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OP and OS Cards and Wads; What to Lube?

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SgtErv

50 Cal.
Joined
Nov 30, 2015
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I am just now getting serious with smoothbores and their versatility. I had some halfhearted attempts last year at experimenting with tow and wadding and cartridges in my Brown Bess. None were highly successful; I could get on paper at 20 yards but nothing to be proud about.

Now I’m getting a little more serious about it in line with greater enthusiasm for hunting. I ordered some fiber wadding, OS Cards, and OP cards for an 11 guage. (I figured bigger and tight fitting would be better than smaller, loose fitting)

Which of these components do you all prefer to lubricate? They are all pretty tight fitting. I know the wadding will need some grease. Do you guys also lube the rest?

I’ll be using Mink oil tallow
 
SgtErv said:
I am just now getting serious with smoothbores and their versatility. I had some halfhearted attempts last year at experimenting with tow and wadding and cartridges in my Brown Bess. None were highly successful; I could get on paper at 20 yards but nothing to be proud about.

Now I’m getting a little more serious about it in line with greater enthusiasm for hunting. I ordered some fiber wadding, OS Cards, and OP cards for an 11 guage. (I figured bigger and tight fitting would be better than smaller, loose fitting)

Which of these components do you all prefer to lubricate? They are all pretty tight fitting. I know the wadding will need some grease. Do you guys also lube the rest?

I’ll be using Mink oil tallow

No need to use lube wad with every shot all you need is two 1/8 card wads over the powder and one 1.1/16 wad over the shot
Feltwad
 
The plan was for:

powder > OP card (1/8”) > fiber wad (1 1/8”) shot > OS card (1/8”)

Powder > 2 OP cards > shot > wad
Sounds way more simple.

Thanks. Figure there’s a bunch of ways to skin this cat; all I need is functional and simple. I always keep in mind I’ll be doing this with cold fingers.
 
SgtErv said:
The plan was for:

powder > OP card (1/8”) > fiber wad (1 1/8”) shot > OS card (1/8”)

Powder > 2 OP cards > shot > wad
Sounds way more simple.

Thanks. Figure there’s a bunch of ways to skin this cat; all I need is functional and simple. I always keep in mind I’ll be doing this with cold fingers.
If you do use a Fibre or felt wad you need a card wad between it and the shot .If not the shot embeds in the fibre wad and blows the pattern of leaves the muzzle like a bullet
Feltwad
 
Feltwad said:
SgtErv said:
The plan was for:

powder > OP card (1/8”) > fiber wad (1 1/8”) shot > OS card (1/8”)

Powder > 2 OP cards > shot > wad
Sounds way more simple.

Thanks. Figure there’s a bunch of ways to skin this cat; all I need is functional and simple. I always keep in mind I’ll be doing this with cold fingers.
If you do use a Fibre or felt wad you need a card wad between it and the shot .If not the shot embeds in the fibre wad and blows the pattern of leaves the muzzle like a bullet
Feltwad


Everybody has their own notion of how it should be done. :idunno: Wat works for one might not for someone else.
I use powder>card>fiber wad>shot>op card. My fiber wad is moistened (not soaked) with a light water/soap mix which I keep in a zip lock plastic baggie, just like the original mountain men did. :wink:
Try different combos and find which works best for you.
 
Rifleman1776 said:
Feltwad said:
SgtErv said:
The plan was for:

powder > OP card (1/8”) > fiber wad (1 1/8”) shot > OS card (1/8”)

Powder > 2 OP cards > shot > wad
Sounds way more simple.

Thanks. Figure there’s a bunch of ways to skin this cat; all I need is functional and simple. I always keep in mind I’ll be doing this with cold fingers.
If you do use a Fibre or felt wad you need a card wad between it and the shot .If not the shot embeds in the fibre wad and blows the pattern of leaves the muzzle like a bullet
Feltwad


Everybody has their own notion of how it should be done. :idunno: Wat works for one might not for someone else.
I use powder>card>fiber wad>shot>op card. My fiber wad is moistened (not soaked) with a light water/soap mix which I keep in a zip lock plastic baggie, just like the original mountain men did. :wink:
Try different combos and find which works best for you.
I prefer a card wad between the fibre wad and the shot too reduce A blown pattern and a shot embedded fibre wad .
Feltwad
 
I just looked up Skychief’s “backwards” load. It is certainly worth a try. Spence’s results with it look quite promising
 
I was wondering if anyone used beeswax, and then if so, if it made the fouling a little thicker and harder to clean.
 
Just the opposite.

If you load on a fired barrel it melts a little and squeegies the fouling along in the wad.

And when fired it squishes the wax out to lay down a lube.

I never tried pure beeswax on the wads - but that is all I use to dip the ball in my paper-wrapped round balls in the same "shotgun" for deer hunting. I don't wipe between shots.
 
I am admittedly a novice when it comes to smooth bore guns. That being said, I've had very good luck with my 54 cal. smooth bore and shot. My load is as follows.

70 grains 1 1/2 f Swiss
1/4" felt wad lubed on one side with my own lube (beeswax n stuff)
ball of tow
1 oz. #7 1/2 shot
ball of tow

Bunny buster load to about 30 yards, a bit less in brush.
I do get a fair amount of leading. May have to try a paper shot cup some day.
 
I wonder if the size of the shot mkes any difference with leading? I ask because the bag of 7 1/2 shot that I have is nearly blackened inside, and gets my hands dirty. The #4 shot is clean, though.
 
as said, everyone finds their own best method. i use either cards or leather-same ones op and os, i pop them in my mouth then load. ive used ox-yolk wonder wads too, they worked ok, didnt seem to seal all that great but E Z loading....
 
I doubt that shot size has much effect on leading. Thinking back to the days we hunted and shot clays with shells that had no shot cup, all I remember for certain is working to get the lead removed from our shotguns no matter what we were shooting. From #4 to #9, we always had difficulty getting the bores really clean.
 
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