Primer Wads

[Nuclearcricket]

Greetings all, I know from time to time there has been discussions on the virtues of placing a wad or piece of paper between the primer and the powder charge. Is there any particular kind of paper that works better than another? Would left over patching paper work? Also is there any difference in performance between placing the paper directly under the primer and placing the paper in the case under the powder charge?
Thanks in advance.
Sam

[parkergunz]

I use a Lee Shaver .40 wad cutter from BACO to cut newsprint primer wads for my .45 loads. They fit the base of the shell perfectly. The wad cutter attaches to a drill and you can cut a thousand in a couple of minutes.

[MikeT]

I think it will depend on your primer, but generally the paper in the bottom of the case is best if it is easily burned, or else you can get 'donuts' of paper left in the case. I quite doing it that way, and started putting the wad in the primer pocket. With that method, the paper thickness is not an issue. But thicker paper works better than thin paper with some primers.

Keep on hav'n fun!
MikeT

[Lumpy Grits]

I use coffee filter paper(leaves no ash)and drop it into the bottom of the case.
Gary

[jgh4445]

OK...So what is the purpose of the tissue paper at the bottom of the case or in the primer pocket? Obviously the end purpose is smaller groups I know. But what does it do? Note: Today I shot my 45-70 with the Lyman 457132. I used Swiss 1.5 and Swiss 2F. I tried 65 gr compressed .0200 and 70 grains with the same compression. Tried 5 each with one .030 Walters wad and 5 with two. Did not drop tube. Weighed all bullets and allowed 1 gr deviation. Thumb seated all of the rounds with no crimp. The 2F won out with both 65 and 70 gr. I had read of the paper in the case deal so I tried it with five of each load. The 65gr with paper in the primer pocket ( toilet paper) was a clear winner. The 70 gr load had tissue at the bottom of the case and it also produced smaller groups than the 5 that had no paper. Why? By the way, these groups were at 100 yds on to an 8 inch 100 yd orange target. Groups were in the 2-3 inch range without tissue and easily half that with tissue.

[bruce moulds]

jgh,
I have come to the conclusion that damping the flame causes a much slower form of ignition.
this in turn tends to make black powder ignite in a way that resembles the progressive burning of smokeless.
you will notice the improvement more as ranges increase, possibly due to improved velocity standard deviation.
ultimately who cares why? if it works, do it.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Lumpy Grits]

I use a .40 cal dia. wad of coffee filter paper(leaves no ash)on the bottom of the case. My SD's are in the mid single digit, for a 10 shot string on ave.
Yup-I'll keep use'n them.
Gary

[bruce moulds]

gary,
it is good to see that you use 10 shots minimum to establish s.d.
so many people use 3 or 5, and that is statistically meaningless.
keep safe,
bruce.

[Lumpy Grits]

I will fire 5 shots, then take a 5-10 minute 'break' and then fire the rest.
It's SOP for me when use'n the crono.
FWIW: I always use fresh batteries for each crono session--
Gary

[jgh4445]

Guys, I'm new at this BP cartridge loading. Don and MeHavey have been awesome as far as helping. This tissue/news print stuff is really surprising to me. Now, with 65 grains of Swiss2F I shot a couple of really good 5 shot groups. At 70 grains the groups opened up a bit. From your experience, will an increase up to say, 72.5 or even 75 gr. and maybe dropping one of the veggie wads tighten or worsen the group? I could add a bit of compression to make up for the extra powder. Keep in mind, I'm not a competition shooter. I'm a hunter but am anal about accuracy. With 65 grains the bullet seems to take a long time to hit the one hundred yard berm. Seems to go a lot faster with 70 grains. I'm thinking a deer at 100 yds might could possibly move before the 65 grain load got there. Even a one step move could result in a wounded animal. I doubt they could move out of the way with the 70 gr load. or at least that what the impacts sound like from the two loads. Just want to make sure I have as much energy on target as possible at 100 yds and use a fast enough bullet they can't get out of the way in time. To recap, my rifle does not like light bullets. 405 grainers shoot horribly. The 500 gr govt RN and the Lyman Postell shoot just fine.