shot wads

[buck1]

I have my flintlock rifles a.25 cal. I built for small game and a .45 for deer,hog,and any other big game animal I hope to have a chance to hunt later.I had a double 10 gage I used for turkey hunting a few years ago but lost it and all my other guns in a house fire not long after I got it.Any way I got the bug to build a new flinter for turkey hunting.I almost went with a 20 ga. but at the last minuite I decided I just could'nt stand it any longer and I am on the down hill side of building a .54 smooth rifle in early va. style,I am very pleased with the build so far and excited to shoot it and hopefully take a turkey with it within the next couple of weeks!! Which brings me to my question I have read in track book that I should use over powder card,fiber wad,and then over shot card all of what I used for my 10 ga.But I have also read in several books and mags that all I need is 2 wonder wads between powder and shot and 1 wonder wad or a over shot wad over my shot. Then I have a very good freind tht has been muzzle loading for 30 years and he says all he and his freinds ever use is 2 or 3 over shot cards between powder and shot and 1 over shot. Will this work? can someone advise me from personl experience also about where to start for a good load for turkey with this gun? the barrel is 42" long and like I said before .54 cal. smooth bore flintlock. Thanks alot for your help in advance Buck.

 

[shootemup]

Hi there buck1,

First of all, welcome to the forum. If you're building your own guns I'm sure myself and many others here can learn a lot from you.

Where wads are concerned, any of the combinations you mentioned can work. V.M. Starr http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/starr.html
simply punched wads out of poster board and used them over powder and shot.

I normally use a card and fiber cushion wad over powder, then an overshot card in my .62's, but have also used wonder wads (1 over powder, 1 over shot) in my .56 with good results. I've also used the wonder wads in a 12-gauge (2 then 1), mostly because that gun has choke and it's easier to load.

I've seen guys pull green leaves off bushes for wadding, wasp nests, hornet nesting is supposed to be very good...people even use wadded up newspaper, although I'd be afraid of setting the woods afire with that.

I'm afraid I can't help you much with the load for your .54 since I've never had a smoothbore in that size, but I have found that I need to use quite a bit more shot than powder in my .56 to get a decent pattern. I consider my .56 very marginal for turkey and have never used it for that, so I would encourage you to pattern carefully and work 'em close.

Please keep us informed as you start load development and (especially) when you start hunting with that gun.

Got any pics of that .54?

:hatsoff:
Spot

 

[Rocky Johnson]

wonder wads work great but cost quite a bit more.
:wink: Rocky

 

[Robert Egler]

I have a 54 smoothbore that I'm still experimenting with, however so far I have discovered that 2 overpowder cards and 1 overshot card works the same as using a cushion wad, I can't notice a difference at 30 yards. I also always use a paper shot cup.

I've also tried homemade cards, made from thick cardboard (ok, actually made from the thick cardboard drink coasters you find at resturants.)Five of those over the powder and one card over the shot works just about the same (still with the paper shot cup), but I'm staying with the commercial overpowder and overshot cards, because it's a pain to have to load that many cards for each shot. And 1000 overpowder cards costs something like $10, and I don't have to spend hours cutting the damn things out.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I have a flint .56 caliber with a short 30" barrel and jug choked to improved cylinder. My standard load is one ounce of shot with 60 grains of 3f goex. I use two hard card overpowder wads about 1/8" thick rammed tightly over the powder. For over shot I just split one of the over powder cards to 1/2 or 1/3 thickness, thus I need carry only one type of wad. I get the Circle Fly 28 ga. commercial wads which sell for about $7-8 per 1000. From my gun, that would be deadly on turkey to 30 yards, but with out the choke I think it would be more like a 20 yard gun.
V.M.Starr insisted that for muzzleloaders there is no wad column which will pattern better than just two cards over powder, in other words, no "cushion wad" needed. I haven't patterned nearly so many barrels as Mr. Starr but from the couple of dozen I have tested I think Mr. Starr is right. Cushion wads can carry lubricant which helps keep the bore from fouling up if you are doing a lot of shooting but for just a few shots per day, they really aren't needed.

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu also can run a finger tip of oil around the edge of that OP Wad to help lube the barrel to keep the residue soft. Or, you can use a greased cleaning patch in front of your jag when loading the OS card to lube the barrel in front of the shot load. The OS card pushes away any lube that would foul the shot column, in front of the shot, as it travels up the barrel, when fired. The rest of the lube on the barrel eases the shot along the barrel, reduces or eliminates leading, and is there to soften powder residue.

I agree that in the field, you usually are not going to be firing enough rounds to need to be concerned about fouling build up, or cleaning the barrel. That is different however, if you are hunting on a Game preserve, where state bag limits don't apply, or when hunting birds that have a huge daily bag limit, like dove, or white and blue geese( 15 birds per day). Then, a second baggie with greased patches, and some dry cleaning patches to wipe the action and barrel every so often is the smarter way to go. AND, don't forget to bring extra powder and shot to such shoots. :hatsoff:

 

[buck1]

Thanks guy's for all your help! I know a 54 is not the perfect long range turkey gun but I am a primitive bowyer and bowhunter also I knapp my own arrow heads from our locale navoculite and tie them on to my river cane arrows with deer sinew and of course I use wild turkey feathers, all that to say yes I know I will have to get them close with this gun but I like it like that :grin: Thanks agin Buck.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

Stick to your plan Buck. We love to here things like that. But it sounds a bit light to me. For me it's turkeys two me nada with my ten ga.sxs. One misfire the other just two fehthers??
If I can hunt this year I will try my flintlock fowler. May have back surgery before the May season that my tag is good for.
Go for it Buck. :wink: Rocky

 

[slowpokebr549]

I have killed turkey with my .28, it can be done.

 

[Mike Brooks]

In most states anything smaller than a 20 bore is illegal for turkeys.
In my opinion, a couple of wonder wads won't make a good enough seal. I'd use a nitro card under them, then maybe use 3 wonder wads then shot then a real over shot card. The only thing you can do to see what works is take the gun to the pattern board and see what it likes.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

I too tend to doubt the gas sealing ablity of thin felt wads but some swear by them.