how to make shot wads ??

[Capt. Jas.]

a

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Paul,
He is using FACTORY PRE-LUBED if I am reading it correctly.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Any of you guys tried splitting a lubed fiber wad in half adn using half for over powder and half for over shot with nothing else?

I would be concerned about the lube contaminating the powder in a hunting situation. Also I don't feel there is enough there to seal the bore properly. I have always found a hard card necessary for a good seal in combination with a fiber wad to carry some lube.

If using a stiff hunting lube just like that on a rifle patch which makes full contact with the top of the powder charge, would it not not be an issue?

The seal issue was my biggest question. I have tried this procedure out of necessity due to lack of components and found the patterns to be quite good at 20 and 30 yards with the .015 jug choke in Jake's barrel.

Although the paper looked good, I still question the penetration. It for sure seems to be better than tow wads when doing the 18th century bit and appears to work quite well for fast loading and close shots.

When I tried this, I used a dry half near the powder and a lubed half on the shot. The barrel after clean-up of roughly 30 quick shots was a breeze to clean except where the unlubed fiber had been at the powder.

Of course all bores are not going to be exactly the same even thought they may be labled as a 12, 16, etc.... and the tighter the bore, it would appear the better the factory cut fiber wads should perform.

 

[riarcher]

I sorta do a Mike Brooks thingy myself and feel it's working fairly well.

Preparations;
1/2" fiber, quickly dipped into a wax/ olive oil mix, with a overshot card stuck to each side of the fiber. After cooling, slice the fiber in half.
this gives me 2, 1/4 fibers with overshot (used as powder seal card) attached.

Have a rectangular mint tin where I used a part of a second tin to make a partition installed closer to one side. This is filled with more lube.

Mint tin also has some overshot cards added.

Everything (except shot & powder) is in the flip-top tin.

Loading;
Install vent pick in hole.(attached to trigger guard)
Add measured powder.(using whittled shot/powder measure)
From tin (in bag), add overshot card, small glob of lube, then fiber/card combo.
Add measured shot (using whittled shot measure)
Add overshot card.
Close tin, back into bag with it.
Pull pick, prime, fire.

After much experimentation I found this the easiest, cleanest (pocket lint and all), quickest, and most easily organised.

You can see the tin I made before I started doing the above.

All fits in my home made bag;

Note;
I found when using a flat faced tip on the ramrod that the air presure would push the wads back up the bore and was a bit$# to keep seated.
Using the rounded tip on the rod to the Bess this problem is non-existant if you load smoothly and hold it for a second when seated.
However, with the full 1/2 fiber even the rounded face doesn't seem to want to stay seated.

 

[Mike Brooks]

If using a stiff hunting lube just like that on a rifle patch which makes full contact with the top of the powder charge, would it not not be an issue?

The seal issue was my biggest question. I have tried this procedure out of necessity due to lack of components and found the patterns to be quite good at 20 and 30 yards with the .015 jug choke in Jake's barrel.

Although the paper looked good, I still question the penetration. It for sure seems to be better than tow wads when doing the 18th century bit and appears to work quite well for fast loading and close shots.

When I tried this, I used a dry half near the powder and a lubed half on the shot. The barrel after clean-up of roughly 30 quick shots was a breeze to clean except where the unlubed fiber had been at the powder.

Of course all bores are not going to be exactly the same even thought they may be labled as a 12, 16, etc.... and the tighter the bore, it would appear the better the factory cut fiber wads should perform.

If I were loading that particular gun I'd load my standard load structure. Powder, 1/8"hard card, 1/2 lubed fiber wad, shot, and Os card.
But , in your situation of being short on materials I'd probably go with a full fiber wad over the powder and a 1/2 wad over the shot. Probably go with lubed wads for both. For quick repeated firing lube migration wouldn't be a problem. You should get a much better seal with a full wad over the powder. One way to tell if you're getting a good seal is by the sound of the gun. If it sounds hollow you're passing gas and need a tighter wad.

