Revolver powder wads & lube

C

c.robertson

New member
Does paper egg cartons make acceptable wads for over powder in a black powder revolvers?
I plan to soak them in a mixture of bees wax and crisco with a little oil mixed in. Basically a thiner concoction of Emmert Lube.

Opinions appreciated. Thanks.
 
I could swear that I read of someone that uses the paper egg cartons to make their wads. Unfortunately, all my searching has failed to find where I saw the remarks.

I suppose you could break off a chunk of the carton and test it with the flame from a match or lighter. If it burns without showing signs of melting, then it would probably be worth trying a few in the gun.

Disclaimer: If it works, I will gladly accept due credit. If it screws something up, it was all your idea in the first place. :D
 
over powder wads.

Sounds like a worthy cause. There free after you use the eggs. I don't use over powder wads my self. I use some valve packing grease that I was given a long time ago when I was working for my father-in-lawback in the 60's. This stuff is a mixture of wax and grease that was used to keep gasoline valves form leaking. It worked quite well. I use it to lube the round ball and to prevent chain fireing. After seating the ball I just wipe a little over the end of the cylinder like some guys use crisco.
 
NAPP LOL. Good post. Of course I was thinking in terms of fiber paper egg cartons.

ARCTICAP, yes that post by SMOKIN_GUN is the one I recall. Thanks

I already cut out a bunch of wads BEFORE thinking it would be best to impregnate the paperboard with lube THEN punch out the over powder wads. The paperboard should absorb the lube if heated properly. Yes, I am aware of the risk of flash fire on over heated beeswax.

Thanks guys.
 
There is another wad thread going on right now also.
I contend that almost any material will work OK for bp c&b revolver wads.
And almost anything slick will be OK for lubing them. Except Crisco. :barf:
I am suggesting, for ease of punching and cheapness, to use cardboard cartons. Beeswax will work fine but you don't have to be so fancy, just plain paraffin will work great.
 
We lube them to keep the fouling soft to allow for extended shooting before cleaning the revolver. There is no other reason for the wad if not for lubing.
 
I realize we are primarily discussing revolvers; but I have seen some posts by people that use wads when loading a BP rifle. What are the advantages/disadvantages (if any) of doing that?
 
junkman_01 said:
We lube them to keep the fouling soft to allow for extended shooting before cleaning the revolver. There is no other reason for the wad if not for lubing.
Click to expand...

That's a good reason to use lube, but he's asking why lube the wads instead of applying the lube using another method.

And there are other methods and there are other lubes. There's lube pills and there's squeeze applicators that only take a fraction of a second to apply individually.
It's a matter of personal preference. Some folks don't apply lube at all or only lube every other, or every third chamber.
There's so many different powders, lube and wad products and materials available to experiment with, folks want to try what seems to work for others or to duplicate commercially available products.
The stiffer the wad, maybe the better the wad scrubs the bore with each shot.
Maybe the wad increases the velocity.
Maybe the wad prevents chainfires.
Maybe a dry wad prevents the powder from being contaminated by lube.
Maybe a wad helps to more evenly compress the powder and/or filler.
But I don't agree with the assertion that they serve no purpose other than to carry lube.
I don't really know, I can only speculate and try to keep an open mind about their usefulness. :rolleyes:
 
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napp said:
I realize we are primarily discussing revolvers; but I have seen some posts by people that use wads when loading a BP rifle. What are the advantages/disadvantages (if any) of doing that?
Click to expand...

In long guns, wool wads act like a gas check and help to seal the bore, can promote more consistent accuracy and velocity, and can cushion heavy loads on ignition sort of like a modern plastic shot shell wad does for a shot load.
The can also protect the patch from getting burned by hot gases.
They're not always an advantage but require experimentation to see if they work better or not depending on the load and gun.
They're often recommended to try with bore size conical bullets having flat bases.
But others with consistency issues successfully use them with patched round balls.
They may also help to keep the bore clean. Who really knows?
 
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Lot of good questions.
But, in the muzzle loading game, the answers (often) depend on the shooter.
Some must lube wads to get any kind of decent results, others shoot dry wads and get great results. And on it goes.
If all were cut and dried the camp fire meets after the matches would be very boring affairs.
I do some things different than other folks and some things that are considered standard procedure.
A lot of the muzzle loading/bp game is trying different techniques. When you dial in what works best for you, go with it.
 
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