28 gauge wad in a .54 smoothie

[JJohnson2023]

Does a 28 gauge plastic wad fit into a .54 smooth bore muzzleloader? Would anyone with 28 gauge plastic wads and a .54 smoothie help me with this. I'm thinking of tightening my .54 smoothies patterns with a 28 gauge wad. I don't want to buy a bag just to find they don't fit. Additionally, if the whole wad doesn't fit, what about the shot cup alone? I am aware of the issues with plastic fowling which may arise, I'm just curious.

 

[WALT53]

Does a 28 gauge plastic wad fit into a .54 smooth bore muzzleloader? Would anyone with 28 gauge plastic wads and a .54 smoothie help me with this. I'm thinking of tightening my .54 smoothies patterns with a 28 gauge wad. I don't want to buy a bag just to find they don't fit. Additionally, if the whole wad doesn't fit, what about the shot cup alone? I am aware of the issues with plastic fowling which may arise, I'm just curious.

Get in touch with Balistic products and ask them they sell em or make your own out of paper .

 

[Justin.P]

I was looking at Ballistic Products 28 gauge wads about a week ago. Some have the gas seal diameters listed. I think .545 is typical.
I don't recall if cup diameters were called out.

 

[Indy Durtdigger]

Does a 28 gauge plastic wad fit into a .54 smooth bore muzzleloader? Would anyone with 28 gauge plastic wads and a .54 smoothie help me with this. I'm thinking of tightening my .54 smoothies patterns with a 28 gauge wad. I don't want to buy a bag just to find they don't fit. Additionally, if the whole wad doesn't fit, what about the shot cup alone? I am aware of the issues with plastic fowling which may arise, I'm just curious.

Have you tried making paper shot cups to see if they would get the result your looking to achieve? There's a pretty good sticky at the top of this section on how to make them. Also the Skychiefs load thread is worth a look. Unorthodox but works for some really well.
Cheap, easy, and beats spending money on something that may not work or could be more of a headache that it's worth.

 

[Sparkitoff]

I have some plastic wads and they don’t fit a 28 bore

 

[JJohnson2023]

Have you tried making paper shot cups to see if they would get the result your looking to achieve? There's a pretty good sticky at the top of this section on how to make them. Also the Skychiefs load thread is worth a look. Unorthodox but works for some really well.
Cheap, easy, and beats spending money on something that may not work or could be more of a headache that it's worth.

I've gone paper shot cups but to save time I was thinking about the plastic wads. Its probably cheaper and less headache to use a dowel to shape some paper shot cups honestly

 

[JJohnson2023]

I have some plastic wads and they don’t fit a 28 bore

Are they 28 gauge wads? why wouldn't 28 gauge wads fit in a 28 bore? choke ?

 

[SDSmlf]

Does a 28 gauge plastic wad fit into a .54 smooth bore muzzleloader? Would anyone with 28 gauge plastic wads and a .54 smoothie help me with this. I'm thinking of tightening my .54 smoothies patterns with a 28 gauge wad. I don't want to buy a bag just to find they don't fit. Additionally, if the whole wad doesn't fit, what about the shot cup alone? I am aware of the issues with plastic fowling which may arise, I'm just curious.

Have you measured your bore, or are you going by what’s stamped on the barrel? Is your bore choked? Once you have confirmed the actual bore diameter of your gun, fractional and metric punches are available at little cost from a number of sources that you may want to experiment with. You may also want to contact a supplier like Mikes for their suggestions and input. I’ve talked to them and made a number of purchases from them in the past. Good resource to consider. Mikes Quality Black Powder Shotgun – Traveler’s Antiques and Trading

 

[Historian]

A 28ga modern cartridge shotgun is right about 0.55 caliber. I used to reload them. Ballistic Products and Precision Reloading are places to start. I however would strongly caution against putting plastic wads in a muzzleloader. Been there and it sucked. What exactly are you trying to hunt or target? Good luck to you.

 

[Sparkitoff]

Are they 28 gauge wads? why wouldn't 28 gauge wads fit in a 28 bore? choke ?

