wadding

[JohnN]

I,m sure this has been covered before but was wondering what everyone uses for wadding in their smoothbore when you have the time to "casually" load. Most interested in what would have been used in the mid 18th century before pre-made wads came about. I know tow was used by some. I have cut out wool(heavy clothing weight) and put them in hot wax and am now thinking of doubling up on them. I have both a .62 and a .69.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Tow, brown paper(softened), spanish moss, pasteboard, leather, old hat.

 

[Ron LaClair]

A friend of mine who writes a regular Black Powder column in "Woods And Waters News" uses dry oak leaves. He's used grass and other leaves also and claims it was commonly used as wadding in smoothbore guns back when.

 

[bpd303]

Wasp nest paper wadded up.

 

[Many Klatch]

I tried loading shot over green leaves stripped from weeds once when I was in a pinch. Talk about a nasty mess inside my barrel. It took me a week to get that mess out.

Many Klatch

 

[MikeEasy]

We've a bad drought in Texas and I'd be afraid to try dry oak leaves for fear it might start a fire! Something commonly available but nonflammable would be nice.

 

[nkbj]

Press paper egg carton dipped in melted whatever.

 

[Many Klatch]

Leather wads cut from old saddles was popular. All you need is a stirrup punch of appropriate size and some old leather or old hats.

Many Klatch

 

[Lonegun1894]

I cut about a 6" lenght of jute twine and fray it to make a ball, then use the ball as a wad. This works fine, but I do usually use cards punched out of cardboard in conjunction with this twine.

 

[Oudoceus]

I have a modern wad punch and an antique 16 mm punch that I use for my 20 ga. I've used wool felt (Durofelt), leather, and milk cartons to make wads and cards. What's good about these smooth bores is that you can use just about anything within reason. You can always find something around the house or in the woods that will work. It may not be your preferred method but it will work in a pinch. If possible, it's a good idea to use some sort of wax or grease on your wads not only to keep the fouling soft but to reduce the fire hazard if using something flammable. Just my two cents.......

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use leather wads cut from leather scraps with punches I make myself.And put the shot in paper shot cartridges made by wrapping news paper around dowel rods and tieing it off with cotton string. :idunno:

 

[gunnar26]

Hey Ohio, how far out does the cup drop off from the shot? And, what are your patterns like?

 

[Billnpatti]

From what I have been able to discover, tow and wasp nest were probably the most common wadding but many different things were used depending on what was available where the shooter lived or was doing his shooting. I am sure that such things as grass or leaves were used on occasion but were most likely not as common as tow or wasp nest. Today, we have much better things to use that don't present the fire hazard that more H/C wadding may have. Today you will be best served by lubed felt wadding for OP wads and cardboard OS cards cut from poster board. You can buy a great custom made punch from Ohio Ramrod here on our forum (Donald Weimer, [email protected]). They are dandies and at a really great price. Good all wool felt is available from Duro-Felt. They can be found online (www.durofelt.com). To make the wads. just put your favorite lube on the felt sheets, put them into the microwave for a few seconds to melt the lube into the felt, allow them to cool and punch out your wads.

 

[Coot]

There are 18th c references to wads made from "an old saddle piece" which most likely refers to a felt saddle pad - you can wear out a bunch of saddle pads long before you can wear out a saddle - my wife's side saddle is over 100 years old & still fully functional. I would guess that the wool felt pads might have run about 1/4" thick which would cut into a nice wad.

 

[George]

I've been looking for original references to the use of wasp/hornet nest as wadding for quite a few years, have never found a single one. Does anyone have one?

Spence

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Late 19th century reference posted by a kind fellow on americanlongrifles forum. Earliest reference to date.....to my knowledge.

mid-1890s in the article "A Turkey Hunt" by David Dodge in the Outing magazine. Published in 1895


"Matt had his own notions about loading a gun and believed that his method was the only sure one for turkey. The charges had to be measured with extreme nicety, a certain sized shot unmixed with any others, and hornet's-nest wadding had to be used. The last wad had always to be rammed till the ramrod had bounced out of the barrel seven times."

The article is available online here: http://archive.org/details/outing27newy (page 231”“232).

 

[nwtradegun]

i ue hornet nest. it is fire proof. u can find them on ebay. one small one should last a season and go for 12- 15 buckskins.

 

[Grandpa Ron]

I find a length of sisal rope works well.

For my 28 ga I cut 1 1/4" lengths; they carry well in the pouch and when I need wadding they are easy to pull apart and stuff down the barrel.

 

[George]

mid-1890s in the article "A Turkey Hunt" by David Dodge in the Outing magazine. Published in 1895

Thanks, Capt. Jas., one for the file. A long way from my 18th-century period of interest, but a solid reference.

An interesting article, their turkey hunting maneuvers would be familiar to modern hunters.

Spence

 

[George]

i ue hornet nest. it is fire proof.

It doesn't burn up when you fire the gun, but it will burn like paper if you put a match to it.



Spence