Cardboard disks/wads in Muzzle Loaders.

A

aussiemaletuber

Inactive
I had one meeting with an ex-Sydney BP Gunshop owner (when I was new to muzzleloading - on the farm) and he cut me some card board discs to place after the charge and ? "before you swab your barrell and load your ball." Can someone relate to this advice and give me guidance? David.
 
I suspect the discs are to protect the powder from swabbing with a moist cleaning patch or otherwise prevent discharge problems, like from a lubed patch? I appreciate this opportunity to network with you guys on this one as it vexes me. Cheers. David.
 
I don't swab between shots and I don't know of anybody that loads powder and then swabs. A patch shouldn't be lubed to the point of contaminating powder.
 
Cardboard disks and/or fiber wads are often used between the charge and the projectile as a sort of gas check. Many people report an increase in accuracy as measured by group size when they do so; still others report little difference in results. I suspect it helps most when the ball/patch combination doesn't fully seal the grooves.

As for using one between a loaded charge and a wet cleaning patch, well, frankly it makes no sense to me that one would attempt to swab after charging.
 
Cardboard disks and/or fiber wads are often used between the charge and the projectile as a sort of gas check.
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Yes, this might be one application but usually this is done with a "Bore Button" or wonder wad. The application in question is one that I have never had the need to use but it is performed in order to clean or sweap any fresh powder or dirt in the rifling prior to loading the projectile. I understand some target shooters use this as part of their loading procedure. It seems that their concerns are with any loose powder or dirt, interfering with the accuracy. You do the math !! ... :rolleyes:

Be Safe !!!
 
LR^

We been on the phone tonight ;)

He's gonna come to my range and learn from the pro's ;):barf::eek::D

That way I can teach him that y'only have to clean it before you start, after you finish..... or if you can't get any more balls down it (a good time to THINK about cleaning it then)
 
Thank you and gooday Pahoo, long rider and dingo

I wrote a reply the other day and lost it when I attempted a spell check, then went stuff-it, I'll compose another when I have a day off work.

Pahoo I think that was what I was being instructed to do - thanks.

It has been a good thing to meet Dingo - gooday mate. Thankyou long rider for your welcome.

My shooting is done in the context of farm work for the purpose of providing safe affordable food for market and to lesson the impact of introduced animal species on our native fauna.

Out back, we don't have the sort of network that I feel I need for our black powder rifle and I learned early on that the www was my most valuable source of instruction and information.

Now I have a really cool international forum, and access to people where I live that can provide me with a rich vein of experience and knowledge. For example, it has taken a couple of years to come across a portable powder flask. I look forward to meeting up with Dingo and his mates, and learning about what the experts do.

Cheers
David
 
Pahoo I think that was what I was being instructed to do - thanks.
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Nothing wrong with that and this is part of what I call "Personal Techniques" Which goes beyond the basics. We all have these and use them consistantly. When I teach, I teach the basics and only mention, that as we shoot, we develope our own "Personal Techniques". As mentioned, I have only read about this practice and do not personally use it. Nothing wrong with it and do not have any safety concerns, unlike other M/L practices. Good luck to you and enjoy !!

Be Safe !!!
 
When I shoot my flintlock pistol, I occasionally get only a flash in the pan, sometimes three flashes in the pan in a row before it fires, causing me to run out of time in a 30 minute relay and having to turn in a 9 or 8 shot score.

The cure: I now put in the powder charge and then a Wonder wad and then I swab the bore before loading the patched ball. Eurika! No more flashes in the pan. If the priming charge goes off, the gun fires every time.

Also, since the powder is dropped down a dry, unswabbed bore, you remove the variable of powder being partially wetted down by the remaining moisture in the barrel after the bore swab. This should lead to more consistant shot to shot velocities.
 
Gooday Pahoo and B.L.E

I do believe I saw somewhere recently someone say that "a wad will prevent hangfires."

When it comes to the missfires that I have experienced, I can't always say what went wrong, but I have had ideas and techniques to fix it (which even now are being reviewed), and am refining procedures to minimise problems and outright mistakes.

It has been intersting starting as I did with a second-hand gun, a brush jag and a tin of caps from a shop in Canberra, then visiting another store 300km away in Sydney for powder, lube, measures and balls. I made patches from a verbal description, and was given a minimum and maximum load. I have taken it from there over time.

I am seriously looking for a brand new quality sidelock carbine rifle to continue shooting patched balls - one locally bought and fully accessorised, and then to play with lots of different consumables and gadgets. My idea (with this) is to introduce controls that will allow me to experiment, explore, and find satisfying 'personal techniques.' I even keep notes on load combinations.

Its all very engaging, and very serious as my shooting is predicated by my responsibility to humanely destroy vermin.

Thankyou both.

Cheers. David.
 
The cure: I now put in the powder charge and then a Wonder wad and then I swab the bore before loading the patched ball. Eurika! No more flashes in the pan. If the priming charge goes off, the gun fires every time.
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Quit swabbing after every shot. You'll turn in better scores in less time. Use a moist patch and you won't have any loading/fouling problems.
 
"before you swab your barrell and load your ball."
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I do this with a couple of muzzleloading bullet rifles I shoot. I was finding I got a lot of misfires when I wiped the bore between shots in my old .451 target rifle. What was happening was I was pushing crud down into the powder chamber & blocking the touch-hole What I do now is, after firing, pour in the next powder charge, insert a wad at the muzzle & then, with a damp patch on the ramrod jag, seat it down on the powder. This seats the wad on the powder & wipes the bore at the same time. Have never found a need for it with my roundball rifles, just the two bullet rifles (a .32 & the .451).
 
Egg Cartons and the Triple P Loader/cutter

The Egg Cartons seem to cut pretty good I got one in .45Colt have a look.
Great idae on the egg caton cards...
TriplePCut3.jpg

Pictured .45/70, .45Colt, .45Schofield
TriplePCut1.jpg
 
That egg carton looks like it makes a nice thick wad! :)

I put some thick folded postcard or card material from the junk mail pile over the rubber disk and adjust it just right to help keep the disk from getting cut and chewed up. The cutter will sometimes partially cut through a layer or 2 of the base paper depending on its thickness, but not all of the way if it's adjusted just right. But then the juice cartons that I'm cutting up are a thinner material that needs a little bit of support underneath them, especially when cutting 4 or 5 layers. The egg carton material probably doesn't need any support underneath. What a great idea!
 
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