Corn Meal and Wonder Wads

Fred_Fred · April 4, 2007, 07:02 AM

Should I put the wads between the meal and ball, or between the powder and meal? Shot Sunday with just powder, meal, ball, and grease but want to try these wads.
Thanks...

mykeal · April 4, 2007, 09:00 AM

I wouldn't use both cornmeal and a wad. The wad does the job of filling up volume in the chamber to put the ball closer to the mouth, so the cornmeal would not be necessary; it would be overkill.

The wad also does an adequate job of sealing the chamber so grease would not be necessary. I use a lubed wad to get the cleansing benefit.

Fred_Fred · April 4, 2007, 09:57 AM

I forgot to mention that the cylinder in this pietta is long enough to put 28 grains of pyrodex and 25 grains of cornmeal and the ball still seats below the end...
thanks.

arcticap · April 4, 2007, 03:45 PM

There's really no wrong way since it doesn't seem to matter at all which is loaded first, the wad or the filler.
If your filler and grease begin to make a mess, you may want to put the wad further back to help sweep any remains out of the barrel.
Other ideas are to inpregnate the wad with some lube in the microwave, or just place a dab on top of the wad under the ball. Then you'll be limiting some of the mess from the grease coming into contact with the filler.
Some people even use 2 wads without any filler.
Others say that the coarser the filler the better, such as using grits. Cream of wheat is another product that works.
Let us know if loading some or all the components in a different order makes any difference in the accuracy of your gun, or how messy it gets.

http://thehighroad.org/showthread.ph...ight=corn+meal

armedandsafe · April 5, 2007, 12:57 PM

Just remember that whatever you put in the chamber is ejected by the expanding gasses of the burning powder. This means that the weight of the ball, the weight of the cornmeal, the weight of the wad AND the weight of the powder are added together to create pressure in the chamber. If you have an (say for the sake of the argument) 80 grain ball and 28 grains of powder, you are ejecting 108 grains of "stuff" when you fire the round, developing a certain pressure in the chamber. Add another 25 grains of cornmeal, and you are now ejecting 133 grains of "stuff." The same pressure effects as if you were loading a 105 grain bullet. Add another 20 grains (guessing here) of wad, and you are pushing the equivalent of a 125 grain bullet. Adjust your loads accordingly.

That said, I use only the wads in my 1858 and don't worry about the depth of seating, so long as the rammer puts pressure on the powder. Drop your rammer into an empty chamber and mark the rammer at the mouth of the chamber. So long as the load puts this mark above the chamber mouth, you have enough stuff in the chamber to prevent a gap between the ball and the powder.

This advice is probably worth about what you paid for it. Maybe a little less.

Pops

mykeal · April 5, 2007, 09:46 PM

Pops - it's good advice. Well said.

Fred_Fred · April 6, 2007, 02:53 PM

Thanks for the help! Pops, how many grains of powder do you use in that 1858?

Double J · April 18, 2007, 12:03 PM

Cornmeal?

allen820 · April 22, 2007, 10:10 AM

Why? Its been a few decades, but when I shot BP, I just loaded with powder, ball, and grease. Maybe today's powder requires a spacing agent? What's the deal.

Ruger makes a good looking cap and ball which is about to get me back into BP shooting, so I need as much info as possible. In the day, powder was pretty much powder -- few choices. Has all that changed these days? Also, I used a .36 Remington (made by Lyman, if I am remembering right). Is .36 still popular?

Thanks for the info.

Allen

Jim Watson · April 22, 2007, 10:14 AM

The point of cornmeal is that it takes up space normally occupied by powder, allowing lighter loads and less recoil. It was getting to the point that SASS had to put in a requirement for 1 CC of powder before the meal, grits or whattthehellever filler was added so as to generate enough smoke to look realistic.

armedandsafe · April 22, 2007, 01:02 PM

I haven't yet played with the Remington enough to have found its favorite load. My flask throws about 35 grains and that's what I'm using for now.

Pops

Fred_Fred · April 23, 2007, 11:58 AM

After several trips to the range, have finally settled on 33grains and a wonder wad. I took pops advice and marked the ram and it's seating fine with 33. It also shot a lot flatter at 33 than 25 or 28. I couldn't tell any difference between 33 and 35. Nice to be rid of the cornmeal and grease. Thanks for all the ideas...

