Better accuracy with wads or cream of wheat

[hesco]

shooting with the old navy and roa today, 2.5 inch groups with both at 25 yards, ran out of wads for the 36 navy so just put in a little more cream of wheat with lube under the ball for a compressed load, same accuracy, so i tried it with the roa with the same results, are wads nessesary? should i be able to group better than 2.5 inches. was using pyrodex fff 15gr in the navy and 30gr in the roa.

[coyotejoe]

Wads and COW both serve the same purpose, allowing lighter powder charges without deep seating the ball and some protection from chain fire. I'm not surprised you found no difference in accuracy. Wads are more of a convenience than a necessity. Accuracy varies greatly with individual guns and shooters. I have an 1851 Navy from which I expect 1 1/2" groups but my 1860 Army has never done better than 2 1/2", but take away the bench rest and I can hit targets about as well with one as the other. I'd suggest you try out a variety of loads, vary the powder charge, try different kinds of powder, etc. My 1860 does best with 28 grains of Pyrodex RS, much better than Pyrodex P, as did .44 Colt and .45 Colt cartridges. The "RS" loads may be 100 fps slower than the "P" loads but who cares?

[blhof]

I've gotten 1" to 1 1/2" groups with my ROA at 10yds, but that's off a bench and carefully measured and lightly compressed 30gr loads of T7 with a wad and using a separate loader for the cylinders.  The barrel has been firelapped with one of Veral's kits using a conversion cylinder and soft lead rolled in his compound, before the bore was very rough, a push through slug felt like it was going through a grater, but after about 4 cylinders of bullets it was smooth as silk and the groups greatly inproved.

[Gatofeo]

Greased, felt wads are best.
I'm not much of a fan of Ox-Yoke Wonder Wads with their dry lubricant; they don't keep fouling soft enough for my preferences.
A properly greased felt wad between ball and powder will keep bore fouling to a minimum. It also keeps other fouling soft, keeping parts from binding.
If you use a greased, felt wad between the ball and powder, there is no need to put grease over the ball. The greased felt wad contains enough lubricant. Cream of Wheat or corn meal contain no lubricant, of course.
Seat the wad on the powder first, then seat the ball firmly on the seated wad, for a more consistent feel of how much pressure you're applying. Consistency leads to accuracy.

The best lubricant I've found to grease felt wads is a homemade lubricant named after me: Gatofeo No. 1 Bullet Lubricant. It consists of:
1 part canning paraffin, the kind used to seal jars of preserves.
1 part mutton tallow (sold by Dixie Gun Works).
1/2 part real beeswax (beware of synthetic beeswax, such as current toilet seals).
All measurements are by weight, not volume. Melt them together at low heat and allow to cool at room temperature.
Substitution of any ingredients results in an inferior grease. Use what is specified.

This recipe actually dates to the 19th century, but I improved it somewhat by using very specific ingredients. It is also excellent for bullets, shotgun wads, and patches.

[brpc]

Hesco:

I was curious about much the same thing.  Decided to test it at 15 yds off a sandbag rest with my Rogers and Spencer.

I shot the following:

457 ball with Cream of Wheat filler
457 ball with Wonder Wad
457 ball with home cut felt wad and homemade lube similar to Gatafeo's
457 ball with Wonder Wad and Cream of Wheat on top of wad

All loads were charged with 21grains of 777.

There was no difference in accuracy.  All groups were minus 2 in.  The only advantage seems to be that you can safely load a lighter charge and fouling ( I wipe once down and once up between cylinders) was softer with the home made wad and lube.