Crumpled old books sheets for wadding?

Runewolf1973 · Apr 21, 2020

I was trying to think of a more readily available, convenient way of carrying around a supply of wadding for my smoothbore. I thought well why don't I just get myself an old book and tear out and crumple up the sheets as needed for use as wadding? It already comes in a nice, convenient, bound liitle package. I'm curious if historically they would have used the occasional book sheet to wad their guns? It seems reasonable to think they would have done this under certain circumstances, but I don't know... Easier to find and less trouble to obtain than wasp nests or tow for me anyways. Whaddya figure?

What else would some illiterate 18th century frontiersman do with an old book he found? Gun wadding perhaps? :dunno:

Runewolf1973 · Apr 21, 2020

Btw...I was not insinuating that 18th century frontiersmen were illiterate in general, though some probably were.

Yewbender · Apr 21, 2020

how about he use the crumbled up paper to help start a fire or toilet paper!

Runewolf1973 · Apr 21, 2020

Yewbender said:
how about he use the crumbled up paper to help start a fire or toilet paper!

Well that would work too!

tenngun · Apr 22, 2020

One company that I’ve seen sells period newspaper for making cartridges with, to get a good look.
Books were expensive back then and paper in books was rag paper and recyclable.
Most books that one might find on the frontier would be the Bible, or religious works. Cutting up such was bad luck. Should you have secular works like Gulliver's travels or Shakespeare or the Iliad, and know how to read you would be loath to cut it up.
Maybe an illiterate might get a book and cut it up, but as said they were valuable. You might want to trade it off.
Back then ain’t today. Paper makes a handy wad. A cheap paperback picked up at yard sale will give you shooting for a bit. And books did get ruined back then. If a man would be loath to tear up a book, he would also be loath to discarding something he could find use for.

Treestalker · Apr 22, 2020

We have found brown paper bag material to work well in ML shotguns, but don't know how historically correct it would be. It doesn't seem to be as flammable as rag book paper.

toot · Apr 22, 2020

years ago I would use brown KRAFT paper bags the kind you got in the store be fore the advent of one time plastic bags. over powder and over shot or round ball. now I use paper hornets nest, inside comb and all even the PEAUPA / BABIES that didn't make it and all.

Leadball loader · Apr 22, 2020

toot said:
years ago I would use brown KRAFT paper bags the kind you got in the store be fore the advent of one time plastic bags. over powder and over shot or round ball. now I use paper hornets nest, inside comb and all even the PEAUPA / BABIES that didn't make it and all.

I use wasp nest when I can get it. I feel more comfortable about the fire retardant wadding.
When I want to conserve my supply I use borax treated news paper to mimic the wasp nest materials. This is what I use for my target shooting and hunting loads.
we shoot a lot more frequently than most 18th century shooters did I think. Our resources are greater and more easily accessible.
Shooting close to the same as those living in the 18th century is about the best I can do.
LBL

Runewolf1973 · Apr 22, 2020

That's good to kmow. I was wondering if maybe books were different back then and perhaps scarcer/more valuable or tradeworthy.

sawyer04 · Apr 22, 2020

The old sears and roebuck used to suffice in the out house, man those slick picture pages didn't do much good, but if that is all you had, they carefully worked.
Wadding book pages for loads is a smite fire hazard, isn't it? In this day and age we don't shoot nearly as much as they did in the 18th century. I even wonder if the rendezvous had that much shooting. Doesn't make too much sense to blow a years worth of trade powder and lead, unless it very lucrative. I bet more knife throwing, tomahawk throwing, and archery was done more than shooting, even wrestling, and boozing it up.

Griz44Mag · Apr 22, 2020

The previous year Humana medical users manual is excellent wadding material. Paper is thin and slightly darked like newsprint paper.
I tear a few pages out on every trip I take with my smoothies.

toot · Jun 3, 2020

Runewolf1973 said:
I was trying to think of a more readily available, convenient way of carrying around a supply of wadding for my smoothbore. I thought well why don't I just get myself an old book and tear out and crumple up the sheets as needed for use as wadding? It already comes in a nice, convenient, bound liitle package. I'm curious if historically they would have used the occasional book sheet to wad their guns? It seems reasonable to think they would have done this under certain circumstances, but I don't know... Easier to find and less trouble to obtain than wasp nests or tow for me anyways. Whaddya figure?

