Do I want a wad? No projectile

[r042wal]

I am about to try my cannon for the first time.  It is 24" bronze with a 1" bore and a 3 1/2" chamber.  I have followed the artillery man article for making charges and have a 100 gr and a 150 gr charge to start.  I do not intend to fire projectiles so should I use a cotton wad after the charge?
Thanks.

[Artilleryman]

Try it without a wad and see what you think.

[flagman1776]

Delete

[buzz36]

horse or cow poop make a good wad
grass works well but be careful if its dry out
i also use wet cotton rag on top of the cartriage
a wad will make it bang  more and as stated above it will be a projectile so always make sure things are safe down rangebut is it realy need to fire the answer is NO

[keith44]

NEED a wad, no, not even with a projectile, but do you want one??


I load loose powder, instead of prepared charges...


My .72 cal just happens to be bored to 14 gauge shotgun dimensions so I have the option of vegetable fiber wads.  I sometimes use a wad to make the cannon sound louder.  Sometimes I just pack the powder charge to make the cannon have a deeper sounding boom.


As for wadding with projectiles, if I am shooting a single projectile, no wadding is desired (pressure and accuracy concerns) if I am loading a shot charge, then I use aluminium foil, and an over shot card like used for muzzle loading shotguns.


Hope this helps

[gunsonwheels]

Some cannon sellers advertise their product as "salute cannons".  That means no wad at the least as wad = increased/high pressures.  Is the gun designed to shoot projectiles?  If not I would not recommend wadding it.  If it is designed for projo's than any mass up to the mass of the projo should be acceptable.
 
GOW

[Cannoneer]

horse or cow poop make a good wad
grass works well but be careful if its dry out
i also use wet cotton rag on top of the cartriage
a wad will make it bang  more and as stated above it will be a projectile so always make sure things are safe down rangebut is it realy need to fire the answer is NO

Buzz36,
I was going to say that that's a fresh idea for wadding material, but upon further reflection I seem to recall (who else but) Cat Whisperer telling a story about using cow flop as a projectile.
I have on occasion also used live grass or leaves for wadding.

[The Hayman]

As a farmer, I think using cow dung for a wad is a waste of good fertilizer, though if shot over the hay field, I guess the cannon could be considered a unique manure spreader

[buzz36]

last rowdy i was at we were all firing  blank loads for show  i asked the horse solders if i could have some again this year  the guy said great you help fetilize our field
were do you think the owrk came shoot the crap came from hehehehe
even  put some in the musket this year yes it was sort of dry
the best part is when some asked what that  pile of stuff was for we put a white sheet up at 100 feet at nit e is was little soiledbut for the most part most  was blown aways by that distance