My first smoothbore

[NorthFork]

I take sisal rope and cut into roughly 4-6" lengths. Separate fibers. Roll into walnut sized balls and wipe across a tin of TOW mink oil grease. Works great for me.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@FlinterNick and @NorthFork have pretty well described the process to turn the strands of fiber, be it jute, hemp or tow into a wad by crushing the fibers into a ball meshed with a bit of lubricant and shoved down the barrel. Recently in the NMLRA magazine, "Muzzle Blasts", the Bevel Brothers described performance of wads made from various grasses and leaves. Not quite as good a cardboard or felt wads, but those alternatives do work.

 

[NorthFork]

I would like to add that I also use brown paper wads per @George posts. He suggests a brown paper wadding over top of the powder. 1" x 2" strips folded in half lengthwise and inserted into the barrel. Only need 1 paper strip folded in half per shot. Makes a small cup of sorts. So a typical loading sequence for using ball or shot if I am not using the SkyChief load is as follows-

Powder + brown paper wad + ball of sisal tow with mink oil + either ball or shot + ball of sisal tow with mink oil.

 

[JeffG]

I have been shooting flinter rifles for a few years now and I'd like to get a flinter smoothy for turkey hunting. What would y'all suggest? Thanks, Bruce.

I went with a .54/28gauge, but I would suggest a larger bore, like 20 gauge. The tightness of your pattern can be controlled bu the makeup of your load.

 

[tenngun]

I think the poor boy or barn gun would be more affordable for now and in .62/20 ga. I wish Kibler would make some smoothie kits but i didn't see any if he did. I really like the looks of the Tullies but they are probably out of my budget for now.

Just a word of warning, lock stock and barrel are the cost of the gun. Side, butt, toe plates are fairly cheap, you need a trigger and gaurd, breech and ramrod pipes. A poor boy is easier to make, but not a whole lot cheaper to build

 

[NorthFork]

What @tenngun said is absolutely true. Now if a poor boy is what you want then that's different.

 

[ppg1949]

To all that answered turning jute into a wad, Thanks.

 

[Eterry]

I shoot a 20 bore, 12 bore and 10 bore.
I get my cards and wads from Mike's Quality Black Powder Wads. They average about a penny apiece, by the 1000.
Give him a call.
317-683-5102

 

[hunter thompson]

I have been shooting flinter rifles for a few years now and I'd like to get a flinter smoothy for turkey hunting. What would y'all suggest? Thanks, Bruce.