just wondering what guys are using for wads...
shotshell wads,
traditions wads.
traditional type cardboard wads
still to try wonder wads....
just not satisfied with my patterns yet......
any other ideas...buffered worth the effort? Ed

Been experimenting...
Had some fizzels so going back to regulars.

In my 16ga (.665"± dia.) with rough bores, I use some store-bought (Circle Fly O/S cards, and prelubed & unlubed cushions) and some home-made, from assorted materials: 25-point pressboard (stiff folders, dividers, file cards, etc., .025" and very strong), cereal-box cardboard, milk cartons, old felt boot-liners (I wash and dry them before punching, in part to get more even thickness), old felt hats (4X or better - I cut the hats up and iron the pieces flat before punching). Depending on the combination of punch and material, the wad diameters vary from .678-.689", although one cannot to be precise with the softer felt. I no longer use 1/8" "nitro" overpowder wads, 1/2" cushion wads, or lube-saturated cushion wads of any sort, as I suspect them of blowing patterns, at least occasionally. Due to my rough bores, I need 3-6 O/S-type cards (depending on thickness) over the powder to seal reliably, and if I don't use a cushion to carry some lube, I'll use a modification of V.M. Starr's technique and spray some lube in on top of the shot and under the O/S card.

JFTHOI, I want to try packed newspaper some time, but have never had the combination of time and ambition to test it seriously.

Regards,
Joel

Tow or old wool felt hat

Most of mine I use the V M Starr loading with 2 cardboard over powder cards between powder and shot and a thin card or 1/2 of a regular card over the shot.
One less object to have to deal with when loading (the fiber wad between the powder & shot )
Easier to deal with in the field, patterns ok in my guns with my loads.

Your experience may vary

rmbj

Old VM Starr said that 0.035 was plenty of wad between the powder and shot. I agree with him, when one has a smooth, unpitted bore all the way to the bottom. If she is burned, rusted or otherwise belled out at the bottom, you have to "wad her up" until the shot is up in the normal diameter portion.

I have broken close in clay birds with no over powder wad at all. Guy behind me yelled that I broke it with the wad, no the wad is what I forgot!

I have seen lubed, (maybe over lubed), "cushion" wads blow patterns big time. Total doughnut.

And you want to keep the over shot wad as thin and soft as possible. I much prefer Mikes Wads, (Flintlocks Inc.), over the old Circle Fly stuff for that very reason. (But they have changed hands since then, and maybe got smarter.)

As to plastic, at least with real black powder, I wouldn't use them. Real BP burns hotter than smokeless and melts that plastic. Leaves a coating most all the way down the barrel. The bore just gets tighter and tighter, and harder to load again. The National Muzzle Loading outfit won't allow them because of the percieved safety hazzard. (At least they did, the last I knew.)

Yes, black powder is rough on plastic. The V.M.Star wad column is a good one. My gun, a Dixie Gunworks 11 ga., has a fair amount of age on it but it has been well cared for & the barrels are smooth inside. A 10ga. plastic wad will fit in the bore if you can get it past the chokes. The left barrel has a permanent choke tube & is extra full. The right tube is removeable & is modified. It is said to be full choke but shoots modified patterns. I have owned the gun 20+ years & still find myself experimenting with wad columns. The over powder wad or wads should be paper/card but I don't see a problem using a plastic shotcup if it is protected from direct contact with the burning powder. Some plastics are more resistent to burning powder than others. There is also no reason that a shotcup can't be made of cardboard/ paper. Some type of shotcup is required, of course, if you are using a hard nontoxic shot. The trick is to get everything down the bore & seated in the proper order. I have also used buffer but this compounds the loading problems. The wad (s) need to create enough friction/ resistence to keep the load from moving when the other barrel is fired & to get the powder burning efficiently.

Yes 3 thin cards over power and 1 over shot. Works in all my smoothies flint and cap 20,12,10,11ga. 11/8- 11/2 oz. shot. 11/4oz most common load. FFG= volume of shot and I allways use hard magnum 6 -shot.

Another vote for 3 thin cards over the powder (poke a pinhole through each one to allow air to escape and make loading easier) and one over the shot.