

 

[tenngun]

I have a Yorker named Shamus. They make lots of hair. I saved a gag full and made some wads out of it. A little lard melted and poured on the hair.
It shot well but stank really really bad. Really bad. Did I mention that it stank. Umph.
I find a cartridge best. After I make a tube of paper I paint it with lard and let cool. Tie off the end, shot,wad of greased paper clumped, powder.
Tear off the bottom couple the paper at the bottom ram home. I make my .62 on a 9/16 dowel and they fit easier.

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

Thanks everyone for the suggestions. It looks like a considerable amount of options.

:hatsoff:

 

[coloradoclyde]

Forgot one....
If you take a 3 ring binder and remove the plastic covering from the front and back covers, you will find a dense cardboard suitable for punching wads similar to a nitro card.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I use a 9/16 arch punch and a good hardwood end grain block to cut my card wads for my 28 gauge type G trade gun. I've been using beer case card board stock for my over shot cards and thicker card stock I get from slip sheets from work for my over powder wads. I usually stack a couple thicker base cards for my base wad. Get the right size punch, block and hammer. Find some card stock to repurpose and have fun. BJH

 

[hanshi]

Haven't tried making paper cartridges yet, but I do punch out my own card wads as well as leather/felt and whatever else I have available.

 

[Cpl. Ashencheeks]

Well here are few 28ga options I have just pounded out recently.

Starting from above the green bottle cap on the plate like a clock is:

At 12 o'clock would be egg carton, at 2 is beer carton cardboard, at 3 is the cardboard backing of a drawing tablet, at 4 is paper picnic plate disks, at 6 is leather disks at about .125" inch thick, at 8 is cigarette pack disks, and the last disks at 10 would be card stock junk mail that would be typical for political or restaurant junk mail.

In the center on top of the #6 box of shot would be a paper grocery bag shot cartridge with egg carton wads at the bottom and cigarette over shot card disks on top.

I won't be using that as it is constructed currently because it would probably ball rather than open up.

Also components catching fire would be a pretty big concern so I am not sure which materials would be best to use to help prevent that.

The bottle caps make a nice little expedient measure for shot at about 40 to 45 grains by volume of the #6 shot pictured here.

 

[Nomadexpedition]

I have used tree bark for wads works great although I do dry it out before punching them.
Sure some great ideas their.

 

[Nomadexpedition]

I usually just make a cylinder since I usually have a hard wad under it but I like your idea I will try that out for myself looks like it works great.