Best place to buy wads?

[maillemaker]

I've been using cream of wheat as a filler but was advised to use wads. Midway USA has wads for $20/1000. Cabela's as them for $10/100. What's your best place to buy wads?

Steve

[Hawg]

Circle Fly 16.00 per 1000. http://www.circlefly.com/html/products.html
making your own is cheaper.

[maillemaker]

That price looks good. Where would I buy material to make my own? I have heard of looking in thrift shops for hats but I don't really fancy hunting around for them.

Steve

[Doc Hoy]

because I am an embarrassing tightwad.

Mykeal would tell you to go get some Durafelt.

Did I mention you can get about a billion wads from one felt hat that runs about two to three bucks at a thrift shop?

Make sure it says 100% wool.

[Hawg]

Durofelt http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html

[kwhi43]

Use old egg cartons soaked in lube.

[Hawg]

Use old egg cartons soaked in lube.

Kinda hard to stuff an egg carton into a revolver chamber isn't it?

Sorry. couldn't help myself.

[g.willikers]

A lot of what looks like a felt hat is actually some kind of synthetic/polyester.
Wads made from them will melt in the gun.
I use gasket paper, from the auto parts store.
The thicker version.
Works very good.

[Rigmarol]

I get my wads from circle fly too.

[Captainkirk]

Best place is Durafelt and make your own. Other than that, Track of the Wolf or Midsouth Shooter's Supply ($4.50/100 last time I bought some)

[DD4lifeusmc]

I home cut 44 dry wads 1/8" thick hard felt.
$4 a hundred plus shipping lower 48.

[Doc Hoy]

...By making sure the hat has a label designating it 100% wool. If the label is missing steer clear of it.

Durafelt can be purchased in thickness that t is better for wads than a hat.

[Fingers McGee]

Prelubed and dry wads from SageOutfitters http://www.sageoutfitters.com/catalo...43/7463802.htm

or Buffalo Arms: http://www.buffaloarms.com/wool_felt_wads_pr-4115.aspx

[Hawg]

Dang Fingers, those are expensive.

[spitpatch]

Was doing the old hat thing but have not found any for quite awhile. So bought some dura felt and a set of punches from Harbor Freight. Got a lifetime supply of 36 & 44 now.

[maillemaker]

Thanks for the durafelt link, I have a need for 100% wool padding for some medieval gauntlets I am working on:

http://imgur.com/a/BAae9

I'm going to have to model it up in CAD and see how many wads I can get out of a sheet of the felt to see how it works out.

Steve

[Fingers McGee]

Originally Posted by Hawg

Dang Fingers, those are expensive.

Yes, they are pricier than the 1/8 inch fiber wads; which are not appropriate for C&B revolvers. These are lubed 1/4 inch felt wads and the prices are less than half what you'd pay in a retail setting or online from the big box stores(Bass Pro wants $12.99/hd and Cabelas wants $9.99/hd. Gander Mountain doesn't even list them).

Besides, I'm lazy and figure it'd take more than $36.00 worth of labor and materials to make 1000 lubed wads. I go through between 1500 and 2000 a year. Have you priced beeswax lately?

[Hawg]

. Have you priced beeswax lately?

Nope, haven't run out yet.

[Noz]

http://www.durofelt.com/image_26.html

My choice with a Harbor Freight 11mm punch for my 44s.

[Snyper]

Kinda hard to stuff an egg carton into a revolver chamber isn't it?

That's why they have to be soaked in LUBE

[fdf]

"I've been using cream of wheat as a filler but was advised to use wads. Midway USA has wads for $20/1000. Cabela's as them for $10/100. What's your best place to buy wads?"

Why were you advised to use wads and what is the rational for the change?

COW and corn meal are used by most High Master and Master pistol shooters, not wads. Since they use one or the other, they have a very good reason for doing so, to get the ball to the front of the cylinder for the least amount of jump into the forcing cone, wads will not do that.

You can get a lot of COW or corn meal for $20.

[maillemaker]

Why were you advised to use wads and what is the rational for the change?

The person I was talking to felt that they contributed to fouling.

I personally have seen that if you do not put enough COW in so that it compresses into a solid mass it can migrate into the powder and dilute the charge and inconsistent mixing causes inconsistent velocities.

I know that you can mitigate the by making sure to put in the correct amount of filler so that the ball compresses it fully during seating.

But I still wonder if, during detonation, if the COW filler does not disperse into the explosion and dilute or alter it. I wonder if it would be better to use solid fillers like wads rather than one in powder form.

COW and corn meal are used by most High Master and Master pistol shooters, not wads. Since they use one or the other, they have a very good reason for doing so, to get the ball to the front of the cylinder for the least amount of jump into the forcing cone, wads will not do that.

I'm confused here. Why would wads under the ball and on top of the powder not serve the same spacing function as cream of wheat?

Steve

[fdf]

How does COW or corn meal contribute to fouling? Fouling is caused by burning black powder.

How does COW migrate into the powder, it is poured on top of the powder? There is no mixing action/agitation in the cylinder between the two?

COW does not nor will compress, that is down side to COW. If you put too much COW in the cylinder, you cannot fully seat the ball. You have to remove the nipple and remove a small amount of powder and re-install the nipple to seat the ball so the cylinder will rotate in the frame. Corn meal will compress and you can fully seat a ball if it is too far forward for the cylinder to spin in the frame.

You would have to put “multiple wads on top of the powder to get the balls to the front of the cylinder.

How is COW going to go backward into an explosion and disperse into it, there is no explosive force in front of the COW, only the ball and lube?

I read a lot about shooting black powder revolvers prior to going to the Nationals the first time.

After struggling for some time, one of the Masters next to me, said let’s talk. He took me to the parking lot and was blunt. He said you do not have a clue on what you are doing. My learning was from key board experts thus far. He said you have a good revolver, here is how you need to load it, the loading sequence, the loading components he provided and the loading order. He said bring me my things, after you finish, and he would be on the shot gun range.

[maillemaker]

How does COW or corn meal contribute to fouling? Fouling is caused by burning black powder.

You are putting me in the position of defending someone else's opinion.

I think the guy's opinion was the burning COW would cause additional fouling. He may be right. Burning anything will make soot and ash and perhaps it does contribute to the fouling.

How does COW migrate into the powder, it is poured on top of the powder? There is no mixing action/agitation in the cylinder between the two?

As I tried to explain before, it happened to me when I did not put enough COW under the ball and the loading ram did not push the ball down far enough to hit the COW. So the powder and COW were loose together under the ball. Just handling, cocking, and shooting the gun was enough to shake it and mix the powder and COW.

COW does not nor will compress, that is down side to COW. If you put too much COW in the cylinder, you cannot fully seat the ball. You have to remove the nipple and remove a small amount of powder and re-install the nipple to seat the ball so the cylinder will rotate in the frame. Corn meal will compress and you can fully seat a ball if it is too far forward for the cylinder to spin in the frame.

Yup. Or you can take a pocket knife and just scrape off the protruding nose of the bullet, in a pinch.

You would have to put “multiple wads on top of the powder to get the balls to the front of the cylinder.

Yes, that is the idea. Fill the empty void with wads.

How is COW going to go backward into an explosion and disperse into it, there is no explosive force in front of the COW, only the ball and lube?

Because the chamber instantly becomes a cloud of hot explosive gas. No doubt most of the COW is probably already in a dense cake from being compressed under the ball, and it probably compresses further under the detonation. However it seems likely that some of the COW may be consumed in the explosion also. Of course, it's entirely possible that some of a wad would likewise be consumed, but it seems more likely that the COW, being essentially dust, would be more likely to act as a flame inhibitor than a solid chunk of wool. But then, maybe it has no effect at all.

Personally, I think it doesn't really matter. The key of firearm accuracy is load consistency. You could fill half the chamber will jell-o and still develop a good accurate load as long as you do it the same way every time.

After struggling for some time, one of the Masters next to me, said let’s talk. He took me to the parking lot and was blunt. He said you do not have a clue on what you are doing. My learning was from key board experts thus far. He said you have a good revolver, here is how you need to load it, the loading sequence, the loading components he provided and the loading order. He said bring me my things, after you finish, and he would be on the shot gun range.

That's a nice story. Some day I hope to be as edjucumated as you about shooting.

Steve