Wads and patches

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DD4lifeusmc

New member
I am asking the following question at a couple forums.
I'm looking for input and information.
Do you all use wads and or patches in your BP revolvers (non cartridge) and muzzleloading rifles.
If so what caliber do you use dry/ lubed, buy local or online. If online Freight cost.

In patches for the rifle, do you buy precut, cut your own or cut from a rag in your pouch as you load?
Again if you buy, local or online and the average freight cost.


Some being more of a pureist in the sport would likely use the cut from rag.

While there is some indication of wads being available in the 1800's not sure how wide spread the usage was.

Thanks for your info.
 
I am no purist by any stretch.....

...My habits are driven by the fact that I squeeze a nickel until the buffalo S __ __ Ts.

I buy 100% wool hats at thrift shops. I made a wad punch from a piece of steel round stock. (Had to do this because the Cheapo set from Horrible Freight doesn't have the right size.) One hat gives me about a billion wads.

I lube them with my Home Depot lube which (at least up to now) has been Crisco and Wax rings from toilets.

I don't generally use a wad under the ball in cap and ball but when I do, that is the way I do it. Now that I am loading cartridges in .45 LC, .357, and 45-70 I im thinking I need to get more serious with wads.

I also don't shoot muzzle loading long arms any more but when I did, I used old tee shirts with the patch cut slightly large and then trimmed with a sharp knife when the ball is pushed in just even with the crown of the muzzle. I used straight crisco for lube for those patches. That is how I did single shot pistols too.

I must close this post by telling you that 80% of the guys on this forum will cringe when they read my description. There are a hundred better waysw to approach wads, but there aren't many that are cheaper.
 
I on the other hand

Don't have time to make my own so I buy Ox Yoke lubed wads from Track of the Wolf and use them under the ball in my revolvers.
 
Home made lubed was (Pearl Lube) made from durofelt.com felt and punched with an 11mm Harbor freight punch. These are placed under the round balls in my 1860 revolvers.
Wads in a cartridge rifle can have serious accuracy repercussions. I had wads sticking to the base of my bullets causing horrible accuracy at cowboy ranges.
 
Patched ball in rifles with or without wads depending on the rifle. RB or conical in revolvers with or without wads depending on the revolver. Every gun is a law unto itself, experiment until I find the load chain that best suits my objective with that gun...
 
For my 44 cal 58 Remington revolvers I use a felt wad (felt purchased from durofelt and wads punched out with a 7/16 steel punch). The wads are soaked in a lube mix of melted beeswax and lard and allowed to dry. If I'm gonna have the gun loaded for more than a few minutes I use a vegetable fiber card "wad" to separate the felt wad from the powder. If I'm just target shooting I skip the fiber card and just use the felt wad.

For my rifle, I just seat the projectile on top of the powder - no wad of any kind. For my inline I'm using a 354 grain semi-wad cutter type "conical" which is not really conical at all.
 
Works for me !!!

PRB's for Side-Cockers.
Wads over powder for C&B's
Wads over powder for In-line Sabots.

About the only thing I make along these lilnes, is run my own lead .... ;)

Be Safe !!!
 
Home made wads, not lubed, from auto parts store thick gasket paper - for revolver and 777 powder.
Might not work as well with dirtier powders, though.
Patched round ball loads for rifle, using pillow ticking.
Best accuracy is when the ticking stripes go right to left, instead of up and down. :cool:
 
I Use wads for revolvers and patched round balls for rifles. I cut my patches at the muzzle. Its hard to get a precut patch centered in the muzzle and if its not it affects accuracy.
 
I used patched round balls for my single shot pistols and rifle, moistened with olive oil. If i'm shooting pyrodex, I use homemade felt wads moistened with olive oil, and if i'm shooting homemade b.p., I just put as much b.p. as I can get into the cylinders and ram a ball. No wad for that.
 
wads etc

guys thanks for all the replies.
Those that make your own kudos. I'm a pureist at heart and try to use only what they likely had readily available back in the day.
I make my own lube from real beeswax and hog lard. Hog being the most readily available.
Backthen they may have had other lards depending on where they were at that were more available to them.
In my revolvers I went to paper cartridge no wads and home lubed hand cast conical.
Haven't noticed any big change in accuracy between them and RB.
Same with my 50 cal rifle. Went to lube conicals.
.....................................
For those that responded that they buy their wads. I also asked what caliber, cost and freight.
These are what I am really looking for.
Also when you buy, how much do you buy at a time to offset the freight cost or do buy something else.
I'm interested in the prices you are paying around the country at local stores, and online sites.
Thanks
 
Lots of good info in this thread. I am wanting to start cutting my patches at the muzzle. Its very true that centering a precut patch is a pita. I would imagine the knife has to be very sharp. A Razor blade would zip through it, but thats not exactly correct. One of these days I'll get a possibles bag and all together.
 
I've got a couple of patch knives but I usually use my pocket knife. A patch knife doesn't have to be all that sharp but it doesn't need to be dull either.
 
It's all in the details.

Its very true that centering a precut patch is a pita.
Click to expand...
Not really that much of a problem and a muzzle cut patch could present more of a problem if you don't cut it short enough. Excess patch material can get in the way of the flight. ... ;)

Recently bought another .45 Seneca that had a scored muzzle. Dealer said he could not figure out why or how it got that way. I told him how and he thought that was pretty neat. There are a bunch of scored muzzles out there. .. ;)

Slayer, I know how you like to tinker and in time, you will make you own accutriments. (spelling) !! I have made most of mine, including patch knives. I routinley wear mine at outdoor shows, sheathed and hanging from my neck... :)

Be Safe !!!
 
Not really that much of a problem and a muzzle cut patch could present more of a problem if you don't cut it short enough. Excess patch material can get in the way of the flight.
Click to expand...

Centering a patch may not be much of a problem for most folk but it is for me. I drive mine down with the short starter button and cut it off there. Some short starters may have buttons too long tho. If the patch is overlapping the ball face its cut too long.
 
Even though my GPR will drive nails, I can pick up the fired patch and it looks as if only one side of the patch is dark, like I always have more material on one side of the ball. I have to run up town tomorrow so I'm gonna go by the fabric store and get some ticking. Now when you measure the thickness, do you pinch the material real tight between the jaws of the caliper? I'm gonna try to get around .010. Well at least with a .535 ball and .010" precut patch she does good. Then I will cut a 2" strip of the ticking and put it in a pot of melted beez and tallow. Then pull it out and hang it up to dry. Does this all sound about right?
 
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