Fillers ?

[Bronco]

Howdy,

I have two straight walled cartridges, 45-70 and a 50-110.
Don't want to get into powders just fillers! Don't care if I have to use an over powder wad or not...does not matter to if I do .
Want to make some light plinker loads for 25 to 50 yards for fun.

Anyone here have experience with fillers that they would like to share.

Thanks in advance
John

[BrentD]

Blackpowder makes a great filler. Just fill'er to the brim and you are good to go.

I've tried lots of other fillers, tissue paper, dacron, you name it. Waste of time as far as I am concerned.

[jmiller]

John, I'll give you the short answer and then I'll direct you to the most knowledgeable source that ever existed on the use of fillers. Fillers should not be any type of wad, ball, etc put into the case on top of the powder that leave any air space between the powder and the base of the bullet. Most knowledgeable reloaders who use fillers for the straight wall cases you mention use dacron cushion/pillow material. You can buy it in bulk in places like WalMart and a small bag will last you two lifetimes. Pull off a small piece (.5 grains) and "pluck" it to get it to loft up and get as bulky as possible. Simply push it down on top of the powder and don't pack it. It will fill the space up between the powder and the base of the bullet. Simply seat the bullet and you're good to go. Now here's a thought: not all powders require fillers even with reduced loads. Some powders aren't position sensitive, and are somewhat bulky to begin with. I've found that fillers work well for me when loading the 45-70 with 2400 powder. I've loaded cases with and without and compared the results. I get significantly tighter groups with the use of fillers. Some powders have no difference at all. I just like 2400 and it shoots great in my 45-70s (I own a few, my favorite caliber). Now the expert: go to castboolits.com and search fillers or Larry Gibson. He could write a book if you just compiled his posts on fillers. He's also one of the most experience/knowledgeable people on there. Lots to be learned so check it out.

[M. M. Wright]

In 45-70 and 45-90 I commonly use tufts of Dacron fiber fill to hold small charges of powder to the back of the case. Don't pack it in, just use barely enough to hold the powder in place when pushed in with a pencil. Then load your bullet as normal. I've checked velocities on both loose powder and using the Dacron and the filled ones have a much narrower extreme spread.
Using black powder in these is much more fun though. I like fire and smoke.

[TedH]

In 45-70 and 45-90 I commonly use tufts of Dacron fiber fill to hold small charges of powder to the back of the case. Don't pack it in, just use barely enough to hold the powder in place when pushed in with a pencil. Then load your bullet as normal. I've checked velocities on both loose powder and using the Dacron and the filled ones have a much narrower extreme spread.
Using black powder in these is much more fun though. I like fire and smoke.

+1

Using this type of filler is even listed in load data in my Lyman cast bullet manual. They designate the use of that type of material for use as a filler with many straight wall cartridges with certain powders. I have also experiemented with using it and not using it with identical loads, and the loads with the small tuft of dacron will have a lower ES every time. But that being said, I still usually don't mess with it just because it's another step and the benefit is minimal for plinking loads.

[cas]

I've used/use Puff-Lon in both black powder and smokeless loads. I like it.

[Sixgun]

I've been shooting the big cases for 40 years and refuse to use any kind of a filler for reasons that take too long to explain.

Just load Unique loose in the case. For the 45-70, 9 grains with any weight bullet will be a blast. About 800 fps. 11 grains will be right at 1000 and will shoot clover leafs out to 100.

For the big 50, a starting load of 10 grains ought to work out just fine for backyard shooting.----6

[geobru]

I use coarsely ground corn meal in my 40-82 as a filler. I have also used a square of TP rolled and folded in my 45-90. Without the filler I am lucky to keep the shots an a sheet of paper, with it, groups shrink to 1.75 to 4" at 100 yards. Fillers are a necessary pain in the tush to attain any accuracy in my guns. (I haven't found a satisfactory way of getting around using them yet.) YMMV

For plinking loads though, I am with Sixgun on this one. Try Unique.

[Bronco]

Thank you all,

Yes if I was to want to buy another powder the suggestions of unique or 2400 are greatly appreciated. But am trying to make the stuff I have a tons of work. Like 4895. have 60 lbs. of it and when I get down on the charge, like 40 grs. in the 50, I get a delayed firing ...so wanted to avoid that.

Will go to Walmart and get some Dacron : )
Thanks again'

John

[Sixgun]

Broncs,
60 pounds of 4895??? You da man. I don't think there's nothing that cannot be loaded with 4895.

I myself must have used that much over the years. Great in the 308 and the 06.

Yes, on the smaller charges of 4895 in the big cases resulting in hang fires and erratic velocities......especially in the cold weather. Sizing your bullets 002 over groove diameter along with a heavy crimp helps as does using the heaviest bullet you can scrounge up.---6