matrix filler in shotgun loads

[Jerry V Lape]

Anyone experienced with using a matrix filler with muzzleloading shotgun for the purpose of improving patterns? 

[FL-Flintlock]

It's a real pain in the butt, mostly because it's so messy handling, it's even a pain loading in cartidges on the bench.  Fine ground corn meal, I prefer Indian Head brand, Quaker brand is too corse.  Avoid the mixes like muffin/bread, the salt doesn't help matters but even still the flour and sugar content causes caking making for a lot of inconsistency.

[Curt Lyles]

Jerry  I use fine ground corn cob meal . I just add the same amount of cob meal as shot .seams to work fine in my 16 ga. CURT

[roundball]

I've seen articles about filler...even bought a small bag of buffer filler from Ballistics Products a couple years or so ago to experiment, haven't gotten around to it yet though 

The article mentioned seating the op wad just a short way past the muzzle, then add the shot, then start adding the buffer and tapping the side of the barrel to get it to settle down into the shot...stopping when the buffer appears to have filled the shot charge,

Is that how you do it in your 16ga?
Do you carry pore-measured amounts of buffer or just a quantity of buffer and add some each time you reload until its the right amount?

Also, have you been able to quantify improvements in increased % of pattern density, and/or extended range of an effective pattern?

[Curt Lyles]

  RB I carry the cob meal in a small horn in my pouch no pre measured.Then i just add it before the shot.I dont use any thick cussion wadds though just the thin felt ones lubed real good. I keep my shootin distance to 20 yards .Curt

[roundball]

  RB I carry the cob meal in a small horn in my pouch no pre measured.Then i just add it before the shot.I dont use any thick cussion wadds though just the thin felt ones lubed real good. I keep my shootin distance to 20 yards .Curt

Oh, I may have misunderstood the point of the thread...I thought this was about using some sort of buffer in and around shot pellets themselves to reduce deformation / improve patterns, etc...sorry

[Daryl]

Only used it in smokeless shotshell, never with BP.  In a BP shotgun, good sealing wadding would be a good idea, as if the powder gasses play in the filler - hard caked deposits in the bore could result.

[northmn]

In another thread Jerry mentioned getting longer range varmit loads out of a smoothbore.  Using large shot such as buckshot you may get an advantage as large shot has greater spaces between them when loaded.  This is also true in cartridges as small shot really leaves no room for buffer.  #4 is about the minimum shot size for any real advantage.  Sometime weigh a volume of #4 against the same volume of #7.5 and you will be surprised at the difference.  Really shows up in steel shot sizes.  To load a ML you would need to place in a few pellets add buffer and place in a few more and add buffer while tapping the barrel.  To do this you would need a short starter so that the load just clears the muzzle and then seat the whole combination as you would seat the wads with a short starter.  As buffer can add a bit of weight you may lose a little velocity.  One load of buffered Bismuth shot I bought actually loaded 1 1/6 oz of shot and 1/16 oz of buffer to claim a 1 1/8 oz load.  Buffered buckshot laods are claiming pretty tight patterns.  One thing with buckshot in shells is that they factory load buckshot that stacks properly.  00 is used in a 12 as three make an even layer as does #3 in a 20. 
As to an advantage of using the stuff, you could try cornmeal or flour as Tom roster did, but the commercial buffer has better lubrication qualities and no caking characteristics.  If cornmeal gives bettr patterns then you could look at buying a commercial buffer.  In a cylinder bore I would not be surprised if the stuff gave little advantage.  With heavy shot you may get away with using a thicjker cushion wad which may fo the same thing. Also a sleeve to prevent bore scrubbing may also help.  Black Powder shotguns have a limited velocity as compared to modern shotshells and may also limit your range in that fashion.  A down range velocity of over 500fps is generally accepted as being needed to have any effect.

DP