What else would some illiterate 18th century frontiersman do with an old book he found? Gun wadding perhaps?

maybe just maybe he took it to the PRIVEY / OUT HOUSE ????? and used it as a short roll and the SEARS CATALOGE was the giant roll??

toot · Jun 3, 2020

sawyer04 said:
The old sears and roebuck used to suffice in the out house, man those slick picture pages didn't do much good, but if that is all you had, they carefully worked.
Wadding book pages for loads is a smite fire hazard, isn't it? In this day and age we don't shoot nearly as much as they did in the 18th century. I even wonder if the rendezvous had that much shooting. Doesn't make too much sense to blow a years worth of trade powder and lead, unless it very lucrative. I bet more knife throwing, tomahawk throwing, and archery was done more than shooting, even wrestling, and boozing it up.

it was better than using WAX PAPER !!!

toot · Jun 3, 2020

Treestalker said:
We have found brown paper bag material to work well in ML shotguns, but don't know how historically correct it would be. It doesn't seem to be as flammable as rag book paper.

well it Shure comes from a tree!!

toot · Jun 3, 2020

Leadball loader said:
I use wasp nest when I can get it. I feel more comfortable about the fire retardant wadding.
When I want to conserve my supply I use borax treated news paper to mimic the wasp nest materials. This is what I use for my target shooting and hunting loads.
we shoot a lot more frequently than most 18th century shooters did I think. Our resources are greater and more easily accessible.
Shooting close to the same as those living in the 18th century is about the best I can do.
LBL

WASP NEST is naturally fire retardant / resistant and will not set the woods a fire that is one reason that the old timers used it, and because of availably the other.

Heyyou48307 · Jun 3, 2020

Found a bunch of cheap books by a failed presidential candidate to use ,but wound up using em for tp

toot · Jun 4, 2020

Heyyou48307, WOW! , that is just about the greatest comeback / reply that I have heard of for using political books . I am still laughing, KUDDOS to you.

rednexx · Jun 4, 2020

As has been previously stated by other people here and liked a wasp or hornet nest was used often, back when he was alive and it was possible to purchase them V M Starr had some wads for multiple gauges, not sure what they were made of. I bought 5000 of them many years ago and I ain't run out yet, once in a while I see old Alcan or Herter fiber wads available at certain sites or in thrift/junk shops. I don't know if it was ever used back years ago, but seems a person might be able to take a seasoned/ dried corn cob and make a wad out of the pith/center of one could be cut to the correct diameter using a short piece of pipe for what ever size you might require. Also over shot wads can be made from egg cartons.

Irishmusket · Jun 13, 2020

rednexx said:
As has been previously stated by other people here and liked a wasp or hornet nest was used often, back when he was alive and it was possible to purchase them V M Starr had some wads for multiple gauges, not sure what they were made of. I bought 5000 of them many years ago and I ain't run out yet, once in a while I see old Alcan or Herter fiber wads available at certain sites or in thrift/junk shops. I don't know if it was ever used back years ago, but seems a person might be able to take a seasoned/ dried corn cob and make a wad out of the pith/center of one could be cut to the correct diameter using a short piece of pipe for what ever size you might require. Also over shot wads can be made from egg cartons.

Irishmusket · Jun 13, 2020

Fiber wads that we see in the late 19 century Did not exsist in most of the muzzle loading era.Toe straw grass cloth Wooden plugs 17th & 18 th century were common some times leather and paper. Paper however was scarce in the 17th and early 18th century .The 19 th century and industrial age We see Felt wads composit wads card board and paper wads etc were common from the 1860s to present I have been shooting and hunting exclusively with smooth bore muskets for well over 50 years .I use toe or paper for wadding or green grass roll it in ball ram down on the charge I have excellent results doing this with my matchlock musket .

Crumpled old books sheets for wadding?

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