Felt wads

[mnbearbaiter]

Its that time to start patterning the 10 dbl Pedersoli for turkey season. In the past I've always used an op wad, 1/4" lubed fiber wad which I split off a 1/2" fiber wad, shot, and an os card. It shot way better unblown patterns after I split the wad in half than shooting it total length. Well I've read felt wads are the way to go as they are known to tighten patterns up a bit in their own right in a lot of guns and ordered 100 of them. My Pedersoli seems to shoot better with less wadding so I was wondering if anybody had insight or firsthand experience on loading felt wads? Its recommended to load 3 wads total per shot??? 2 op and 1 os...seems like a way to sell more wads? I was thinking using my standard op card, a lubed felt wad, shot, and an os card. I'll.be shooting homemade "swan shot" that came out really good after some trial and error and will prly stick with an ounce and a half of it and play around with wadding/powder charges to maximize patterns but any insight would be great fellas.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I use 1/4 inch leather over powder wads, or if I don't have any thick leather I'll "split" standard felt wads in half and use two halves or the equilavant of one felt wad. Why? because I believe that two thinner wads won't give me "doughnut" patterns. Instead of an over shot card I use a shot cartridge made of thee thickness of news papar, tied with kite string, any more thicknesses and I get a "slug effect" any less and the cartridges fall apart when loaded. :idunno:

 

[excess650]

I use a pair of 1/8" felt wads over the powder and an over shot card over the shot(12 bore). This will work in a single barrel, but might let the shot charge move in the 2nd barrel of a double. I've not seen any donut holes when loading this way.

 

[graybeard]

I dropped the thick wads altogether in my tulle. I use two thin cards over the powder and one over the shot. thick wads seem to blow the pattern on my gun. graybeard

 

[Billnpatti]

Like Ohio Ramrod, I have found that too much OP wad will cause the wad to go through the shot pattern and cause doughnut holes. You would think that the relative masses of the shot VS wad, the wad would not have enough retained velocity to go through the shot pattern....but it will. So, you need to have the least OP wad as you can or, as Ohio Ramrod said, use two thin OP wads. Using two thin OP wads will cause them to fly apart upon leaving the muzzle and not be able to effect the shot pattern. I have not tried Ohio Ramrod's cartridge in any of my shotguns but it sounds like a good idea. I know from personal experience with trying shot cartridges, mine acted like slugs. I used a different kind of paper than Ohio did so I guess that is why I did not have success with them. But, give his newspaper shot cartridge a try. You want a very tight shot pattern when hunting turkeys and if you can make Ohio's cartridge work in your gun, you may have something. Ask him for specific directions on making his cartridges. :hatsoff:

 

[majg1234]

I've tried a lot of things on my 20ga gun,settled in on OhioRamrods cartridges with felt wad over the powder and a over shot card over the cartridge.This makes for quick reloads too.For my 16ga which is jug choked,I just started working it up for turkey thus far 3 OS cards with a slight nip in them Over powder and one over shot have shown to be great!!!! 16-20 shot in the head and neck of a turkey target @ 30yrds

 

[RP3543]

A member ran an experiment with cork wads that that made an impressive difference in the pattern of his shotgun... http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showpost.php?post/1511037/

You may want to consider this option.

 

[hunts4deer]

Try searching this forum for the keywords Skychief special. Following his advice I tried the following with very good results.

Powder, two 1/8 inch felt wads, shot, a full 1/2 inch fiber wad well lubed with olive oil/beeswax - heavy on the olive oil. That's right - the big wad on top of the shot, not under.

 

[Historian]

Having a Pedersoli 10 I can relate my own experiences. First I use 9 gauge OP wads as you must seal the bore. I use 1/8 heavy leather scrap to punch out the over powder wad. 13/16 wad punch works great. Scrap leather is easy to come by. 1 is all you need as the leather will obturate and seal the bore better than felt, fiber or thin paper wads and is real easy to load. The leather is a lot more flexible. I then use 1 or 2 regular 10 ga. 1/4 inch lubed felt wad. Add shot and the over shot card is also a 9 ga. thin cardboard wad. Never had any problem with loads shifting. I mainly use the 2 felt wads to ease setback of the shot and provide at least some recoil relief as well as lubrication of the bore. You could most likely get by with 1. Patterns are great out to 40 yards. What ever you choose just have fun :wink:

 

[azmntman]

Try searching this forum for the keywords Skychief special. Following his advice I tried the following with very good results.

Powder, two 1/8 inch felt wads, shot, a full 1/2 inch fiber wad well lubed with olive oil/beeswax - heavy on the olive oil. That's right - the big wad on top of the shot, not under.

:metoo: