wasp nest

[buckskin billy]

i've been shooting cap and ball revolvers for over twenty years and have tried almost every gimmick that has come along over the years.
 years ago i started using the felt wads and have been very pleased. no more grease to fool with and my accuracy improved greatly. though i have always wondered about how auethenic the wads are. i read the great post attach at the top of this page about how to properly load a c&b revolver and believe the old timers would have used a wool felt  wad if avilible.
 in many old documents i have read, i have seen written the use of a nesting between powder and ball. most of this were in rifles. and i have found that wasp nest was the most commonly used by the old timers.
 i use wasp nest in my 54 caliber hatfield with great results. it actually improved my accuracy in that old gun.
 i have been curious to try it in my colt navy's. my questions is has any one every tried this and does it seal the cylinder off properly to prevent chain firing

[beerbelly]

I have heard the same ,but it was Hornet's nest. I just got a Hornet's nest ,I found in the woods. So I will be trying it soon.
                                                            Beerbelly

[bedbugbilly]

I tied using it once but I got stung . . .   ;-)  I guess it's best to find a nest that's not being used?

So many tricks that the old-timers used are lost and it's a shame.  They improvised when they needed to and had all sorts of tricks - not just for shooting but other work as well.

Just curious for those that have used it . . . does it catch fire when you shoot and it leaves the barrel?  I've burned old wasp nests to get rid of them and they always seem to burn well - after all, they are "paper like".  I'm just curious if there is any problem with the wad of it shooting out a distance in front with glowing embers attached . . . which in certain conditions, could cause a fire.  Thanks!

[Gatofeo]

I tried some wasp nest years ago in my CVA Mountain Rifle in .50 caliber.
I didn't note any burning "paper" flying out of my barrel. I managed to find one wad on the ground, after firing, and it was intact.
A few years later I read a gun writer -- can't recall who or where -- who had the same experience: the nest material didn't burn and was found on the ground, relatively intact.
My one experience echoes his.
But nothing is absolute, so I won't go down as saying that wasp nest doesn't burn after leaving the barrel.
I don't know that I'd use it in cap and ball revolvers. I don't expect it would cause any harm, but I don't see the point or advantage, considering that greased felt wads are easier to obtain and use.
But who knows? The gods are perverse. It may be that wasp nest in a cap and ball revolver is absolutely the finest accessory you can add when loading.
The more I delve into black powder, the more I realize how dad-blamed complicated and persnickety it can be. Its use is hardly as simple as I once believed.
Wasp nest in my cap and ball sixguns? Hmmmmm ... I have none but I'll have to keep an eye out for it. Might be fun to experiment with down the line.
If you try it in your cap and ball, let us know how it goes.
As for sealing off the chamber from multiple ignition, I don't know. But then, I'm not one of those who believes that multi-ignitions start at the front of the chamber. I believe it starts at the rear, when flame gets under the cap, or through the uncapped nipple, to ignite the charge.
I just don't see how flame can get past a ball tight in the chamber, provided the chamber is round and the ball is large enough to create a good seal.

[bedbugbilly]

Thanks for the report on your experience with the wasp nest - it was interesting and enlightening - peaks my curiosity enough that I'll try it in one of my rifles when I get back to Michigan this spring. 

As far as a "chain fire" - I've only seen it once, many years ago when I saw a fellow shoot off his revolver during a parade with blanks while we were marching on our way to a park to shoot an NSSA event.  Obviously, it was with blanks and I can see how it would ignite a chain fire from the front of the cylinder.  I've never seen or experienced it with a loaded cylinder . . . and I hope that I never do.  As with anything involving firearms . . . safety should always come first . . . and that means doing everything you can to prevent a mishap . .  . a good reason for using felt wads AND sealing off the chambers with some sort of sealer . . . be it Crisco or something thicker than that such as the mixtures suggested on this forum.  When shooting, I have had good luck with Crisco . . but after several shots, it usually is loose and runny in the remaining unfired chambers . . . but then, I am usually shooting in warm weather as well.  I am looking forward to mixing up some of the combinations that others have suggested and giving them a try.

As far as what the old timers used . . . . my grandfather was born in 1867.  He used a plains style rifle - .45 cal. when he was younger . . . . my brother has it now.  He cast his balls up with an iron mold and cut the sprues off with the same mold . . . . they weren't perfect . . . . I know as I cast some up in the mold . . . he used linen patches that appeared to be greased with a mixture of tallow and beeswax . .. . there were some of the originals in the patchbox of the rifle . . . . his "powder horn" was nothing more than a nice little glass bottle that "Marichino Cherries" (spelling) had come in and it had a cork stopper . . . . I doubt if he measured the powder charge with any degree of accuracy . . . and yet I have heard of him hitting a running dog at a little over seventy-five yards, killing it instantly with a shot through the heart . . . . the reason being that the dog had been in his sheep and had killed several lambs.  A "lucky shot" . .. maybe . . . maybe even probably . . . . but my point is . .. the folks of his generation used what they had and didn't worry about the weight of the ball or if it was perfectly round . . . they didn't carefully measure each charge . . . . they didn't have all the fancy things that today's black powder shooters seem to feel that they need . . . . their rifle and equipment were "utility" items that were used everyday and oftentimes . . . with great accuracy . . . . now they might have gotten in trouble with the womenfolk for using a piece of linen or cloth for rifle patches or for cleaning . . .. that's one thing that hasn't changed and probably never will . .. but they used what they had and what they could afford . . . . it's too bad that many of us today don't take that lesson from them.

Thanks again for posting your experience with the wasp nesting .  . safe shooting to everybody!  Have a good one!

Jim