So, I have a delma I want to make a wad punch for my .32 for duro felt experimentation. Problem is I made one .345 but thru the bore scope it doesn’t appear to fill the groove corners. Has anyone else made one that is a tight fight that knows the diameter they made it to?
Wad punch diameter for .32 muzzleloader
- Thread starter Leadriver
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It has to be punched a few thousands larger than caliber to seal properly.
Some people file a little from inside of punch they were using and punch out
slightly larger wads.
Some people file a little from inside of punch they were using and punch out
slightly larger wads.
i can make my own, I tried going .015 over groove diameter but it doesn’t seal well. I guess I could try a .375 diameter but i am just trying to save machining time.
Why the need for a wad?
I tried them before and my groups got noticeably tighter. I also am trying to get less fouling and to protect the powder while hunting when it may be loaded for a few days. I tried .010 patches and they were getting burn holes and a few were shredded. I have 0.015 patches to try but haven’t gotten to the range yet. I want to try it both with and without to see if it makes any difference. I do believe the wad will also shield the ball from the explosion helping it maintain its shape and thus improve accuracy. I have found a few round balls from previous outings that my nephew dug up and some showed marks from the powder on the ball. It appears that the powder was shoved into the patch and read part of the ball upon ignition. As to how much this would effect accuracy I don’t know. I do know thoes little .32 call rounds balls are not hard to deform, even while loading if you have an overly tight ball/patch combination. I wouldn’t go to this extent with my .50 cal for deer, but when my quarry is squirrel, I’ll try anything to wring as much accuracy out of it that I can get.
That makes some sense. Any experiment to improve accuracy is worth trying. It will be interesting to see how it works since I have a 32 with a Douglas barrel. I haven't it shot it much lately but need to get back to it. A .311 ball and an .018 patch gives pretty good accuracy. I can't remember what "pretty good" is though.
Try using a single hole leather punch
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hanshi
Cannon
Long ago I bought a hollow ground set of punches from Harbor Freight and still use them. They're cheap but last a long time and work very well. Try using a .36 punched wad in the .32.
The 3/8" or 5/16" punch in the Harbor Freight set should make a suitable wad.
Woody Morgan
62 Cal.
5/16" is .313"
3/8" is .375"
How about a 9mm arch punch (.354") from McMaster-Carr.
Or as hanshi said, a .36 wad if you want to buy them vs making them.
wm
