# Wadding

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Material used in guns to seal gas behind a projectile

For other uses, see [Wadding (disambiguation)](/source/Wadding_(disambiguation)).

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Modern made waddings out of leather and jute

Wadding schematic used on the [.41 Swiss](/source/.41_Swiss) intermediate cartridge

**Wadding** is a disc of material used in [guns](/source/Gun) to [seal](/source/Mechanical_seal) gas behind a [projectile](/source/Projectile) (a [bullet](/source/Bullet) or [ball](/source/Round_shot)), or to separate the [propellant](/source/Propellant) from loosely packed [shots](/source/Shot_(pellet)).[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](/source/Sabot_(firearms)). Wadding for [muzzleloaders](/source/Muzzleloader) is typically a small piece of cloth, or [paper](/source/Cartridge_paper) wrapping from the [cartridge](/source/Cartridge_(weaponry)).[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Shotguns

A series of individual 1/1,000,000-second exposures showing shotgun firing shots and wadding separation

In [shotgun shells](/source/Shotgun_shells), the wadding is actually a semi-flexible cup-shaped [sabot](/source/Sabot_(firearms)) designed to hold numerous much smaller-diameter sub-projectiles (i.e. [shots](/source/Shot_(pellet))), and is launched out together as one payload-carrying projectile. This minimizes chaotic collisions of the shots with the bore wall and with each other, allowing the [internal ballistics](/source/Internal_ballistics) to be more consistent. After leaving the [muzzle](/source/Muzzle_(firearms)), the wadding loosens and opens up in flight, allowing the much [denser](/source/Density) shots to be [inertially](/source/Inertia) released and scattered. The same function is served when shooting [slugs](/source/Shotgun_slug).

## Model rockets

Wadding is used in [model rockets](/source/Model_rocket) to protect the [parachute](/source/Parachute) when it ejects. Without the recovery wadding, the parachute would melt because the ejection is by a small [solid-fuel engine](/source/Solid-propellant_rocket), which gets so hot that it melts the glue almost immediately.[*[citation needed](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Citation_needed)*]

## Effects

Burning wadding may have ignited the fire that led to the explosion that destroyed the [*Orient*](/source/French_ship_Orient_(1791)) at the [Battle of the Nile](/source/Battle_of_the_Nile) (*q.v.*). The father of [Robert Morris](/source/Robert_Morris_(financier)), "Financier of the American Revolution," died as the result of being wounded by flying wadding from a ship's gun that was fired in his honor.[2]

## See also

- [Glossary of firearms terms](/source/Glossary_of_firearms_terms)

- [Cannelure](/source/Cannelure)

- [Driving band](/source/Driving_band)

- [Sabot (firearms)](/source/Sabot_(firearms))

## References

1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** ["Glossary of Firearms Terms".](http://homestudy.ihea.com/glossary_fa.htm#w) [Archived](https://web.archive.org/web/20160303231730/http://homestudy.ihea.com/glossary_fa.htm#w) 2016-03-03 at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine)

1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** [Rappleye, Charles](/source/Charles_Rappleye) (2010). *Robert Morris: Financier of the American Revolution*. New York: Simon & Schuster, p. 10. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1-4165-7091-2](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1-4165-7091-2).

## External links

Wikimedia Commons has media related to [Wadding](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/Category:Wadding).

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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Wadding](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadding) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wadding?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.