Loading a BP Revolver

[ldasr]

I am a little confused. I have a Ruger Old Army and want to know the proper way of loading it. Is it Power then Wonder Wad then Ball or is it Powder then Ball then Wonder Wad? I have seen it done both ways.

 

[rcmodel]

Use the pre-lubed Wonder-Wad between the powder & the ball.

The lube is designed to keep the BP fouling soft in the bore.
It won't do any good if it gets pushed through ahead of the ball and burning black powder.

It's also possible some folks use two, one under and one over, to prevent flash-overs between chambers.


rcmodel

 

[Tommygunn]

Wonder wads go between the powder and the ball in the guns I have. I don't have a ROA but I can't imagine why they'd load any different.

 

[Starter52]

25 grs. of Pyrodex P, wonder wad, .457 swaged ball (Hornady or CCI) has been my Old Army target load for 15+ years.

 

[dstorm1911]

when the chamber is fired the lube in the wad will be pressed out so it can work..... this only happens if its being pressed against the ball by the exploding powder in front of the ball there is no expansion of the wad and very little lube pressed outa the material onea the benifits of the wads under the ball is they are expanded under pressure to create an even better seal

 

[Misfire99]

I have an 1858 Remington, actually more then one. I have tried using wonder wads and found them to be to much hassle for what they do. I stopped using them completely. The key to good accuracy is consistency. When I tried to use wonder wads they all didn't go nicely onto the powder some went in straight and some didn't. So I stopped using them and have had no problems without them. I also started using the lee 200 grain conical bullet. I shoot them as cast and lube with Lee Alox. The conical is made so the first band just fits into the cylinder and the others are a little over size. This caused the bullet to seat straight and, because of the oversize band, there is no flashover. But I do add some grease to top off the bullet to give some softening to the fouling. So it's my opinion that it's not worth the trouble to use wonder wads.

 

[Smokeless Coal]

Alox and BP dont go well together, the residue is harder to clean.

I use 777 which does go well with alox especially with conicals with no need to wad.

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

as misfire has I've gone to the Lee conicals. I dip 'em into a warm wax-grease mix I make up using toilet ring and boot grease. little goes a long way. but I do use a felt overpowder, I found noticeable tighter groups with. do the same in my ROA also. so far - 3 shots from both of 'em = 2 wild feral hogs and many happy B-B-Q'ers.

 

[enkindler]

If you get sick of messing with wads you can just get another powder measure that throws about 20grains and use corn meal or grits over the powder. Works great and is cheap and easy.

I shot this way in SASS for an entire year and cleanup was always easy.

 

[Millwright]

Idasr,
Think of those felt wads as insurance against chain fires -which you don't ever want. Some Crisco or lube on top of it all is the traditional remedy for chain fires and BP fouling.

Conical bullets are a slightly different breed of cat as they're intended to be an interference fit with the chamber. A light lube on the grease grooves is a good idea. Prudence dictates an over powder wad won't hurt and damn well might help. It'll press up into the hollow base and help seal both chamber and barrel while providing enough oomph to swell the bullet base. After all you're not fighting Commanches - are you ? >MW

 

[Marlin 45 carbine]

try the Lee conicals if you want some power with that ROA. maybe somebody with a mold send you some to try, then if you like buy the mold.

 

[Pulp]

I've tried the Wonder Wads and like some, have found them more trouble than they're worth. I know they work well for some folks, and would work well for me if I tried them again, it's just one more step in reloading, and another expense.

 

[zxcvbob]

I haven't shot my Old Army in a couple of years, but I used a .38 Special or .357 Magnum casing as a powder measure with Goex FFF black powder. Then a .457 Speer round ball, then a smear of Crisco.

I should take it with me next time I go to the range...

Bob

 

[Misfire99]

Alox and BP dont go well together, the residue is harder to clean.

I use 777 which does go well with alox especially with conicals with no need to wad.

I probably should have said that I use triple seven. But I think in the future I am going to try Johnson's floor wax as a lube and see how that works. The reason I used Lee alox is it was what I had on hand.

It's like my grandfather told me when I was a small boy. "A little lubrication never hurt anybody." It wasn't until I was much older that I understood what he meant ;-}

 

[acman145acp]

I just got a ruger old army a few days ago. I'm going to go try to round up some components and shoot it this afternoon.

I plan on using 777 and hornady ball. If i cant find any wonder wads i'm guesing crisco is the way to go to prevent chain fire/flash over??

 

[Pulp]

I plan on using 777 and hornady ball. If i cant find any wonder wads i'm guesing crisco is the way to go to prevent chain fire/flash over??

That oughtta do it. I usually use Bore Butter, but Crisco will work fine. One little trick with the Bore Butter is I have some 10cc syringes that I fill with Bore Butter, then use them to squirt some over the bullet. Crisco would be too solid for that.

At a Cowboy Action match a few years ago I used margarine. I didn't pack Bore Butter, thinkin' a vendor would have some at the range. WRONG! I went to the cook shack, lookin' for some Crisco. They didn't have any. So I got a stick of margarine from them. It worked fine, with one little drawback. Something in the margarine will leave non-removable little specks in your bluing.

 

[ldasr]

Thanks to you all for the comments and info. The reason for my confusion was because on the Outdoor Channel I saw a so called expert load the ball over the powder and then a Wonderlub Pad. I'm thankfull that I have been loading the proper way.

 

[Misfire99]

Thanks to you all for the comments and info. The reason for my confusion was because on the Outdoor Channel I saw a so called expert load the ball over the powder and then a Wonderlub Pad. I'm thankfull that I have been loading the proper way.
Well hell if it was on the Outdoor Channel I must have been doing it wrong all of these years;-}

 

[Jamie C.]

Something in the margarine will leave non-removable little specks in your bluing.

Salt would be the "something" in question. Most margarine has quite a bit added.


J.C.