 

[Mike Brooks]

Mr. Brooks. You are still carrying three different wads into the field with you. Carying only one seems to me to be a lot more simple. I do like your idea of wrapping the lubed wads in newspaper. It would not work with my moosemilk lube, but a different lube might do the trick. Can I ask again, what kind of lube are you putting on those cushion wads? I have the Circle Fly cushion wads made from Celotex, the building insulation material. The wads are about 1/2" thick. They can soak up a lot of liquid if you don't be very careful. A dab of bore butter, or even crisco might be a better way to go, NO?

Yep, still carry 3 different wads in the field, but I don't have to lube the bore after I load like you're having to do, which means I don't have to carry a separate lube container to wipe the bore with...I guess it is what ever works for you. One fellows way may not be better than an others. The exchange of information here is interesting.

Can I ask again, what kind of lube are you putting on those cushion wads?

Paul, again, I'm using solid Crisco that I melt on the stove in my sweetie's frying pan. I do a very quick dunk in the melted crisco and set them on a stack of paper towels to dry. The Idea here is to not let them soak up lube with out soaking up too much. You really only want lube on the outside so they stay light. As I said earlier, I have recently ordered some pre lubed fiber wads from Circle Fly that has a thicker lube than melted Crisco. These have proved to be absolutely ideal. The lube is thicker, I suspect some kind of wax/veggie oil combination. I'll probably not be going back to crisco once I've used up my current supply of fiber wads as I'll be buying pre lubed Circle fly from now on.

I have the Circle Fly cushion wads made from Celotex, the building insulation material. The wads are about 1/2" thick. They can soak up a lot of liquid if you don't be very careful.

Yes, those are exactly the wads I'm referring to, I've been using them since 1980. Yes, they can soak up way too much lube if you let them, that's why I will put emphasis on a QUICK dunk in melted Crisco. Also, If somebody has a cranky fowler that won't shoot fiber wads with out blowing a hole in the pattern, try 3/8 wool felt wads instead, that will usually solve the problem. I think Circle Fly sells them lubed or unlubed.
After several years of reading on this board how others load their shot guns I've learned alot, but I haven't changed my main formulas. I have learned a few things to try in the future when I get a stubborn gun that won't shoot my tried and true methods.
I'd like to make a strong point about lubed wads. I feel they are extremely beneficial for good shot patterns if you're going to be taking multiple shots with out cleaning. They also help to keep leading down to a minimum. The only time I've ever shot dry fiber wads was when I was shooting a lot of black powder cartridge skeet. I used a spray bottle with murphy's and water between stations to flush out the fouling. I'm now shooting alot of Cowboy action stuff and ran into a problem with dry wads there. They are freaky deaky about barrel orientation , even with the action open. Barrels must be pointed up at all times which means all my murph'ys and water was running back into my action....not a good thing. So, I started loading my shells with lubed wads and presto change-o problem solved by good old lubed wads again. I've been loading both brass shells and plastic with the same loads I use in muzzle loaders, powder , card , lubed wad, shot and OS card followed by a swab of melted parrafin in the brass shells to hold the OS card in. I'm having no lube migration to spoil the powder even after the shells have been loaded for a couple months. Cleaning these cartridge barrels after using lubed wads is about a 3 minute operation, you wouldn't believe how clean these barrels stay using lubed fiber wads, I was real surprised.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Thanks for the recommendations guys. I now have all the components on hand for that particular bore. My original use of just the cushions was only makeshift. I like the idea Mr. Archer uses of making the cushion and the overpowder one unit.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I like the idea Mr. Archer uses of making the cushion and the overpowder one unit.

Yep, I agree, pretty clever! :hatsoff:

 

[riarcher]

Thanks, works for me.
As Mike mentioned,, just a quick dunk in the melted mix. Enough to stick the card and slightly lube the outside. The shot side willbe dry after slitting.
Satuated will get you to shooting donuts (or seemingly so).

 

[pmwest]

I am assuming that your 14 Ga. Double is percussion? If that is the case then felt wads would be considered “traditional”. According to documentation published in England in the mid 1800’s, felt was the preferred wad material. Preferred over cork, paper and leather. Here is a source for felt to punch your own.
http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html

 

[Crow#21957]

I made one of these out of a leather punch for punching cards with. I don't use wads just the cards, I choose not to poke holes in them too as if the ram is the correct diameter the wind will "fart" past them anyway :hatsoff:

Britsmoothy.

I

 

[Crow#21957]

Thanks Paul and Mike great stuff