Wads instead of Krisco to seal the chambers in C+B revolver.

[hogship]

As some of you know, I'm getting interesed once again in BP shooting after a 20+ year hiatus.

Used to be I sealed the chambers of C+B revolver with Krisco, to prevent chain fire. Yesterday, I purchased some lubed wads to be seated underneath the bullet.....for the same purpose.

Was wondering if any of you are using these wads in your revolvers.....and what you think of them. They surely look a little more handy than grease.

Will the lube in the wads effect the powder in any way?

come on

hog

[russianblood]

Wonder wads for the C&B revolver have become as popular as using a patch with a round ball in a rifled barrel.

They are so convient that I will never go back to using grease.

[Remington Kid1]

Hogship, Over the years I have tried many different ways to load these C&b Revolvers and I have never found a "lubed" wad  of any kind that did not contaminate the powder. Load one chamber with the wad and another with grease over the ball and let it sit for about 30 min. and then fire them. You will see a big difference in the noise and power.
A dry lubed wad such as wonder wads work great and show no signs of contamination even after sitting for days. I still like a little grease over the ball just to help keep things running smooth.
I like to make my own wads out of felt from the weather stripping you get at the Hardware store. Load my powder, felt wad and then I place over the felt a "pill" made from wonder lube and bees wax. It's only about 1/16" thick. Then I load the ball. Works great and simple to do.
To make the pills I use a cookie sheet my wife gave me and melt some of my pill mixture in a pan and then pour it on the sheet so it's about 1/16" and let it cool. Then I cut out a bunch of the pills with a wad cutter I made and store them in a Ready whip container. You can make several hundred in a very short time.

[quigleysharps4570]

Wads...the only way to fly. No mess like crisco or other lubes and I've yet to have a wonder wad contaminate the powder or have a cross-fire using them.

[Dalton Masterson]

Another good source for felt if you want to make your own is a custom hatmaker. I picked up all his leftovers for nothing, and it is a nice thick hard felt. DM

[Singing Bear]

Some do and some don't.  Over here, it do.  Leave the gun out for any length of time in sunlight and Wonderwads will "bleed" into the powder charge.   The same if it's just darned hot, like it is most of the year, here.

We only go through 15 rounds per per handgun at our monthly CAS match so I don't concern myself about lube, only chainfire from the front which has happened on several occasions.  For this purpose I found that even dry felt wads will help.   I also use the felt strips from our local Ace store.   Not as dense as I like, but works just the same.  My guns will start to freeze up from fouling at 30 rounds without lube.  

I use Wonderwads only if I know that the gun will be fired right away and  because I still have a bunch on hand.  :wink:

[willysjeep134]

I pan lube conicals with lard hardened with a little wax. It takes most of the mess out of loading. I don't shoot a whole bunch, so I haven't experienced any severe leading or fouling yet. I'm thinking about getting some blackpowder cartridge lube and using that, my wax blend is too stiff and I don't feel like fiddling with it very much. I'm using the 200 grain Lee conicals for remington .44s. They shoot well enough for me to keep using them.

[Gatofeo]

I use a wad twixt ball and powder, often in the heat of the Utah desert, and have never noticed a change in power. Perhaps it's in the lubricant.
I use an old recipe:

1 part canning paraffin --- sold in grocery stores in 1 lb. blocks
1 part mutton tallow --- sold by Dixie Gun Works. I've tried lard and other greases and nothing works better than mutton tallow. It's worth it.
1/2 part beeswax
All measurements are by weight, not volume. I use a kitchen scale to measure 200/200/100 grams of ingredients then melt it all in a quart, widemouth Mason jar placed in three or four inches of boiling water. This gives it a double-boiler effect, which is the safest way to melt waxes and greases.
Allow to cool at room temperature. When cool, screw the lid down tight and store in a cool, dry place.
This creates a medium-hard lubricant that will soften a little in heat. The paraffin is important, I believe, because it stiffens the felt wad somewhat and helps it scrape fouling better.

I bought a large sheet of 100 percent wool felt, 1/8 inch thick, from Durofelt of Little Rock, Ark. Visit its site at www.durofelt.com/products.html
Asha, a very nice lady from India, runs this felt business out of her home. She has relatives in India that run a felt plant there so she gets the real stuff at good prices.
Order soon, as Asha sent me an email recently that she's closing business soon so she can fly to India and visit relatives. Won't be back until January. As I recall, I paid $27 for a sheet 48 inches long and 30 inches wide. From it, I'll get thousands of .31, .36, .44 and .50-caliber wads.
Commercial wads are about $8 per hundred, so you see it's very cheap to make your own. Buffalo Arms has the best deal on wad punches, at $18 each.

I almost always use a greased wad in my loads. On rare occasions, when I shoot with the thermometer above 105 or so, I also put grease over the ball. The extra lubricant in this dry, desert heat keeps the fouling soft and more removeable.
I use CVA Grease Patch as a lubricant. It's very effective and comes in a convenient squeeze tube with a long neck, which is great for getting into the confines of a cap and ball revolver.