Found old bee hive

[Dave M]

Well I took my daughter and our dogs for a walk out back to find some trees for blackpowder use and found this old hive with a hole in its side. After further examination I noticed no bees around nor nothing active inside. So I grabbed it to take home. I'm thinking of trying it for a patch in the old muzzleloader. So my question is, what part do you use? The outside, inside or both? Do you guys use this instead of a patch or do you load this before your normal patch? Thanks fellas,
Dave163844163843

[rockrat]

Looks like a Hornet nest, not a bee hive.

Don't think anything there to use in a muzzleloader

[Went2kck]

That is a paper wasp nest.

[Hickory]

Yea, hornet's nest.

[Dave M]

Thanks for the quick replies. If it's good for nothing, I'll just toss it. The kids got a kick out of it.

[Beagle333]

The only thing I know that you could do with it, was use it as a wad in building a shot column in a smoothbore for blasting squirrels/munks with some shot.... but other than that, nope.

I think Sam Fadala wrote something about using it under a patched ball to prevent burned patches, but I've never really burned a patch enough to see a need for that.

[bubba.50]

people use it for waddin' in shot loads. I believe all ya do is wad up enough that when rammed home will provide an adequate wall between yer powder & shot. then wad up enough to hold yer shot in place & ram it down on top.

[Dave M]

Hmmm I never thought of using for a shot column. Might have to try that out. I just ordered some brass shells for the shotguns. I'll give it a try when they arrive.

[Mica_Hiebert]

id burn it before you find out how much larva is down in them holes.

[mooman76]

Some people have used them as an over powder wad. Suppose to work real good.

[BlackPowderBen]

You can shoot it:bigsmyl2:

[johnson1942]

in days gone by hornets nest was used for wading as stated above, it is superior to anything else. if you shoot that style of gun, save it and use it.

[koger]

I have read, talked to old timers that did this, and tried it myself, used it as a buffer between patched round ball and powder.worked great!

[Old Scribe]

I have also used paper wasp nesting over the powder and it works quite well. It doesn't matter where the material comes from.

[54bore]

people use it for waddin' in shot loads. I believe all ya do is wad up enough that when rammed home will provide an adequate wall between yer powder & shot. then wad up enough to hold yer shot in place & ram it down on top.


I have a ziplock bag full of this exact stuff to use in my TC new englander 12 gauge shotgun, my dad has been using it in his double barrel for years, he would get a doughnut hole in his pattern when he used the stuff you buy from shops for over powder, they are called an over powder card and are heavier than the over shot cards, this is where the nest material shines, its so light weight that it doesnt travel anywhere out of the barrel and turns to dust, leaving the shot pattern alone. I read a good article on patterning a blackpowder shotgun, this guy only uses the thin lightweight over shot cards, he pours his powder in, then seats 3 of the little lightweight cards over the powder, then pushes one more down the barrel about 3 inches or so and then pours his shot in, he sprinkles corn meal muffin mix in on top of the shot and taps the barrel until it sinks into the shot, and then seats another lightweight over shot card on top of the shot and rams it down on top of the charge. His theory is the muffin mix cushions the shot and the lightweight cards are way lighter than even a single pellet, so when they exit the barrel they fly off to the right/left wherever? but dont interfere with the shot. The nest material is doing the same thing as the lightweight cards, and its free if you find it! And dont get stung

[Dave M]

Thanks for all the replies. I'll be giving it a try.

[Hardcast416taylor]

Probably would make some nice fire starting tinder.Robert

[SSGOldfart]

Thanks for the quick replies. If it's good for nothing, I'll just toss it. The kids got a kick out of it.
Paper wasp eggs and larvae can live in the nest for a year or so,be sure you don't just stick it in the garage unless you want to fight with these critters for the next couple of years
As far as muzzleloader goes that would be to thin for a patch., dust.it might be usable as a wad over shot if that thing is dry it will go poof when you put a flame to it.I'd stick with pillow ticking myself. I'm not shooting a muzzleloader shotgun maybe a little rat shot in a plastic sabots once in awhile

[johnson1942]

its not for patching material. it is for between the ball or shot and the powder. i read it in a very old book, dont know if it was ned roberts or some one else. mostly used in front end loader shotguns.

[bedbugbilly]

I knew a fellow who found one of those and decided to take it home with him. It was cold out so he just knocked it down and put it in the back of his station wagon . . . of course the heater was on in the car and guess what surprise he got when the nest got warmed up? Those hornets/paper wasps are nothing to fool with so heed the warning given about the larva that can exist in the nest and take care.

[triggerhappy243]

put it in the microwave for a minute or so,

[dromia]

I like the stuff, I have a shed where the wasps come and make a nest each year so I have a steady supply of the stuff. I use it crumbled up as an over powder wad/buffer to seat the patched ball on both in smooth bores and rifles. I have found it to give more consistent results both over the chrono and more importantly on the target.

[dondiego]

The larvae do not overwinter. Adults may still be in it but not larvae. Unlike paper wadding, this will not burn when fired from a shotgun. I also use it as a safe wad between the parachute and the ejection charge in model rockets. It doesn't catch fire.

[waarp8nt]

You can shoot it:bigsmyl2:

We have those darn critters building under the eve of the house on the soffits nearly every year. One adventurous group of critters build amongst our persimmon trees and would dive bomb us each time we went between the houses and sheds. Three shots from a .410 made a mess of them and the hive.

Didn't know the hive had a legitimate muzzleloading use, interesting, thanks for posting!

[Dave M]

First off sorry for the orientation, I can't seem to fix it. Anyways today I shot some of my homemade powder out of a Hawken 54cal. round ball and on the 1st shot did not add nest material. That's pretty typical of the patch. Loads may be to hot? Number 2 is when I loaded the nest at the same time as patch and ball. When pushed down the barrel it shaved the outer nest material. On 3rd to 5th I folded up and pushed the material down the barrel then installed patch and ball. The patch material is pillow ticking .015" from Joan Fabrics. I read somewhere that it's probably made in China and not as good. Used a 1 1/4 hole punch to make them.

[toot]

a paper wasps nest will not burn, it has a fire retardant that also makes it water proof. other wise it would fall apart at the first rain. it is out in the weather all summer and it makes a nice white faced hornet house. I for one use the paper part not the comb part in primitive matches. when it is shot out of the gun and lands on the ground it does not burn, great in the dry season. you can also use it for wadding in black powder brass shot gun shells or plastic black powder shells, it works great. on you tube a guy was using in his cap and ball revolver in place of a vegetable wad and shot it over and over with ne chain fires, so you see it has many uses, hope this was helpful to you? .