Brand new 8 gauge wad punch came in this morning.

[Milton C Starr]

Took a few weeks to finally get here but I finally got my wad punch for the 8 gauge. A few weeks ago I started browsing for wad punches or circle punches, there seem to be alot of different styles and names depending on the seller.

I was beginning to think I wouldn't find a size for the 8 gauge, the fiber wads and overshot cards you buy are .850". I have seen 7/8" wads used in 8 bores rifles but those have much thicker barrels and dont have to worry about being squeezed through a choke. What I found is 21.5mm is what you're looking for I've read tolerances for machining put the punches diameter at .846-852" etc which seems perfect to me.

There's a few reasons I wanted a punch, in Toms book I think he mentions felt seals better in the bore than fiber wads and also they don't confetti out the muzzle. Another point is I use 3/4" of wadding in my 2 1/4oz loads, the fiber wads come in 1/2" sizes. While they are easy to split they are always slightly different or inconsistent. The plan is to use three 1/4" durafelt wads so I will have a better material and the wad height will be the same each time. The last point is I dont like the looks of the plain white overshot cards, I will probably get some stamps made so I can mark them to how they looked back in the day.

I did some testing with some thick green paper I had on hand, they appear the same diameter as the white ones I bought as you can maybe see the green one overlaid on a white one. I think its going to work out as intended not bad for the $9.99 I paid . I was surprised it actually came in a decent little case.

[Mills]

Cool!!!

[Milton C Starr]

Heres a few more pics.

[Milton C Starr]

Originally Posted by Mills Morrison

Cool!!!

Mills you replied faster than I could upload the test of the pics haha.
I plan to work on doing some wad and card making for the 10 gauge eventually. Well I guess when it comes to wadding I dont have to worry about whats in or out of stock anymore.

[charlie cleveland]

great pictures and the green wad looks good....charlie

[Stan Hillis]

Nice, clean looking cuts on the wads. I'm interested in what you have in mind for doing vintage style stamping on the OS wads. I've always wanted to find something to do that with, too.

[Milton C Starr]

Well what I plan on doing is measuring the visible area of the overshot card after its roll crimped to see what diameter stamp I need. Then decide what design to use I've seen many different kinds of overshot card markings. My personal favorite are the ones that have the shot size payload weight and powder type. You can get custom ink stamps made for $10-20, not that expensive as I only need a few for the 8 gauge. Eventually I will tackle doing the 10 gauges but they don't get brought out nearly as much as my 8 gauge since it's mostly what I carry when hunting. Oh I almost forgot what kind or color of material you want to use, from my eyes alot of the original overshot cards look like some sort of manilla color though I have seen some old Winchesters with a very bright green card. So I suppose it's up to personal preference.

[charlie cleveland]

keep working on this roject I enjoy your post s......charlie

[Milton C Starr]

Charlie I emailed Fiocchi about ordering some of their 8 ga hulls since they sell them as a reloading component in Europe at least. They told me to contact a local dealer/distributor about placing orders, so ill probably look into that if I run low on hulls.

[Milton C Starr]

Got my roll of Durafelt in a few minutes ago and punched out some wads.
these wont confetti out the muzzle like fiber wads do and should provide a better gas seal. Going with 1/4" wads gives a more consistent wad stack height, I have read fiber wads mostly with the wax ones can push through the center of the pattern. While I have never had this happen, I think going with 1/4" wads should help them separate from the shot column easier.

This is sold as F-1 hard felt but my wad punch cuts through it with a breeze, I am happy with the results so far.