Wad size for .54 smoothbore

[tom deinek]

Got a chance to go turkey hunting & I have to use a sg instead of rifle. I have a smooth bore drop in barrel I've never used for my TC Hawken.

I think .62 = 20 ga; .73 = 12ga.but can't find an equivalency chart.

My barrel is a.54. What size/diameter wadding shall I try first?

thanx

 

[satx78247]

IF it was me, I'd try a .58 caliber wadding, as 14 gauge wads work BETTER in my 16 gauge than 16 gauge wads do.
That said, it has been my long experience that EACH smoothbore is "a law unto itself".
(Have you CAREFULLY measured the bore, as ML smoothies VARY quite a bit, even within the same "brand" of barrel??)

yours, satx

 

[Britsmoothy]

Get a leather punch, bet a 14mm one will do!
Just stamp them out all day from what ever you fancy....just get your wife's permission first though :redface:

B.

 

[roundball]

Got a chance to go turkey hunting & I have to use a sg instead of rifle. I have a smooth bore drop in barrel I've never used for my TC Hawken.

In my GM .54cal smoothbore drop-in barrels for my T/C Hawken I used 28ga wads. Oxyoke's wool wads and Circle Fly's lubed fiber wads.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I always recommend a wad .025 to .030 over actual bore size. I think 28 gauge wads should be a good fit for a 54.Simply because I use 530 round balls in my 28 gauge. :idunno:

 

[nwtradegun]

circle fly 28 ga. fiber wads from track of the wolf

 

[cynthialee]

circle fly 28 ga. fiber wads from track of the wolf

^^
That
They will be nice and snug.

 

[tom deinek]

Thanks everybody.

Postam Scriptam

Today's newspaper has an add for frozen turkey @ .59 per pound. lol

 

[Grandpa Ron]

You will have to measure the bore.

20 ga. is .620
26 ga. is .580
24 ga. is .540

While you push a 20 or 26 ga. Felt wad down a 28 ga. barrel you will have a hard time pushing a .080" or thicker nitro card down unless it is the correct bore diameter.

The standard load for a 28 ga. 55 to 60 grains and 5/8 to 3/4 oz. of shot.

Since you will be using a cylinder bored gun and a light for Turkey load. Pattern it at 25 yards with number 6 shot.

My personal Turkey gun is a 20 ga. Trade gun with 65 grains of powder pushing 1 1/4 oz. mixture of #6 and #7 1/2 shot 20 yards max. I use the standard 1/8 inch nitro card and 1/2" felt wad.

Good luck and let us know how you make out.

 

[hartek451]

yes, 14mm should be ideal for a .54.
I wanted to point out that 28 gauge is not .54, it is actually .55, and wads for it are .56. 28g in a .54 would be more highly compressed than in a actual 28g. Of course, that isn't saying they won't work...

Using the charts from circle fly and TOTW, and interpolating, wads for .54 should be .549 (14mm is .551, so closest)

My big problem is I don't know exactly what material to use. There seem to be as many opinions on that as there are people with opinions.
The basic gist I have gotten is,
1/8 over powder
1/2 cushion
1/16 over shot

Because I want a consistent source, not scrounging through the recycling bins for milk cartons, I'd like to use all felt for these, but I'm not sure what densities to get. Durofelt carries multiple weights..
.20, .26, .36, .50, .70, .80, and probably more.
I use .36 x 1/4 for revolvers.

So I know the over powder should be 'harder' than the cushion.. how 'hard' should the over shot be, compared to the other two?
I've been thinking of .50 for over powder, .36 for cushion.. or should I go .36 over powder and .26 cushion.. .50 is used in final edge sharpening for knives, so maybe too hard?

any thoughts?

 

[tenngun]

Any natural fifer can be made in to a wad. Hemp yarn teased apart, tow fiber, or shreaded wool, newspaper or paper bags ect. You can throw the fiber in to a bag and put on a beeswax/olive oil mix, or melted lard and let it cool. Break off pinchs and roll in to balls or cylinders just bigger then your bore. When rammed home give an exta tap to expand and seal the bore.
Commercial wads work great, and are none to cosly, however 'diy' wads bring you a touch with the past.

 

[tom deinek]

Thanks for the comment. Reminded me what a great time dog & I had turkey hunting. There's something good for the soul in getting up at 4:30 AM in April and waiting for the day to arrive, just you and your dog.

No animals nor fowl were injured in the production of my turkey hunting venture.

 

[JeffG]

"The basic gist I have gotten is,
1/8 over powder
1/2 cushion
1/16 over shot"

This is the formula I used. This combination works great! Circle fly from TOTW was all I needed. I dipped my cushion wads in my mix of melted beeswax and olive oil, and I keep them in wax paper in my bag. The adjustment of shot group is I the thickness of paper tube I wrap my shot in. :hatsoff:

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I have shot my .540” bore with hard card wads, 28 gauge felt wads, tow, shredded sisal rope, 24 gauge fiber, and even crammed a 20 gauge felt down the bore. They all work. The trick is to get and even pattern.

Finding the powder/wad/shot combination that gives an even pattern is dependent on the gun and load, this is true even with modern shotguns. The biggest problem you will find is holes in the pattern or a donut shaped pattern.

 

[hartek451]

The thing is I am going to order from durofelt (I need some more 1/4 for revolver wads anyway), so maybe I'll go with the .36 g/cm^3 'hard' for the over powder/shot and the .26 medium for the cushion..
I like to cut my own patches, wads, etc.. and I have a couple of 14mm punches, one is a regular hollow punch (for the hard) and other is a deep leather punch that should do the medium 1/2 well.

I use a moose milk on cloth patches for rifle, have shot 50 rnds in a day without a swab. Anyone think of why it wouldn't work to soak the cushion wad in that? if not, I can always use my revolver lube pill mix (beeswax, paraffin, and mineral oil)

tnx..

 

[Grandpa Ron]

When shooting muzzle loading skeet at the Nationals the most common 12 ga. load is; equal volumes of powder and shot, 1/8th inch card wad and a ½” felt or fiber wads that have been soaking in some sort of home brewed moose milk, usually a water soluble oil and water.

The soaked wad is used because you will be firing 16 shots per round and will easily shoot 100 shots before cleaning. Of course with a wet wad keeps the fouling soft between shots, and the card wad keeps the moose milk out of the powder long enough to shoot.

In a hunting situation you may not fire enough shots to worry about fouling and the wet wad might eventually soak though to the powder. So the idea of a greased or waxed wad would be good.

For PRB most use the same patch lube as for their rifle with or without a wad.

 

[brightboy]

Just adding flavor to an old post.

I have a .54 colerain American fowler that will accept modern 28g claybuster wads.

 

[WALT53]

Just adding flavor to an old post.

I have a .54 colerain American fowler that will accept modern 28g claybuster wads.

If your barrel measures .550 or close you a 9/16 well work just fine

 

[brightboy]

If your barrel measures .550 or close you a 9/16 well work just fine

I'll have to give it a shot! Haven't tried out making cards yet