Wads with paper patched bullets

[Mike]

Until recently I never paid a whole lot of attention to the wads used with my paper patch loads but one experience made me change my ways. Maybe something similar has happened to you. With my .50/70, while using Accurate's #50-470T, I would often not use a card wad over the lube cookie. That seemed to make no difference until, like it started all on one day, I was getting key-holes on the target from bullets going through perfectly sideways. No, getting perfect key-holes was not my intention. After that I tried shots with a card wad both under and over the lube cookie and the key-holing stopped. Now I have these thoughts; not having a card wad over the lube allowed at least some of the lube to be forced up along side the bullet as things were headed toward the muzzle. That lube beside the bullet was under enough pressure that it would not allow the bullet to expand or obturate completely enough to grab the rifling. This allowed the bullets to leave the barrel without the rotation or spin needed for stabilization. Yes, that is just a guess. But by using the card wad over the lube, between the lube and the bullet, the key-holing has stopped and my loads maintain accuracy once more. Has anyone else suffered similar experiences? Shoot sharp, Mike

[Caprock]

I always place a OPW for the same reason you wipe ALL the lube off the base of a greaser. If ya don't crappy things happen.