wad ideas

[Billnpatti]

The fire concerns expressed by many on this thread are quite reasonable. When using natural fibers as wadding in places where it is dry and there is a chance of starting a grass fire, one needs to take special precautions when using these natural wadding materials. One way to reduce the possibility of fire is to soak the natural wadding material in a borax solution and then letting it dry. Borax has been used as a fire retardant for a long time. Borax had been mined for many, many years and was available back in the day. Think of "Twenty Mule Team Borax". Borax will not hurt your gun. Most of it will have been absorbed into the fibers. Women have been putting it into their washing machines for years with no ill effects on the metal parts of the machines. If you are uncomfortable with using Borax in your gun, simply wipe the bore between shots with a damp patch. Of course, you will be cleaning your gun when you have finished shooting for the day anyway so there should be no concern with the use of Borax. Besides, because of its cleaning action, it will likely help keep fouling down and make cleaning easier.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

:thumbsup:

 

[Wes/Tex]

What the heck...I've used a han d fullof clover before. Not dried and shaped but grabbed from the ground and stuffed right in. I'm beginning to think most anything leafy or fibrous might just work. :thumbsup:

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

I'm beginning to think most anything leafy or fibrous might just work. :thumbsup:

kinda sparse round these parts........

 

[Britsmoothy]

I'm beginning to think most anything leafy or fibrous might just work. :thumbsup:

kinda sparse round these parts........

Loads of potential :hatsoff:

 

[Rifleman1776]

The wads I use grow inside plastic bags that I keep in shady areas on a shelf in my shop. :grin:

 

[coloradoclyde]

For me that's half the fun of being in the woods finding suitable tinders and wadding from the surrounding landscape.

 

[Jax]

Have used many materials for wadding over my 25 yrs. hunting with smoothbores...from sedge grasses to Wasp Hive....it all works down the tube.

 

[Billnpatti]

But this is Texas. All that you see either has thorns on it or it stings or bites. A man could reach down to grab a handful of something to stuff in his muzzleloader and end up with a handful of thorns and a disagreeable rattlesnake that has absolutely no intention of allowing you to stuff him in your shotgun. Ya, gotta be tough to be a Texan. :haha: :thumbsup:

 

[Billnpatti]

Is the other half of the fun stomping out the resultant grass fires? :rotf: Just yankin' your chain a bit. Use whatever works for you and provides entertainment in the process. After all, this muzzleloading game is all about having fun. :thumbsup:

 

[azmntman]

HEAD FIRST and they will make a nice seal....rattle can then be used as hard tac like snack. After all texans ARE tough! Photo's please.

 

[Patocazador]

That juniper/cedar tree bark is where I would start.

 

[Billnpatti]

Go back to the photo posted by apprentice builder. Erase everything that doesn't have thorns but leave the cedar. Then add rocks Prickly Pear cactus and a nice fat rattlesnake and there you have it....Central Texas. Oh, I guess you could throw in a few scorpions if you wished to sweeten it up just a bit.

Actually, I love the taste of the Prickly Pear Tunas (the fruit on the Prickly pear cactus) and rattle snake is pretty tasty. The rattles are a bit crunchy but not bad but I have found that you have got to get a good hold on one when you are eating him. They are real squirmy. :rotf:

 

[Orthod]

... our particular area has a fairly harsh winter climate with freezing temps up to 3 weeks straight.

Please. We had below zereo for that length. I can't wait to get to the range on a day my fingers don't freeze or have to wade through hip deep snow to the targets.

 

[coloradoclyde]

Funny :rotf: where I live you only have to worry about starting a fire 2 weeks a year one in the spring and one in the fall. so much snow and ice you couldn't start a fire with gasoline right now.

 

[coloradoclyde]

... our particular area has a fairly harsh winter climate with freezing temps up to 3 weeks straight.

Please. We had below zereo for that length. I can't wait to get to the range on a day my fingers don't freeze or have to wade through hip deep snow to the targets.

And how! I went to go shoot one day and had to plow a path/shooting lane to the target just to see it. After getting the plow stuck I went back in the house where it wasn't 10 below.

This time of year when the mercury hits freezing ..that's T shirt weather.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

... our particular area has a fairly harsh winter climate with freezing temps up to 3 weeks straight.

Please. We had below zereo for that length. I can't wait to get to the range on a day my fingers don't freeze or have to wade through hip deep snow to the targets.

I spent a couple years in Wisconsin, Prairie du Chien to be exact, I know how the winters are. You choose to stay and thats your choice, I know better.

:blah:

We had -20 this year and temps that stayed below freezing for 3 weeks straight, compared to Wisconsin not that bad, compared to the Victorville CA. area (another high desert where I was raised) it is extreme.

The point I was making was that cactus does not grow where the temps freeze hard.

 

[flahipneck]

Fixin to try spanish moss and magnolia leaves.

 

[ApprenticeBuilder]

That juniper/cedar tree bark is where I would start.

:thumbsup:
I will do some trials with it and see how it goes.

 

[George]

I will do some trials with it and see how it goes.

I've checked cedar bark out very thoroughly for both shot and ball, and it works very well, indeed. I've taken deer, turkey, squirrel, rabbit and dove with it using my 20 gauge smoothbore. Like everything else about these guns, there is a learning curve, but it's good stuff.

Spence