Over powder wad

D

deerslayer303

New member
Hey guys,
Can I punch out some 1/2" felt wads from this sheet I got from durofelt and use them DRY, NO LUBE as an over powder wad? I hear that some guys have better luck with the Lee REAL boolits when they use an over powder wad. I use an over powder card in the revolvers when they are loaded for a long while. Just want to get my ducks in a row before the range trip with ole Tom and Lee. I was thinking I would do it in the patched ball rifles too if I'm gonna leave the charge and ball in there for a while this hunting season. To keep the patch lube from wicking into the charge? I sure ain't gonna fire it off and clean it after every hunt.

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When I load up a rifle to hunt with, I always use a card wad over the powder just to keep the lube off the powder. You can leave it loaded for a long as necessary without any problems. My .62 stayed loaded for most of the season last year and fired just fine when I needed it.
 
Ok I'll do that. Well if I can find the thing. At my range I have a heck of a time finding fired patches. They blend so well with the ground there. I need to find some blaze orange ticking. [emoji3]

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You certainly can and they work

Can I punch out some 1/2" felt wads from this sheet I got from durofelt and use them DRY, NO LUBE as an over powder wad?
Click to expand...
Sure can and on some conicals and sabotted rounds, I get improved performance. I would add that I used older wonder wads or bore buttons and are still lightly lubed. Have never tried a totally dry button. ...... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
If I recall correctly, back in the day -- that is during the great northern aggression, during that time.

The 58 caliber rifles were issued with some cartridges that had a copper disk

at the bottom of the bullet, that disk would scrape the bore of powder fouling.

I have no idea how often they were used.
 
If I recall correctly, back in the day -- that is during the great northern aggression, during that time.

The 58 caliber rifles were issued with some cartridges that had a copper disk

at the bottom of the bullet, that disk would scrape the bore of powder fouling.

I have no idea how often they were used.
Click to expand...

I believe you are thinking of the Williams' Cleaner Bullet, which had a concave disk of zinc staked to the bottom of the bullet.

Upon firing it was intended to flatten out and scrape the bore clean. It was also said to be more accurate. After much testing, both claims were found to be false and the bullet was discontinued.

Steve
 
Addressing more than one concern

I believe you are thinking of the Williams' Cleaner Bullet, which had a concave disk of zinc staked to the bottom of the bullet.
Click to expand...
Yes and I have one of these in my collection. Sometime back, I posted a question on and "The Hawg" responded to it. Hopefully he can do so, again. .. ;)

Now then, placing a material between the ball and powder, was a common practice on hot loads and primarily used to protect the patch. One such material was Paper Wasp nest materials. This is not the application that deerslayer was addressing. I feel that his concerns are for addressing accuracy ?? ..... :confused:

Be Safe !!!
 
Yes and I have one of these in my collection. Sometime back, I posted a question on and "The Hawg" responded to it. Hopefully he can do so, again. ..
Click to expand...


I have several cleaner bullets with the zinc scraper. Here's a couple of them.

bullets010_zps412ad3bf.jpg


Whacha wanna know? I think Deerslayer was more concerned with powder contamination when loaded for long periods.
 
Need Info

I'm age 60 but brand new to BP rifles. Got a .54 my buddy gave me ("too much work" he claims) and have been plinking with it. Using round balls and store bought Bore Butter lubed patches I can group 4 to 5 shots in 4" @ 75 yds with iron sights. If I decide to deer hunt with this BP do I:
1) need an over powder wad?
2) opt for mini/maxi ball vs round ball?
3) opt for Powerbelt (or similar) saboted bullets?

Sorry if this doesn't fit into this thread but the 'over powder wad' caught my eye.
 
Whatcha got ????

1) need an over powder wad? ....... NO
2) opt for mini/maxi ball vs round ball? ....... YES but more work.
3) opt for Powerbelt (or similar) saboted bullets? ...... Yes but more expensive.

Your .54, is a killer; list or confirm your twist. ..... :cool:

Be Safe !!!
 
A .54 cal ball is plenty of bad medicine for a deer. No need for anything else, especially with a larger caliber such as yours. If you were hunting in windy areas beyond 50 yds or shooting rather far a conical may be beneficial.

No need for a wad either. The patch seals the bore well. They are typically used for certain conicals or not loads that burn through the patch.

Have you tried various powder charges to find the sweet spot for your rifle? Patch lubes too?
 
I have tested and been using a non lubed 1/8" thick felt wad over the powder then my patch and ball. The gun shoots no different, accuracy wise with or without the wad. My whole purpose is to separate the powder from the lubed patch. I want to keep the lube from the patch off the powder. My thinking is that. My rifle will stay charged for long periods during this deer season.

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Round balls are very forgiving. Bullets, not so much

shortstop14
You are hunting typical Midwest timbers or much like our woods, in Iowa. For a number of years, I use to primitive hunt with some other Buckskinners. Most of them shot .54's with FFFG PRB loads. I stayed with my .50's and we all did well on harvesting deer. As we often do, we checked the wounds left by both. The .54's really tore them up. Again, you will do fine with your .54 and PRB. Also, there is noting wrong with your group but I'm sure you will want to tweak it some. ..... :)

Enjoy and;
Be Safe !!!
 
Thank you to PAHOO, RODWHAINCAMO, and DEERSLAYER303. Info was very helpful. I am shooting a CVA Panther .54 Carbine, 24" bbl, 1:32 twist using 90 gr. of Hodgon Triple 7 FFG pushing a Roundball. Started out with 75gr., worked up to 100gr. before backing down to 90gr.
Should I be using FFFG powder instead? As stated before, new to BP and only going by Mfr. reccomendations & info gleaned from forums. Hate to blow this thing up in my hands experimenting with formulas.
Given the eyes I had in my 30's (now 60), a 4" group at 75 yds was horrific. Now I'm fighting to get a clear view of rear sight. front sight & target are fine but, farsightedness is taking over. Hate putting optics on a primative (cheating). My shots where I'm hunting at home are going to be maxed at 75yds due to woods & terrain, much the same as PAHOO.
 
There are many who find 3F works better in their larger calibers such as .54.

A general rule of thumb is to reduce the charge by 10% when going from 2 to 3F for a similar velocity and pressure. So if the stated max charge for your rifle is 120 grns of 2F it would be about 108 grns of 3F.
 
Oh, from what little I've seen with those using a fast twist with a ball is to use a reduced powder charge. Try 50 grns and work up by 5's. I've seen it claimed that it's fairly typical for a rifle's sweet spot to be about 1.5 times the caliber. For a reduced charge maybe caliber is close for a ball in a fast twist.
 
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