proper use of fillers in cylinder

[markmahaney]

I would like to use a corn meal or similar filler to top off the cylinder when loading in an attempt at more consistent patterns when shooting. What is the proper, i.e. efficient method used to load cylinders with powder, filler, wad, ball? Thanks in advance for any replies!

 

[azmntman]

I have a powder flask and a corm meal flask. I pour in the powder then use the corn meal flask with spout held open and fill to "just near the top" on each cylinder then push in the ball.

Thats the absolute best way to do it....just wait others will no doubt agree with me, after all there's only one "right" way to load! :rotf:

 

[M. De Land]

Try cream of wheat as a filler. It does not compress like corn meal and is not oily.
That is what most of the top shooters use.

 

[hawkeye2]

A big + for Cream of Wheat! I use premeasured charges in plastic tubes. I use a Lee powder measure and run my charge of 3f through it into tubes then change discs and run CoW into another set of tubes. I determined the proper amount of CoW to use through experimentation. Pour in the powder followed by the CoW then the ball. Seat the ball, lube, install the cylinder and cap. Its important you follow this procedure, I have yet to find a cap hot enough to ignite Cream of Wheat. :grin:

 

[don hepler]

Or, you can pour the powder in, place a felt wad on top of the powder, and then press in the ball. For a full load, that's all that is needed. The fillers, work good for light loads, or to move the ball closer to the end of the cylinder.

 

[curator]

As M.D. and Hawkeye2 suggest, Cream of Wheat (COW) is used by the top shooters because it allows for a more consistent load. Like some of the other posters, I also have two flasks (clearly marked) one with its spout cut for the correct charge of FFFg black powder, and the other cut for the exact amount of COW filler. The proportions work out so the ball is seated just flush with the cylinder face with the right amount of compression.

COW has several advantages over corn meal or felt wads in that it compresses behind the ball when fired. This compressed "wad" of COW scrubs and seals the bore. Seating the ball so that it has the smallest "jump" into the forcing cone assists in getting it to self-center in the rifling even with a small amount of chamber misalignment.

 

[markmahaney]

Cream of wheat seems to be the consensus.

 

[markmahaney]

So, to re cap,
Use two pouring spouts with predetermined meaures to have tbe powder and Cow just below cylinder face, then seat ball. Any advantage to using lube as well?

 

[hawkeye2]

Powder and Cream of Wheat just below the chamber face will get you in trouble. Determine your optimum powder charge, say 20 grains and then add some CoW, 12 grains is a good point to start in a .44. seat the ball and see where it ends up. Slowly add more CoW as needed to bring the ball near the chamber mouth as you reload. When the ball is seated just shy of the chamber mouth write both figures down, you are finished. Don't bring the ball out flush with the face of the cylinder, they sometimes do move forward under recoil and can hang up your revolver which is no fun specially in a timed event. Lube is important and yes some is blown away if you put it on top of the ball but quite a bit remains and it is where it should be, ahead of the ball to ease its passage through the forcing cone and down the bore. If you are an advocate of a lubed wad (personally I would still put lube on top of the ball) or just plain wad under the ball that's fine too. Work up your load in the same way just using the wad on top of the CoW as you go. Whatever you decide to do don't eliminate the lube.

 

[Mike Boettcher]

A big + for Cream of Wheat! I use premeasured charges in plastic tubes. I use a Lee powder measure and run my charge of 3f through it into tubes then change discs and run CoW into another set of tubes. I determined the proper amount of CoW to use through experimentation. Pour in the powder followed by the CoW then the ball. Seat the ball, lube, install the cylinder and cap. Its important you follow this procedure, I have yet to find a cap hot enough to ignite Cream of Wheat. :grin:

hawkeye: Do you use a cardboard wad between the powder and CoW? Or do you just pour the CoW right on top the powder?

 

[Alden]

Corn for filler in the form of grits is its only purpose other than as cheap livestock feed. Save a southron child!

And don't fill cylinders to the brim with filler and then try to add a wad and bullet. Is that what someone seriously said he does -- who ever heard of that!? I don't believe it.

