Don:
Gluing them together would defeat the whole purpose of using them instead of heavier OP wads, and Cushion wads!
The problem with ML shotguns, which generally are Cylinder Bored, is that the heavy wads " bump" the back of the shot charge in the air shortly after the shot leaves the muzzle, causing the "Cue Ball Effect", and creating " Donut Hole " patterns. The heavier the wads, the long the wads travel with the shot down range. Its not unusual to see a wad actually penetrate paper at 25 yards!
Jim Rackham, a member here, came up with his simplified loading system, using only OS cards. Instead of glueing them together, he puts an off-center hole through each OS card, then aligns the cards so that the hole are not lined up in a row. This let air go through the holes and separate the cards as soon as they leave the muzzle, so that they drop away from the line of the shot as quickly as possible.
Jim lubes his load by putting a dab of lube between the 3rd and 4th cards over the powder. That puts the lube in a traditional " Behind-the-shot " location, the same that occurs when you use a pre-lubed cushion wad, or soak a cusion wad in oil, or moose milk( my former technique) or rub grease on the cushion wad.
I changed what he is doing by greasing a cleaning patch and putting it in the front of my loading jag when I run the final 2 OS cards down onto the shot. I wanted the barrel to be greased to help the shot slide, or slip, over the bore as its leaving the barrel, rather than rubbing against the barrel and leaving lead streaks behind, to disrupt and ruin subsequent patterns.
I took the idea from something I saw shooters doing with hot loaded, long barreled, target guns, where they wanted to have more lube in the barrel in front of the patched round ball so that the heavy powder charges would not burn up all the lube in the middle of their patches, and then begin to burn the patch. With more lube entering the patch as the PRB travels down the barrel, the patch is somewhat resupplied.
I tried this over a chronograph, and noted both a slight increase in velocity( shooting RB), and a significant lowering of the SDV. That in itself made lubing the barrel this way worth while. I have not yet tried this with shot loads, over a chronograph, because I forgot to take my shot cup forming stuff with me to the range the last time I was out and set up the chronograph-- CRS disease :cursing: :grin: !
The lead streaking seems to be stopped, and the patterns are showing more pellets in them, so I believe lubing the barrel In Front of the Shot, is working for me. I also feel much better with my shotgun in the field knowing its not going to rust in the Fall morning dampness because I have left the bore bare!
While you are experimenting with this kind of wad and lube arrangement( use Newspaper at 25 yards if you don't have wrapping or butcher paper for this task), you might see how adding Jiffy Brand Corn Meal muffin mix to the shot, dribbing and vibrating the meal into the shot cup, or the shot, helps your pattern. A member recently showed a much improved pattern he has worked up for turkey hunting using the mix as a filler. He is loading No. 5 or No. 6 shot- I don't recall now-- and the larger shot allows the filler to get down between the pellets. Grex, if you have it, or even PufLon, commercial synthetic fillers, can also be used, if you don't want to mess with Corn meal that is finely ground.
With bare shot, just push the 4 OS cards down the barrel with a short starter made to leave them below the muzzle far enough to permit the load of shot to be poured into the muzzle, with a little more room for the filler. Then slowly pour in the filler, tapping the side of the barrel to help it settle down between the pellets. When no more mix can be put in the shot, run the SHOT and the 4 OS cards down on the powder. Then follow with 2 more OS cards, and lube the barrel before shooting.
Is it slow? Yes, of course. But since when is loading a ML shotgun suppose to be a speed event?
If you are hunting dove, or quail, where you are likely to get birds up quickly, or have more birds fly in, SKIP the filler. These are close range shooting opportunities, where you WANT a wide pattern to help hit these fast flyers.
For late season Pheasants, and turkey, use the fillers. If there is an advantage to using an ML shotgun for hunting, it is that you can custom load it in the field for the birds, and shooting conditions you find that day.
Jim Rackham posted some very impressive pictures of his patterns back in 2006 when he introduced his " system " here, and has subsequently shown us pictures of his successful bird hunts in Upstate New York. He is shooting a Fowler, made by Mike Brooks, and has been quite successful shooting grouse in the woods with it. It became very clear that he had discovered how to end the donut hole patterns that cursed all of us, while finding a simplified way of carrying " Stuff " when we are hunting. Carrying ONLY OS cards, instead of OP wads, Cushion wads, AND OS cards does create less baggage to deal with in the field.
His discovery really is not much different than other shooters have made, except for his use of ONLY OS cards. I used to split my heavy, soaked cusion wads, and this also helped the wads fall away from the shot in the air faster, Other shooters have used styrofoam cushion wads. Others skip the cushion wads, and use only the thinner, and lighter OP wads. Others are using only Ox Yoke felt lubed wads, that are thin, and comparative lighter, as the lube has dried. Each has its merits and demerits.
A half inch thick styrofoam wad drops away from the shot quickly, and I see it used often in shotgun range match shooting, However, the damn stuff does not break down, and leaves a mess for years. The best you can say about the other techniques is that they are using up what we all bought , and have.( OP wads, and Cushion Wads) usually in quantities of 500 or 1,000! Even on a Trap range, it takes a long time to load and shoot 1,000 wads, not to mention the powder, and shot used! OS Cards are Cheaper! The wool felt wads, may or may not seal the bore as well as the OS cards. It still puts the lube behind the shot in the barrel, so the grease does nothing to prevent lead streaking in the barrel.
OH, I have had plastic residue build up in both my modern shotguns Including one gun that had chrome lined bores, and in my ML shotgun when I used the plastic shotcups in it. I was trying to get rid of the lead streaks that required me to spend time with lead solvents, and a bore brush after each session, by using the plastic cups, but got plastic to dig out instead. I did not consider it a fair exchange!( The chrome lined barrels make it easier to remove the plastic, but you still have to use a bore brush.) I tried using the plastic cups as is, and with an OP wad under them to protect the base of the cup from burning from the BP. I have NOT yet tried the plastic cups with lubing the barrel after seating the shot, and OS cards on top of the shot cup. Greasing the barrel MAY eliminate the plastic streaks, just as it seems to do the lead streaking.
Best wishes. :thumbsup:
