Felt wad

[Lyle]

Does anyone use a felt wad between the powder and ball? If so, do you use a lubed wad or a dry wad? The felt wads from Cabella’s is so wet the oil drips from them.

 

[.38 Special]

I normally do. I have used the treated WonderWads with good success, but got tired of paying for them. I now cut my own from felt, using a wadcutting punch, and treat them with melted tallow and beeswax. This is a mild PITA, but costs nearly nothing, and most of my rifles like them. I'd be leery of wads which drip...

 

[ClemBert]

I use lubed wads....but it got to the point where I decided to make them. Because of the cost and what you mentioned.

Do-It-Yourself Felt Wad Making

 

[hawg]

I use homemade lubed wads.

 

[Sacramento Johnson]

You can get felt for wads here:

http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html

And these are great punches:

https://www.brettunsvillage.com/leather/leather-tools/individual-round-arch-punches/

You can either make your own lube or use Bore Butter.

 

[ClemBert]

Cheap makes great punches too!

https://www.harborfreight.com/hand-...ps/punches/9-piece-hollow-punch-set-3838.html

 

[Fyrstyk]

I have one rifle that requires the use of a felt wad over the powder to keep the patched ball out of a corroded area of the breach. The gun is .35 caliber is is vintage mid 1840's. I got the gun as payment in lieu of some work I did for a guy. The gun had been above his fire place mantle for close to 50 years. When I got the gun home and cleaned all of the black soot from the fireplace off of it I was surprised to see some really nice maple figure. When I check the bore, I found that the gun was loaded. Took me a bit to pull the ball and scraped out the hardened powder in the breech. That powder corroded the breech area such that a patched ball would get stuck in that area. By using a felt wad over the powder I keep the patched ball above the corroded area. Surprisingly, the gun shoots 1.5" groups at 50 yards from the bench.
I punch my felt wads from old felt hats, and uzse them dry over the powder charge.

 

[white smoke]

I’ve used Circle Fly .125 cards that I soak in a hot solution of Bore Butter and bees wax for years. They form a tight seal and are cheap.

 

[44 Dave]

No, use lubed paper cartridges. The gun that I keep loaded has max. powder and bullet topped with a slight bit of lube, not to seal just to make cleaning easier.

 

[Patocazador]

I normally do. I have used the treated WonderWads with good success, but got tired of paying for them. I now cut my own from felt, using a wadcutting punch, and treat them with melted tallow and beeswax. This is a mild PITA, but costs nearly nothing, and most of my rifles like them. I'd be leery of wads which drip...

^^^^^^^^^^ - Like he said.

 

[Captain*kirk]

Both. Dry if it's going to sit a while, lubed at the range.

 

[Alexitt]

I have a bunch of tooling leather that I use as lubed wads for the smoothbore... Punch 'em out and give them a good soak in melted mink oil / beeswax lube then let them drain and you have some tiddly little wads that won't wet your powder... I still have a bunch of wonderwads for the revolvers so I haven't gone the leather route for them, maybe someday...