Being fairly new to black powder cartridge shooting, I have come across mention in some of my reading that seems to fly in the face of what I thought I knew of loading. Most loading data for black powder doesn't specify a grain weight for powder, other than an approximation, and states how important it is to have a FULL case, whether it be all powder, or having the addition of wads or fillers, and to ensure there is NO air gap between the base of the bullet and the charge. Otherwise, pressures spike and you end up with a broken gun, or worse.
Now - how did the old Scheutzen shooters manage to shoot straight black powder or duplex loads, and do this with the bullet seated anywhere from 1/32" to 1/8" in front of the chamber throat? Most state that a pasteboard, cork, or fiber wad was placed in the neck of the case only to keep the powder from spilling out, or to keep the charge in the rear of the case near the primer. Some didn't use any kind of wad or filler, just kept the muzzle elevated during loading. Was there another trick they knew about? Or did they just NOT know. I'm not planning on doing this myself, it just came up in a conversation the other day and got me thinkin'.