felt wads

Y

yip

Inactive
hi fellas; just bought a pietta 1860 army,and my question is the use of felt wads. i have a ruger old army, my wife bought me years ago, i bought all the bells and whistles for it, i got felt wads that are lubed, but their about 30 years old. can i spray them with pam spray to liven them up a little? these wads are still in the same plastic bag they came in, just wondering if their dryed outor not. any help?
 
Yip

Open them up and try them. They are probably still okay. If they are stiff you might could soften them up, as you say, with Pam.
 
I wish I would have known about felt wads when I last was into the cap and ball game in the 70's. That Crisco sure was a mess!
 
I've got a pair of CVA 1851 (?) "Navy" pistols in .44 caliber.

They did not say anything about shooting them with wads. They said put in the powder, seat the ball, and then squirt bullet lube in on top of the bullets. It's this grease-like goo that comes in a tube, similar to Crisco.

Is this not the proper way to shoot these things?
 
Here we go folks!, The worm can is open again!

Mail,

The responses you will get will fall into essentially two categories and in the end you will be no further ahead than you are now with the caveate that you will have numerous opinions.

On the one side there are those who will swear their revolver performance is better with wads. On the other side will be those who don't use them. I have been shooting for some time now (not nearly as much as many others on the forum) and up until this year I did not use them. I started over the winter by cutting and soaking my own wads and will give them a try. I am probably not sophistocated enough to be able to detect the difference.

I opened the reponse with a tongue in cheek criticism of the dialogue which routinely flows from your question. I meant no offense to anyone as I was joking without adding a smiley. But this dialogue is worth engaging at every opportunity. I can tell you, I am anxious to give them a try. But in answer to your question, they are not an essential part of the loading process.
 
I don't notice an increase or decrease in accuracy with them but it sure is less messy using them. Sometimes I do sometimes I don't. Crisco and Bore Butter are ok until the temps get high.
 
Is this not the proper way to shoot these things?
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There is no 'proper' way, only options, which is really the part about bp revolvers that's endearing. Kind of like the 'best' way to clean them.

I started out using Bore Butter back in the 70's (that's 1970's), switched to dry lubed wads in the 80's to get away from the mess factor on hot days (had some of those back then in Kansas).

Then I decided to prove that wads improved my accuracy so that I could justify them without whining about runny messes - we had a group of 'seasoned veterans' at the Four Seasons Trading Post in Wichita that opined you weren't a real bp shooter unless you had Bore Butter running down both arms and dripping off the elbows. I managed to absolutely show without any doubt that I wasn't a good enough shooter that they made any difference in my ability to hit POA reliably.

I got over the shame of being greaseless and have used them ever since.
 
I started out years ago with the wads and now I don't use them at all. I prefer Crisco mixed with bee's wax. Since I live in a hot climate in the summer the wax helps to keep the Crisco from melting al over the place. The wads are OK, but are an added expense and I found that they can throw off a cronigraph and even punch holes in a paper target at shorter ranges.
 
the answers to my questions are great. i think i'll go with wads,my only other question, is how the old timers did it? i know they didn't use bore butter. when they loaded and didn't shoot for a while, what did they use? i can see bore butter and such when on the shooting range, but what did they use on the open range?
 
If they used anything at all it was probably wax and that probably just for waterproofing. Robert E. Lee's 51 navy was fired 7 years after his death and it was noted the balls were covered in a black waxy substance. BTW all six chambers fired.
 
yip said:
i think i'll go with wads,my only other question, is how the old timers did it? i know they didn't use bore butter. when they loaded and didn't shoot for a while, what did they use?
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Define "old timers". My definition would probably be most of the fellas on this forum. :p

Anyhoo, read this thread and pay particular attention to the link in that thread to the posting my Gatofeo on the subject of "old timers and wads" in the 1930's. My writeup will also address any concerns that some folks have on the cost of wads.
 
sorry fellas; i too am a old timer, with an inquiring mind. those fellas were smart ,especially those military men, i know it wasn't bore butter they used and relied on, being the open range or the battle field. just thinking thats all
 
Robert E. Lee's 51 navy was fired 7 years after his death and it was noted the balls were covered in a black waxy substance. BTW all six chambers fired.
Click to expand...

Oooh, I'd like to know more about that story!

Steve
 
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