Double J · April 27, 2007, 12:10 PM

-Be careful not to make too light a load in the BP revolver. I've had a bad experience with a .44 in 1858 Remington, also with .31 Pocket models where ball didn't leave the barrel. Other occasions where the ball bounced back off a 3/4" plywood board and hit me because of not enough powder.
-There's no way to overload the cylinder. Too much and the ball won't clear the frame. But too little and have a ball stuck part way down the barrel can be a disaster.

armedandsafe · April 27, 2007, 08:46 PM

Good advice, JJ. True for any firearm, but particularily appropriate for the direction this thread was going.

Pops

gmatov · April 28, 2007, 12:18 AM

I forgot to mention that the cylinder in this pietta is long enough to put 28 grains of pyrodex and 25 grains of cornmeal and the ball still seats below the end...

THAT Pietta can hold 53 grains by volume of ANY powder?
I think you should check your measure.

I think the highest that anybody has claimed is 40 grs in a Rem '58 rep, and they were pooh-poohed as to that.

I know, I have beaten the measure thing to death. A volume is a volume is a volume, to most of you.

If you are getting 53 grs by volume into that thing, you have a WAY off measure. Simply cannot do it.

Cheers,

George

April 4, 2007, 07:02 AM	#1
Fred_Fred Member Join Date: March 26, 2007 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 35	Corn Meal and Wonder Wads Should I put the wads between the meal and ball, or between the powder and meal? Shot Sunday with just powder, meal, ball, and grease but want to try these wads. Thanks...

April 4, 2007, 09:00 AM	#2
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	powder, wad, ball, in that order I wouldn't use both cornmeal and a wad. The wad does the job of filling up volume in the chamber to put the ball closer to the mouth, so the cornmeal would not be necessary; it would be overkill. The wad also does an adequate job of sealing the chamber so grease would not be necessary. I use a lubed wad to get the cleansing benefit.

April 4, 2007, 03:45 PM	#4
arcticap Senior Member Join Date: March 15, 2005 Location: Central Connecticut Posts: 3,166	There's really no wrong way since it doesn't seem to matter at all which is loaded first, the wad or the filler. If your filler and grease begin to make a mess, you may want to put the wad further back to help sweep any remains out of the barrel. Other ideas are to inpregnate the wad with some lube in the microwave, or just place a dab on top of the wad under the ball. Then you'll be limiting some of the mess from the grease coming into contact with the filler. Some people even use 2 wads without any filler. Others say that the coarser the filler the better, such as using grits. Cream of wheat is another product that works. Let us know if loading some or all the components in a different order makes any difference in the accuracy of your gun, or how messy it gets. http://thehighroad.org/showthread.ph...ight=corn+meal Last edited by arcticap; April 5, 2007 at 05:26 PM.

April 5, 2007, 12:57 PM	#5
armedandsafe Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: Moses Lake WA Posts: 1,001	Just remember that whatever you put in the chamber is ejected by the expanding gasses of the burning powder. This means that the weight of the ball, the weight of the cornmeal, the weight of the wad AND the weight of the powder are added together to create pressure in the chamber. If you have an (say for the sake of the argument) 80 grain ball and 28 grains of powder, you are ejecting 108 grains of "stuff" when you fire the round, developing a certain pressure in the chamber. Add another 25 grains of cornmeal, and you are now ejecting 133 grains of "stuff." The same pressure effects as if you were loading a 105 grain bullet. Add another 20 grains (guessing here) of wad, and you are pushing the equivalent of a 125 grain bullet. Adjust your loads accordingly. That said, I use only the wads in my 1858 and don't worry about the depth of seating, so long as the rammer puts pressure on the powder. Drop your rammer into an empty chamber and mark the rammer at the mouth of the chamber. So long as the load puts this mark above the chamber mouth, you have enough stuff in the chamber to prevent a gap between the ball and the powder. This advice is probably worth about what you paid for it. Maybe a little less. Pops __________________ Armed and Safe: Not just a theory If it time to bury them, it is time to dig them up. Remember, "Behind every blade of grass."

