For other uses, see Wadding (disambiguation).
Wadding is a disc of material used in guns to seal gas behind a projectile or to separate powder from shot.[1]
Wadding can be crucial to a gun's efficiency, since any gas that leaks past a projectile as it is being fired is wasted. A harder or more carefully designed item which serves this purpose is often called a sabot. Wadding for muzzleloaders is typically a small piece of cloth, or paper wrapping from the cartridge.
Model rockets[]
Wadding is also used in model rockets to prevent the parachute from melting when it ejects. Without the recovery wadding the parachute would melt because the ejection is by a small solid-fuel engine. It gets so hot it melts hot glue almost immediately.
Trivia[]
- The father of Robert Morris, "Financier of the American Revolution," died as the result of being wounded by the wadding of a ship's gun that was fired in his honor.
References[]
- ↑ Glossary of Firearms Terms, Introduction to Hunter Education
The original article can be found at Wadding and the edit history here.