over powder felt wad for round ball
- Thread starter cdnrokon
- Start date
vagrantviking
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Southern Alberta
If I have a rifle that's burning through patches I've used a wad but haven't really tried it otherwise.
Yes....have done it on several occasions. Usually with a non-lubed wad over the powder charge, though. Followed by a greased patch and ball. Sometimes only a card wad or two....then the patched ball. If there was any performance or reliability gain from doing so, I haven't observed it. Aside from possibly preventing lube migration into the powder charge. Which could be an advantage if the rifle was left loaded over a period of days.
I use a lubed felt wad for my percussion revolvers (powder,ball,wad). I use a cardstock or veggie wad for my BPCR's with my own hand cast / lubed bullets. I plan on trying a card wad with a lube disk in some of my reloads this winter.
Retreever
Retreever
Third Rail
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
x2 I used simple unlubed cotton balls.
Third Rail: Great tip! Learn something new, every day. Been hunting and shooting with muzzle loaders for nearly 60 years. Had never thought of that, before. Simple and easy to use. A modern throwback to the old days, when shooters used tow wadding. Intend to try it out in the very near future. Many thanks!
Al
Al
Patched ball in rifles for me. I only use lubed felt over powder in my smoothbores loaded with shot, card on top. I never used and will never use tow ever in any guns. I would not like to lit a fire while hunting here in conifer forest.
well....I 'm into Cap N Ball revolvers, and here is what I have personally learned.
what I have to say only pertains to revolvers,...No experience with BP rifles.
I was Re- creating the "Tut hickock " 75 yard shot where hickock places a Ball into Tuts heart on main street.
It took 3 days to figure out the powder charge " and dial in the sights".
My findings- when I used the WAD over the powder, I got erratic groups. some 18 inches off.
I found using NO Patch, then pressing the ball in,..then a smear of Vaseline gave me great accuracy at long distance.
Any patch, dry or oiled , really killed my accuracy.
using Pietta 1858 rem 44
didnt get the heart, but close ! middle chest & Neck
PS. If you really want Great Long distance Accuracy get your balls custom made. Hornady are good, but Not Great.
as well....True Black powder didn't make the cut, I used BP substitue.
Going for a 100yard shot next summer, but needed to upgrade to a gun with "Real Sights"
waiting for my new Target Model to arrive.
what I have to say only pertains to revolvers,...No experience with BP rifles.
I was Re- creating the "Tut hickock " 75 yard shot where hickock places a Ball into Tuts heart on main street.
It took 3 days to figure out the powder charge " and dial in the sights".
My findings- when I used the WAD over the powder, I got erratic groups. some 18 inches off.
I found using NO Patch, then pressing the ball in,..then a smear of Vaseline gave me great accuracy at long distance.
Any patch, dry or oiled , really killed my accuracy.
using Pietta 1858 rem 44
didnt get the heart, but close ! middle chest & Neck
PS. If you really want Great Long distance Accuracy get your balls custom made. Hornady are good, but Not Great.
as well....True Black powder didn't make the cut, I used BP substitue.
Going for a 100yard shot next summer, but needed to upgrade to a gun with "Real Sights"
waiting for my new Target Model to arrive.
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lone ranger: A while back, Mike Beliveau(duelist1954) aired an interesting video on his youtube site, where he attempted to recreate the famous Hickock/Tutt shot. If you haven't seen it already, might be worth a look. Hickock evidently was a very fine shot.
LOL...watched it several times , as well watched a few different ones as well.
Once you get your gun....your sights,.your ball and powder charge dialed in .....it is doable. Takes time and trial & error.
The 1st day I tried....I just about gave up.
I had to "Pean" the barrel, as it was hitting right to far.
another VERY IMPORTANT bit of info....The ball must be pushed in the same amount every time. Too much or too little will affect accuracy as well. " there's a secret to it"
If your only shooting 25 yards, you wont need all this extra tweaking and you'll be fine.