A little filler to make up the difference in grains between the powder charge and the bore size is a good rule of thumb, i.e. in a .44 with 25 grains of FFFg try 15 grains of grits, to move the ball up (but obviously you cannot have the projectile protruding outside the cylinder).

 

[Wes/Tex]

Poor deluded baby! Used grits and cream of wheat for years internally and externally...both worked fine. Carried two flasks, one brass, one silver for either in one and powder in the other...machts nichts which goes in which. Then realized that in steel framed revolvers it wasn't required. Shot better with chamber full and quit carrying extra weight around. Ended up with one powder flask, one Spit Ball bottle and a can of #10 caps in my shirt pocket. The ole Replica Arms M.1860 shot a smidgen high but had that figured out quickly enough. Never used loading stand or any of the other things a lot of modern shooters feel they need to schlep around with them. Probably filled several pickup beds full of bunnies, limb chickens and dillers...and mighty good they were! :wink: Biggest thing I ever took with it was a coyote. Used to practice stalking deer on foot by creeping and tossing pine cones at them when their heads went down to browse. With my uncle's training regimen, it got fairly easy...tippy-toeing up on a 'yote was fairly easy too. Turkeys, on the other hand...reminds me of the old Smithwick story of the Tonkawa telling the pioneer woman why he never brought turkeys. "Deer look and say,'Maybe so Injun, maybe so stump'...turkey look and say 'Injun by God!'

And don't worry about Alden...he got scared by a grit when he was a young'un and ain't been the same since!
http://i.imgur.com/zBvSk.jpg

 

[Jim C]

:rotf:

 

[Billnpatti]

The way to know how much filler to use is to pour a normal charge in one chamber and tamp it down. Put a wad on top and press it down. Now look at how much space you have left in the chamber. YOu want the ball to sit level with the mouth of the chamber so just add enough filler to bring the ball up to the mouth of the chamber. Carefully dump out the filler and put it into an adjustable powder measure and determine how much filler you need for each chamber. Buy or make a measure that will deliver that amount of filler and after that, just put in your powder and wad and pour in the correct amount of filler and seat your all on top and you are ready to go.

 

[hawkeye2]

No I don't use a wad. For years the N-SSA had a rule against multiple projectiles in one load no matter what the firearm and anything that exited the barrel other than smoke and powder was a projectile. This rule was modified a number of years back to permit a wad in a revolver (only). To this day most shooters don't use a wad and I have never found it necessary and just another thing to take up the very limited loading time between events.

 

[Alden]

Too many benefits to a wad not the least of which is...

...safety.

 

[hawkeye2]

"Too many benefits to a wad not the least of which is...

...safety."

Sorry to disagree but in all the years I have competed in revolver matches, both individual and team, and acted as a safety I have never had or even seen a chainfire. The fire simply cannot get past the top lube (even if a lot of it is blown away) and a proper fitting ball. Fouling was never an issue either ( 18 or 24 rounds in a team match, 10 in an individual).

 

[Alden]

Belt and suspenders. I said nothing about greasing around the bullet/ball-cylinder wall interface (when a lubed wad is used).
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/295553/post/new/#NEW

 

[Tom Compton]

"Too many benefits to a wad not the least of which is...

...safety."

Sorry to disagree but in all the years I have competed in revolver matches, both individual and team, and acted as a safety I have never had or even seen a chainfire. The fire simply cannot get past the top lube (even if a lot of it is blown away) and a proper fitting ball. Fouling was never an issue either ( 18 or 24 rounds in a team match, 10 in an individual).

X2 !!! Just over kill BUT....... It's your gun and your hand holding it so do as you wish and I'll do the same.

Does anyone know of a documented case of a chain fire?

 

[bpd303]

"Documented" no but personal experience. My brother had one way back when we were shooting a Remington. All six chambers went off at the same time. He was using some kind of spray lube WD40 I think. While I checked the gun, he went in and changed his shorts. :slap: