Brown Bess Wads

[Mike Suri]

I'm sure somewhere this has already been covered but would someone please advise as to what size leather punch I would need to punch leather wads for my Pedersoli Brown Bess .75 cal? I just purchased a .735 round ball mold from Lyman now I want to punch my own leather wads. I thought of a 3/4 inch punch but that may be just to simple !
Thanks for your help !

 

[Rifleman1776]

Those Ped. BBs can vary in bore size. You must mic your bore to know what size you need. Easier, and maybe even cheaper, than punching your own would be to buy wads. Flintlocks, Inc. has trial packs to assure you get the best size for your firelock before buying a bunch.

 

[Mike Suri]

I will check them out ! Thank you

 

[Mike Suri]

Circle-Fly Wads recommends .790 punch but can't find one of them

 

[Mike Suri]

.790 just seems too large dia. ??

 

[curator]

I use 11 gauge wads from Circle Fly when loading wads in my Pedersoli Brown Bess. I use the same wads loading all-brass black powder shot shells so it is handy to have only one size. I tried 10 gauge wads and they were way too big to load easily.

 

[Mike Suri]

Thanks That would be .751 so a 3/4" cutter should work !

 

[Britsmoothy]

My Pedersoli Bess is .750" and i would like a little more than a 3/4" punch!

B.

 

[Toomuch51]

.790 just seems too large dia. ??

Wads will be a bit larger dia. than the bore so as to make a seal and not fall out of the barrel from their own weight, the weight of the powder or the weight of the shot.

 

[BrownBear]

.790 just seems too large dia. ??

Wads will be a bit larger dia. than the bore so as to make a seal and not fall out of the barrel from their own weight, the weight of the powder or the weight of the shot.

Agreed. If the wads are a tight fit, they'll also "scape" fouling from the previous shot as you seat them, helping cut down on fouling from the previous shot.

Have you considered making your own punch? My Ped Bess is an old one with the bore right at .750 and maybe a tad under. Had a metal-smart friend locate a hunk of thin wall stainless pipe for me, and I sharpened the edges of one end, mounted the other into a 2x2 oak block. Rap the oak with a wooden mallet, and it will even cut through 9-10 oz saddle skirting. In my particular Bess, that punch is just the right size.

You could make 3/4" i.d. heavy-wall pipe "larger" if you sharpened and tapered the inside first to get just the right diameter, then worked the outside to thin and sharpen. Shouldn't be a problem at all.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I use 11 gauge wads from Circle Fly when loading wads in my Pedersoli Brown Bess. I use the same wads loading all-brass black powder shot shells so it is handy to have only one size. I tried 10 gauge wads and they were way too big to load easily.

That's what mine uses also.

 

[Artificer]

I use 11 gauge wads from Circle Fly when loading wads in my Pedersoli Brown Bess. I use the same wads loading all-brass black powder shot shells so it is handy to have only one size. I tried 10 gauge wads and they were way too big to load easily.

In the 70's when I shot my old Brown Bess carbine in competition, I also used 11 gauge Wads and Cards and they fit my .753" bore very nicely.

Gus

 

[SgtErv]

Glad to have run across this thread. Using tow or little cartridges with shot in them didn't work out too well last hunting season. I'll tinker around with some 11 gauge wads

 

[Wes/Tex]

TOTW and others recommend a wad about 0.02" larger than bore diameter to compress enough to seal. The only way to be positive is to measure the bore and I'd recommend doing it twice just to be sure. TOTW is good about talking to you about any problem. They carry wads for all bore sizes from 4 gauge down below 20 gauge. Check their list and find the size closest to 0.02" over your bore size and you'll know what size wad or punch you'll need.

 

[spudnut]

I like dead leaves but not so dry they crumble