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lone ranger: Kinda straying away from the original theme of this thread and toward c&b revolvers, but... you are absolutely right. Consistency, is the key. You're likely also familiar with the Longhunter series of percussion reloading videos( 3-part series). Those were real eye openers. Been shooting cap & ball for quite a few years and thought I had a relatively good handle on it. Until I watched the video series.
Since I'm the type of person who likes to learn something new whenever possible.....and hopefully improve from it...this series was of great help. Definitely improved overall revolver performance and accuracy.
So I guess its true....even us old dogs can learn a new trick or two every now and then,
For true "long range" revolver shooting...like the Hickock/Tutt shot.... consistency in each step of the loading procedure pays big dividends on the performance end. As well as confidence, on the shooter's behalf.
I guess Wild Bill already had that figured out!
Al
Since I'm the type of person who likes to learn something new whenever possible.....and hopefully improve from it...this series was of great help. Definitely improved overall revolver performance and accuracy.
So I guess its true....even us old dogs can learn a new trick or two every now and then,
For true "long range" revolver shooting...like the Hickock/Tutt shot.... consistency in each step of the loading procedure pays big dividends on the performance end. As well as confidence, on the shooter's behalf.
I guess Wild Bill already had that figured out!
Al
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Yes I agree.
Some of this info might be very helpful for BP rifle shooters as well.
If I had such a rifle,..I would defiantly put it to the test.
You could go from a Good close range shooter TO an Excellent long Range shooter.......who knows.
lone ranger: Along the same theme of improving muzzleloading rifle shooting: cap and ball has a new youtube video on long range rifle shooting. Very informative, as usual.
Definitely worth watching, for those bp shooters who wish to improve their rifle shooting skills. Regardless of the range.
Al
Definitely worth watching, for those bp shooters who wish to improve their rifle shooting skills. Regardless of the range.
Al
I use the WonderWads as well in .36 and .44. Works great.
This might interest: Some time ago, Mike Beliveau(duelist1954) aired a you tube video demonstrating how he made his own wonder wads. A cheap and easy alternative, to buying them. Might be worth a look. All the components, including felt wad material, are easily sourced.
Al
Al
I use wonder wads on my cap and ball revolvers, mostly to avoid having to smear lube on the front of the cylinders.
I'm shooting big targets up close mostly, though my Pietta '60 Armies do quite well on the black powder trail. The fouling catches up eventually though.
I'm shooting big targets up close mostly, though my Pietta '60 Armies do quite well on the black powder trail. The fouling catches up eventually though.
Tudenom: Like death and taxes, fouling always happens, eventually. That's why many c & b shooters(Including yourself, I expect) carry some Ballistol in their kit, somewhere. I usually carry a supply in a small refillable plastic squirt bottle and dribble where needed. Works fine. Mixed with water, also makes a great cleaner for after a shooting session.
Likely one of the best bp solvents I've ever used, is ordinary rubbing alcohol(isopropyl alcohol). One wet patch, followed by a clean patch or two, and bore is squeaky clean again. Use it in both muzzleloading rifles and c & b revolvers, for quick clean ups before reloading again. With revolvers....front of the cylinder gets wiped with a damp patch. Gets rid of all the fouling in a hurry. Every few cylinders, the barrel is pulled and gets the wet/dry patch treatment, too.
Every shooter has their own way of treating stubborn bp fouling. Works for me.
Al
Likely one of the best bp solvents I've ever used, is ordinary rubbing alcohol(isopropyl alcohol). One wet patch, followed by a clean patch or two, and bore is squeaky clean again. Use it in both muzzleloading rifles and c & b revolvers, for quick clean ups before reloading again. With revolvers....front of the cylinder gets wiped with a damp patch. Gets rid of all the fouling in a hurry. Every few cylinders, the barrel is pulled and gets the wet/dry patch treatment, too.
Every shooter has their own way of treating stubborn bp fouling. Works for me.
Al
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I don’t use felt wads, I’m partial to “filler” aka Durham wheat/ semolina. I’m usually using around 15grains of FFF with my 1858 and Rogers & Spencer at 25m. While at 50m I use about 17grains. The advantage of filler is you can ensure the ball is always seated near the top of the chamber.
Brian
Brian