April 22, 2007, 10:10 AM	#9
allen820 Member Join Date: December 13, 2006 Location: Oak Ridge, TN Posts: 38	Cornmeal?? Why? Its been a few decades, but when I shot BP, I just loaded with powder, ball, and grease. Maybe today's powder requires a spacing agent? What's the deal. Ruger makes a good looking cap and ball which is about to get me back into BP shooting, so I need as much info as possible. In the day, powder was pretty much powder -- few choices. Has all that changed these days? Also, I used a .36 Remington (made by Lyman, if I am remembering right). Is .36 still popular? Thanks for the info. Allen

April 4, 2007, 09:57 AM	#3
Fred_Fred Member Join Date: March 26, 2007 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 35	I forgot to mention that the cylinder in this pietta is long enough to put 28 grains of pyrodex and 25 grains of cornmeal and the ball still seats below the end... thanks.

April 5, 2007, 09:46 PM	#6
mykeal Senior Member Join Date: October 8, 2006 Location: Northern Michigan Posts: 2,772	Pops - it's good advice. Well said.

April 6, 2007, 02:53 PM	#7
Fred_Fred Member Join Date: March 26, 2007 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 35	Thanks for the help! Pops, how many grains of powder do you use in that 1858?

April 18, 2007, 12:03 PM	#8
Double J Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2007 Location: So. Illinois Posts: 547	Cornmeal?

April 22, 2007, 10:14 AM	#10
Jim Watson Senior Member Join Date: October 25, 2001 Location: Alabama Posts: 18,541	The point of cornmeal is that it takes up space normally occupied by powder, allowing lighter loads and less recoil. It was getting to the point that SASS had to put in a requirement for 1 CC of powder before the meal, grits or whattthehellever filler was added so as to generate enough smoke to look realistic.

April 22, 2007, 01:02 PM	#11
armedandsafe Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: Moses Lake WA Posts: 1,001	I haven't yet played with the Remington enough to have found its favorite load. My flask throws about 35 grains and that's what I'm using for now. Pops __________________ Armed and Safe: Not just a theory If it time to bury them, it is time to dig them up. Remember, "Behind every blade of grass."

April 23, 2007, 11:58 AM	#12
Fred_Fred Member Join Date: March 26, 2007 Location: Central Illinois Posts: 35	After several trips to the range, have finally settled on 33grains and a wonder wad. I took pops advice and marked the ram and it's seating fine with 33. It also shot a lot flatter at 33 than 25 or 28. I couldn't tell any difference between 33 and 35. Nice to be rid of the cornmeal and grease. Thanks for all the ideas...

April 27, 2007, 12:10 PM	#13
Double J Senior Member Join Date: February 12, 2007 Location: So. Illinois Posts: 547	-Be careful not to make too light a load in the BP revolver. I've had a bad experience with a .44 in 1858 Remington, also with .31 Pocket models where ball didn't leave the barrel. Other occasions where the ball bounced back off a 3/4" plywood board and hit me because of not enough powder. -There's no way to overload the cylinder. Too much and the ball won't clear the frame. But too little and have a ball stuck part way down the barrel can be a disaster.

April 27, 2007, 08:46 PM	#14
armedandsafe Senior Member Join Date: January 9, 2005 Location: Moses Lake WA Posts: 1,001	Good advice, JJ. True for any firearm, but particularily appropriate for the direction this thread was going. Pops __________________ Armed and Safe: Not just a theory If it time to bury them, it is time to dig them up. Remember, "Behind every blade of grass."

April 28, 2007, 12:18 AM	#15
gmatov Junior member Join Date: September 20, 2005 Posts: 346	I forgot to mention that the cylinder in this pietta is long enough to put 28 grains of pyrodex and 25 grains of cornmeal and the ball still seats below the end... THAT Pietta can hold 53 grains by volume of ANY powder? I think you should check your measure. I think the highest that anybody has claimed is 40 grs in a Rem '58 rep, and they were pooh-poohed as to that. I know, I have beaten the measure thing to death. A volume is a volume is a volume, to most of you. If you are getting 53 grs by volume into that thing, you have a WAY off measure. Simply cannot do it. Cheers, George