Wad or grease?

[svenskenH]

Im just wondering why some people when shooting revolvers uses the "wonder wads"? what is the "best" really?

 

[azmntman]

I believe it is mainly to protect against chain fires w/o greasing the cylinder after loading. Also to increase power and/or keep it clean? I have some in but have yet to use em.

 

[necchi]

I started using them for a few reasons,
* The dreaded "chain fire" everyone talks about but only a few have seen.
* To help move the ball forward a bit.
* To lube the barrel/soften fouling.

"Best" is always subject to each shooter. Because we all bring our own human variables to the load regime what works best for each person may not be best for the next,, :idunno:

 

[pargent]

Perhaps I can help ,
I find that with the wads I get a cleaner gun during a match and at cleaning time at the end of the day , I might also add that I put a small amount of grease over the ball as well . The only reason for this is to conform to some ranges rules and it is not worth the effort of argueing a technical point with people who are technicaly challenged .(it is the tight fit of the ball into the chamber that is the fire seal at the front of the cyclinder anything else is to lube the ball and to keep fowling some what soft )
I do shoot C/B revolvers a lot and only Colt clones .( around 500 rounds a month )

 

[dikman]

Exactly right, Phil. If the ball is the correct size for the revolver then it will provide the seal in the chamber, any grease applied over the ball is irrelevant from a chain fire point-of-view. For some reason many people can't seem to grasp this simple concept!
I use .451 in my Uberti, and they don't shave lead, but I loaded one and then knocked it out to see what was happening - there was a pronounced flat band around the circumference of the ball, indicating it was sealing tightly against the walls of the chamber.

As you also point out, any lube applied over the ball is only there to provide a means of keeping the fouling soft. I use wax pills over the powder to do the same thing.

In answer to the original question, there is no "best", it's a matter of what works for the particular individual.

 

[swathdiver]

I shot a Remington last year mostly by lubing over the balls and no wads. My cylinder pin has been cut about 1/5 of the way through which curiously didn't happen when I used wads.

After doing an extensive battery of accuracy tests, my sixgun LOVES wads, the groups are under an inch at 25 feet with a wad on top of 35 grains of powder.

As for the wads themselves, we make 'em from Durofelt and Ohio Ramrod punches which are then lubricated with our super secret lube recipe. :wink:

 

[nkbj]

Saw my brother's 1851 frame .44 chain fire in the 1970's because the grease in front of the balls was forgotten. And, yep, the balls were the correct size. Yall do what experience dictates and I will too.

 

[smoothshooter]

Forget the grease over the chambers. Makes a bigger mess and does nothing to prevent chain fires. Buy some bulk felt 1/8" or so thick from Duro Felt in Little Rock, Arkansas, a punch, and make your own wads. Mix up some lube using 1 part beeswax to 3 or 4 parts olive oil, heat up the lube mix on the stove, dip the wads with a pair of tweezers, and save yourself a lot of money if you shoot more than a few shots a year. This same grease works great on the cylinder pin. I shoot Colt clones, and have gotten as many as 96 shots without having to remove the cylinder for cleaning. Run a wet patch down the bore every 18 to 30 shots to maintain best accuracy if you feel the need. You don't need to remove the barrel of Colt - types to do this, and shouldn't take more than a few seconds to do.

 

[BullRunBear]

Can't speak to best but I use homemade lubed wads. They aren't temperature sensitive, take up room in the chamber, are quick and easy to load, and do a good job keeping the chambers and barrel usable. I use the same wads in my BP 45 Colt cartridges with good results. I found the grease over the chamber mouth to be very messy and no better than the wads for lube and clean up.

I've been shooting C&B revolvers for decades and never had a chain fire but always make sure the round ball shaves a ring and the caps fit well. Just my experience.

Jeff

 

[smoothshooter]

Actually, no lube and no wads work OK too. It seems many users of percussion revolvers in the old days omitted grease and wads in the loading process. But cylinder rotation is going to get pretty tight after 2 or 3 cylinders full. Which was a LOT of shooting, actually, when people carried these things for serious business and recreational shooting was rare.

 

[nkbj]

I'm beginning to think that the taper ream used on so many revolvers is part of what prevents flash over.

 

[Mike 56]

I like to shoot my revolvers with the balls as close to naked as possible. If you shoot with just powder and balls your gun will foul quickly. My compromise is i make my wads out old wool hats the felt is thin. I lube the wads with olive oil. I also put a ring of crisco around the balls using a childs medicine syringe. When all is right after firing your revolver you have very little fouling in your barrel. To me cap and ball revolvers don't shoot the same with a lot of grease or a lot of fillers in the chambers.

 

[Billnpatti]

I use home made lubricated wads in my revolver. I don't know why. :hmm: That's just the way the guy who taught me about cap and ball revolvers did it. I also put just a dab of grease over the ball, not so much to prevent chain fires but more to lubricate the bore when I shoot......I guess. That's just the way he did it and that is what I have done ever since. Been doing it that way for years. It works so I never saw a reason to change anything. I expect that is the way I will always do it. No reason to change now. :idunno:

 

[cynthialee]

Sometimes I will skip the traditional and just put a small drop of 10w30 on top of the balls after they are seated in the chambers.
Yep, I know all about petrol products and black powder. Not much of a worry when used sparingly as an over ball lubricant. The rest of the stuff in the chamber (cornmeal and a wad) seems to clean it out on the way out the barrel.
I was told it helps prevent chain fire and is less messy than a big smear of BB or other grease like product.

 

[swathdiver]

dip the wads with a pair of tweezers,

There's a quicker way to do this friend. Lay your sheet of durofelt in a cookie sheet and pour your melted recipe over it, with the cookie sheet on the stove at low heat. This will get the lube down into the felt and evenly spread, then let it cool to room temperature. Then punch them out.

 

[swathdiver]

The editor timed out while I was editing! :idunno:

Chain fires occur due to ill fitted caps and improperly sized balls. Shaving a lead ring 3/4 the way around is still not sealed. Just think of the submarine sailor looking at a leaky watertight door.

I do not believe there is a correlation between lubricating the chambers and cylinder pin fouling. How would that work?

With a proper recipe one can grease over the balls and not make a mess. Mine holds up to Florida summers, holds for each chamber and goes on with a plastic knife.

Ohh, my wife gave me a little 6x9 cookie sheet. This I lube the durofelt in, cutting it to size and placing it inside the warmed cookie sheet to evenly disperse the lubricant after pouring it in. This pan also doubles for pan lubing conicals, lead casting and doesn't take up a lot of space.

 

[pargent]

:thumbsup:

 

[dikman]

Yep. If the ball is being re-shaped so it conforms to the shape of the chamber then there is no way the powder can be ignited from the front, as the chamber/ball form an interference fit. Which is why the balls must be made from pure lead. I accidentally cast some from range scrap once (somehow) - Brinnel Hardness of 15, compared to 5 for pure lead - and the ball got just past the rim of the chamber and jammed solid!! The ram lever wasn't strong enough to push the ball in. Not good.

Oh, I use wax pills over the powder (works for me).

 

[jthom1898]

I use lubed over powder wads. gets the ball closer to forcing cone. helps with fouling also. at least in my limited experience.

 

[crockett]

Well I'll put in my 2 cents. I used Crisco for years. I always carried a terry cloth towel to wipe off my hands but still, after a while it seems like you have Crisco all over your revolver flask, bullet bags, cap tin, etc. The wads, the only reason a use them is that they eliminate all the greasy fingers, etc.
I've punch out my own felt wads and bought the commercial types, both work okay.