B.p. question for cap & ball

Wads go between the powder and the ball. If you're cheap like me you can skip the wads and load powder, ball, then stick some Crisco in each cylinder on top of all that.

Robster, I do use wads for my cap & ball revolvers, no matter if they are antique or a replica. One of my C&B’s is a huge .44 Colt Walker revolver. It can hold up to 60 grain of black powder per chamber. That gun is a real blast.

But it’s useless to fill the cylinder chambers up with that amount (60gr) of black powder. The optimal performance up to 50 meters (or closer) is with my revolver about 45 to 50 grains of BP per ball. If I fill them with 60gr the gun becomes extremely dirty and that causes accuracy and functionality problems. Plus the unburned powder (residue) is way to much to be effective.

To fill up the charge difference I place a felt or wool wad and seat the balls on top. I have wads of different heights to compensate, just so that the balls (no matter the charge) are always seated at the same height. These wads are either dry or coated with some lube (depending on the charge). I lube the lead balls with Lee Liquid Alox in advance at home. My .44 C&B revolver wads variate from 1mm up to 8mm in thickness, depending on the powder charge and bullet (Ball or Collar-Button) combination.

To seal of the individual chambers I use al kinds of stuff ranging from bees-wax, to butter/margarine to the expensive grease from OxYoke or TC Bore Butter and so on. But it is all the same and 9 out of 10 times I just use butter/margarine for convenience and it’s cheap. Be aware and do not use Petroleum Jelly because this can burn. I have seen a bizarre accident with it way to close to me, PY is an excellent source for starting fires!

Note, I do shoot (paper) target competitions with C&B revolvers so I spend some extra time and money to make my loads as accurate and consistent as can be. Plus it keeps my revolver barrel cleaner in between shots. Those wads are major contributor for the best results..... at least for me. To be honest I use wads of all kinds of material and sizes for “all” my muzzle loading rifles, shotguns, pistols and revolvers.

PJ.

I've used Crisco in my 1860 for years, as well as more recently in my Walker. Dan, you should try it--it smells like there's a popcorn vendor around, and you can pretend you're in the movies !