Wads

[Al Lapp]

I am trying to get my 58 cal smoothbore ready for grouse season. I made a wad punch and some card wads. What I need is a felt type wad between the overpowder card wad and the shot. Went to the fabric store and all they had was 100% polyester or at least some polyester in the material. I was going to go with a vegetable fibre wad over the powder, a felt wad, #7 1/2 shot, and a card wad. What can I use for a cushion between the Veg. fibre wad and the shot ? Also would a .562 R.B. work in this gun? Lee apparently makes a .562 mold.   Thanks    Al

[roundball]

Oxyoke makes bags of prelubed wads in several calibers / gauges and I use them in .54 / .62 cal smoothbores, but they're pretty pricey if you use a lot of them;

Circle Fly makes all the sizes of wads & cards used in muzzleloaders, better price  but don't happen to make prelubed fiber wads in 1/8" like the size of Oxyoke wads;

Or, you can order a piece of real felt from Duro Felt and punch out your own and lube them.

I use them from Oxyoke and Circle Fly, and just recently bought some Duro-Felt, and an Arch punch to make a bunch of wads for the .62cal...put a couple hundred in a plastic bowl and melted several squeezes of NaturaL Lube 1000 into them using the microwave.  I like the 1/8" size due to the flexibility of adding them together for different wad configurations.

[Bill of the 45th]

I don't use wads at all, just over shot cards, and keep it simple.  I cut a slit 1/3 of the way thru all the cards to allow air to escape when loading.  for 20 gauge I use either 70 grains of FFG with two lubed cards then 80 grains of five shot, followed by an overshot card.  My other load is 80 grains of FFg with 90 grains of powder.  This way I get no wads blowing thru the pattern.  Works for me, your results may vary.

Bill

[northmn]

You do not need a felt wad or any other wad between the card wad and the shot.  Just use card wads.  

DP

[BrownBear]

I'm real fond of the .125 thickness "Type A" cards from Track of the Wolf between the powder and shot.  Dipped in olive oil and allowed to soak in overnight, they help limit fouling while contributing to really uniform patterns both in 11 gauge and 20 gauge.  It would be the first thing I'd try in a smaller smoothbore.

[wbgv]

if you want thin felt wads..find an old felt hat and punch some out..I usually put dip them in a hot lube...I have found that 1 lubed felt wad will keep the fouling soft..

[northmn]

if you want thin felt wads..find an old felt hat and punch some out..I usually put dip them in a hot lube...I have found that 1 lubed felt wad will keep the fouling soft..

They do, but in the field I never found them that necessary and just carried card over powder wads with a few split for over shot use.  Less "stuff" in the hunting bag.  Just to mention a couple of other things which may be obvious.  A shot bag does not generally need to carry more than a pound of shot.  Some of the older ones can make you lopsided if filled. A small horn or powder flask also works.  We are rarely out for an overnight campout.  Also single shot fowlers just do not let you shoot as much.  A 58 will use between 3/4 and 1oz of shot very effectively.  The old NWTG load was a 562 ball, but depending on the barrel you may want to try 570's also.  Buy a couple of sizes and try them before a mold.  You have to shoot a lot of RB to pay for a mold.  If you need to a 58 is a 24 gauge for purchasing wads.


DP

[BrownBear]

A shot bag does not generally need to carry more than a pound of shot.  Some of the older ones can make you lopsided if filled.

Ain't that the truth!  I built a shot flask the size of my fist, and that bloomin thing holds over 3 pounds of shot!  A shot flask built to hold a pound of shot would be about the size of a lemon.

Back when I did all my snowshoe hare hunting over dogs with a 12 gauge double, it was a VERY busy day when I shot as many as 30 shots.  And that was a lot more rabbit dressing than most folks would want to consider, much less to carry them out of the hills beforehand.  Something like 60 pounds in the round.  More typical good days, especially in low years of their population cycle, was 6 or 8 shots.  Pheasant hunting was usually 3-5 shots a day. And best days of waterfowl seldom topped 10 shots.

[northmn]

I have had a few days when the load in the gun was 1 too many.  When I hunt with modern I only carry maybe 6 shells in my pocket going into a field for pheasants.  Rarely use them.  Ducks on a good morning about 10 shots like you say.  My shot flask does not get filled to the limit much.  Mine will hold 4-5 pounds.  I often carry powder in a little 31 cap and ball powder flask, got a little inspired on the accounterments thread and built an oversize priming horn to carry my main charges in.  Some of my older horns are as bad as the shot pouches.

DP

[Daryl]

I would think .562" should be the about the right sized round ball for the .58 with a thinner, .015" to .018" patch. I would prefer about .555" and use a .020" or heavier patch.  Try some .562's, smoothly crowned muzzle of course with a variety of patches - it might be just the ticket.

One of the guys we shoot with, has a .58 smoothbore and he shoots .535" balls in it, same ball as in his .54 rifle.  That small a ball would need a very heavy patch indeed.

[Al Lapp]

Thanks for all the great input. I will try to get out with it this week and see how it pattern's. Also the former owner was shooting .535 RB,s out of it, I don't know how accurate it was but seeing that I have a good supply of them plus a mold. I will give them a try first, I have some thick patches from jeen material that I will try. Thanks again    Al

[Buzzard]

My huntin buddy, Thundercloud, shoots an original Curly Gostomski 24ga Chiefs grade. His loads are as follows: small game and under 50yd target work; 50gr-3f, 562rb/015 lubed; big game and 50yd plus target work; 75gr-3f, 1/2 of a  cushion wad, to prevent patch burning, same ball & patch.  Shot loads are 1oz of appropriate shot size with an op card, 1/3 cushion wad, under and os wad over. The 570rb as mentioned is mostly a rifle ball only load. We both by our wads from Mike's Wads at Flintlocks Inc.

[Daryl]

For my 16, 14, 12 and 11 bore wads, I merely purchased them from Track.