Did I mess up?

[brassrat]

So I am chatting with guy at the range and see he has Wonder Wads out while shooting his revolver. I tell him that my Wonder Wads got put in over the ball, not the powder. I only know the six that I fired but they were great. He says they always go on the powder.

[Baja_Traveler]

I used them in my ROA the same as the guy you observed.
Then I got a Dick Dastardly ROA bullet mold, and started pan lubing them and did away with wads all together.

[Mr Peabody]

I don't use them much. When I do they go over the powder

[725]

Over the powder.

[charlie b]

Never used them.

[brassrat]

I thought so but still taking comments. I never shot much with my little Pietta but did try 6 after seeing the wads at gunstore. I loaded my 2 cylinders and tried 1 after they sat loaded for a yr or so. I got a quarter sized round group and also new was the real powder. So usually its just wax melted to seal up cylinder, no grease.

[sharps4590]

Used them once but they do go over the powder. I know of absolutely no reason not to use them, I just don't. I guess I've been smearing grease over the front of the cylinders for so long I don't think of the wads.

[freakonaleash]

I have used them both way and don't see any difference. They are just there for lubrication anyway. Most of the time I just smear some lube over the cylinder face.

[almar]

i use them all the time, they go over the powder. They are useful for less than full loads.

[toot]

yes, over the powder!! not over the ball.

[kayala]

I don't shoot BP revolvers much but when I do I go with wad over powder, bore butter over ball.

[brassrat]

Just like my club buddy said which is what I suspected. I keep remembering my last BP pistol during the 70s. Had a bunch of chainfires and with the bore butter I had Roman Candle effects and heaved the gun, during. I guess, as of now, without the butter or wax, my misplaced wad, sealed, and/or performed, nicely but I know the ball should seal the powder and maybe it does.

[Hellgate]

I use wads all the time without any lube over the ball. I shoot in cowboy action matches with my perCUSSIN' revolvers using a 1/2" fiber filler wad of 45 caliber split into two 1/4" thick wads lubed with any number of combinations of beeswax and tallow/lard/Crisco/olive oil/etc. I never get chain fires and the chambers & bore get swabbed out with every shot. We typically shoot 30 rounds per gun for a monthly match. Baja Traveler mentioned Dick Dastardly's Big Lube bullets and they work just great without wads needed but you have to lube them yourself for them to work well.

If I am taking the gun deer or elk hunting (for a finishing shot) where it might go for an entire season between shots I will not use a wad and put some bore butter or crisco over the balls to seal out moisture. If the gun is left loaded for a long time with a lubed wad you might get leaching of oil into the powder and get low power "floofer" shots.

[Battis]

I have used the vegetable spray PAM (or a cheaper store brand) over the balls as a lube (also on the arbor/cylinder pins of Remingtons, Patersons, down the barrel of muzzle loaders, and into the breech end of other BP guns, including Vetterlis and a Maynard). Bore Butter, Crisco, etc basically turns into a liquid after the first shot. PAM works well, but it is very important to clean it out of the gun completely, especially revolvers, after shooting, or it will congeal. If you're not a meticulous BP gun cleaner, don't try it.

[toot]

no you didn't mess up, he did!

[Hanshi]

I used them occasionally when I didn't need full loads. I always put a bit of lube on the ball to keep from having a leaded bore. Wads go over the POWDER regardless what kind you use.

[JHeath]

Read Elmer Keith on C&B wads. The idea with wads is to manage fouling and prevent it from tying up the cylinder.

The supposed idea with grease over the ball is to prevent chainfires.

My understanding is that grease over the ball is a modern fashion and not traditional to C&B days.

I have also read that chainfires do not come from the front of the cylinder. The argument is that back pressure tears the cap and flame emerging from the nipple starts the chainfire.

When you load, a thin ring of lead should shave from the ball as it is rammed into the cylinder. So when you think about it, the front of the chamber is pretty well sealed. Hard to imagine how flame could enter.

But at the back of the cylinder, there are thin caps getting torn, which is why they tend to fall off and jam the works. And the nipples are basically un-sealed entry ports to the powder.

That is the argument anyway. I am not a C&B expert.

[indian joe]

Read Elmer Keith on C&B wads. The idea with wads is to manage fouling and prevent it from tying up the cylinder.

The supposed idea with grease over the ball is to prevent chainfires.

My understanding is that grease over the ball is a modern fashion and not traditional to C&B days.

I have also read that chainfires do not come from the front of the cylinder. The argument is that back pressure tears the cap and flame emerging from the nipple starts the chainfire.

When you load, a thin ring of lead should shave from the ball as it is rammed into the cylinder. So when you think about it, the front of the chamber is pretty well sealed. Hard to imagine how flame could enter.

But at the back of the cylinder, there are thin caps getting torn, which is why they tend to fall off and jam the works. And the nipples are basically un-sealed entry ports to the powder.

That is the argument anyway. I am not a C&B expert.

I have a little different take on chainfires (it proly can happen both ends no grease over the ball + a bit of a scratch in the chamber or an ill fit ball)
or (poorly fitted caps - loose on the nipple)

BUT - how many shooters do you know that properly check the clearance between a loaded cap and the recoil shield when the cylinder is in the full recoil position (hard back against the recoil shield) I bet a lot of chainfires happen when a cap stands proud or the nipple is too tall and it makes contact under recoil.
If ya not checking this ya should be.

[Nobade]

One thing I have learned about lubed wads is to squeeze them out as they come out of the melted lube so they don't carry so much. Otherwise when the weather is warm they squeeze the lube out into the powder when being seated and I get really weak shots. The funniest time with that was when a flaming wad poofed out and stuck in my target, setting it on fire. We were all laughing too hard to go downrange and put out the fire so the wood target frame was destroyed.

[freakonaleash]

Read Elmer Keith on C&B wads. The idea with wads is to manage fouling and prevent it from tying up the cylinder.

The supposed idea with grease over the ball is to prevent chainfires.

My understanding is that grease over the ball is a modern fashion and not traditional to C&B days.

I have also read that chainfires do not come from the front of the cylinder. The argument is that back pressure tears the cap and flame emerging from the nipple starts the chainfire.

When you load, a thin ring of lead should shave from the ball as it is rammed into the cylinder. So when you think about it, the front of the chamber is pretty well sealed. Hard to imagine how flame could enter.

But at the back of the cylinder, there are thin caps getting torn, which is why they tend to fall off and jam the works. And the nipples are basically un-sealed entry ports to the powder.

That is the argument anyway. I am not a C&B expert.

This is correct. I personally have never had a chain fire, and I have shoot alot of C&B, mostly in Cowboy action shoots