Yes they are. I have a SxS with no choke, but I cannot get the full wad into the bore. I haven't tried cutting off the base and squeezing the petal cup in, but it seems that might work.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

I have a 28 gauge smoothbore which is .54 caliber. I punch out wads from extra thick felt for my smoothbore. The felt compesses easily to start in the end of the bore then springs back tightly. That solves the dilemma of getting wad started and down onto the powder. I lube the edge of the wad before loading. That wad punch is a 9/16's punch which is .5625 diameter which is plenty tight for the 28 bore. The holes in the felt are for both my 28 gauge and my 12 gauge percussion SxS.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[JJohnson2023]

Have you measured your bore, or are you going by what’s stamped on the barrel? Is your bore choked? Once you have confirmed the actual bore diameter of your gun, fractional and metric punches are available at little cost from a number of sources that you may want to experiment with. You may also want to contact a supplier like Mikes for their suggestions and input. I’ve talked to them and made a number of purchases from them in the past. Good resource to consider. Mikes Quality Black Powder Shotgun – Traveler’s Antiques and Trading

it is a true .54, no choke

 

[JJohnson2023]

A 28ga modern cartridge shotgun is right about 0.55 caliber. I used to reload them. Ballistic Products and Precision Reloading are places to start. I however would strongly caution against putting plastic wads in a muzzleloader. Been there and it sucked. What exactly are you trying to hunt or target? Good luck to you.

What about if wadding was placed between the charge and the plastic wad? Would that mitigate melting and issues with plastic fowling

 

[Fatboyz]

I have a 28 gauge smoothbore which is .54 caliber. I punch out wads from extra thick felt for my smoothbore. The felt compesses easily to start in the end of the bore then springs back tightly. That solves the dilemma of getting wad started and down onto the powder. I lube the edge of the wad before loading. That wad punch is a 9/16's punch which is .5625 diameter which is plenty tight for the 28 bore. The holes in the felt are for both my 28 gauge and my 12 gauge percussion SxS.
Ohio Rusty ><>

Where do you get that thick felt?

 

[planefixer da50]

you can cut the piston off, shot cup should just slide down, cornmeal on top of powder will seal the heat from shotcup,no melting. I use 62gr. 3f, cornmeal,shotcup, 1 n 1/8 oz #6, olive oil soaked 1/2" fiber wad on top. great patterns. my 3 flinters .55 n one .56 t/c converted to flint,all put squirrels in pot at 35-40yds

 

[JJohnson2023]

you can cut the piston off, shot cup should just slide down, cornmeal on top of powder will seal the heat from shotcup,no melting. I use 62gr. 3f, cornmeal,shotcup, 1 n 1/8 oz #6, olive oil soaked 1/2" fiber wad on top. great patterns. my 3 flinters .55 n one .56 t/c converted to flint,all put squirrels in pot at 35-40yds

The best answer I've gotten, thank you

 

[Billy-by-gosh]

Does a 28 gauge plastic wad fit into a .54 smooth bore muzzleloader? Would anyone with 28 gauge plastic wads and a .54 smoothie help me with this. I'm thinking of tightening my .54 smoothies patterns with a 28 gauge wad. I don't want to buy a bag just to find they don't fit. Additionally, if the whole wad doesn't fit, what about the shot cup alone? I am aware of the issues with plastic fowling which may arise, I'm just curious.

For what it's worth:
it's been a long time since I used plastic shotcups, but I experimented and found the Federal brand were just a bit smaller and fit the bore; whereas the Winch. and Rem. brands would not quite fit.

 

[Ohio Rusty]

Where do you get that thick felt?

I have had those felt rounds for 20 years. They are actually punch outs from semi-truck gaskets. The same thick felt you can get as replacement soles for fly fishing boots. There are buffing wheels the knife makers use on an angle grinder that are made from thick felt also.
Ohio Rusty ><>

 

[Walkabout]

Maybe try 32 gauge wads, they're .526.

 

[Notchy Bob]

I can't answer the question directly, but I can tell you that a true 28 gauge bore would be .550". A backbored 28 gauge might be a little larger. Assuming the shot cups are sized for a true 28 guage, they might be a tight fit in a .54, but I have not tried them.

Notchy Bob