00 in a .62?

[Thomas.bill92]

Anyone shoot 00 buckshot out of a .62 (20ga) smoothbore? I know it won't fit nice and neat like a 12ga and because of that, I don't want to hurt anything when all of those pellets get mashed together or "bridge" the bore. Only reason I ask is I have copious amounts of 00 as I cast it for slingshot ammo and I don't wanna pay for Hornady #4 buckshot.

 

[64Springer]

.

 

[centershot]

If I were going to use 00 buck in a 20 ga. ML, I'd load it like this:

Powder
Equal volume of cornmeal
Buckshot
Another measure of cornmeal, tap barrel several times to settle it.
OS card

Or, you could always use grits instead of cornmeal but I'd prefer to keep the grits for eatin'!

 

[centershot]

Please describe the potential catastrophe that could occur using 00 buck in a 20ga.

I don't think there'd be a problem but I suspect the OP is concerned that "bridging" of the pellets could raise pressure. The worst that I could see happening is that some pellets will get a flat spot by rubbing on the barrel and the pattern will open up because of it.

 

[ord sgt]

I have used buck and ball in my .69 calibre Charleville musket. With no problems.
Using:
50 grs FFg
over powder wad 14 gauge
cushion wad
3- 00 buckshot
.678 roundball
over shot wad

 

[IanH]

I did it with cornmeal. Didn't like how they stacked either but they shot ok. I'm sure they get terribly deformed.

 

[appalichian hunter]

Suggestion, perhaps get a 20 ga. OO buck shot shell tear it apart and see how its put together, Suggestion #2 OP cardboard wad, paper straw in center of wad then wrap the wad base in say brown paper think grocery bag, now place the buck around the straw once you have the required amount of buck you want to take corn meal and dribble in the straw as you pull the straw out working carefully corn meal between the shot seems this would buffer the shot, fold a crimp in the paper to enclose the shot and corn meal, you have now made a stacked and buffered shot column. Look at cannon cannister and grape shot construction that should keep you experimenting for a bit. Buck shot is good for one thing two legged critters.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

Suggestion, perhaps get a 20 ga. OO buck shot shell tear it apart and see how its put together, Suggestion #2 OP cardboard wad, paper straw in center of wad then wrap the wad base in say brown paper think grocery bag, now place the buck around the straw once you have the required amount of buck you want to take corn meal and dribble in the straw as you pull the straw out working carefully corn meal between the shot seems this would buffer the shot, fold a crimp in the paper to enclose the shot and corn meal, you have now made a stacked and buffered shot column. Look at cannon cannister and grape shot construction that should keep you experimenting for a bit. Buck shot is good for one thing two legged critters.

Problem is I have never seen a 20ga shotshells with 00, only #3 or #4 buck. I tend to agree with you on the usage of buckshot but where I am in VA, there are a lot of guys that run dogs for deer and while I don't approve of the method, if they are gonna be running the deer and dogs around and on my property, I'd like a shot at em too! You can't "meh" loud enough to stop a deer with a bunch of hounds behind it so buckshot it is!

 

[Thomas.bill92]

I don't think there'd be a problem but I suspect the OP is concerned that "bridging" of the pellets could raise pressure. The worst that I could see happening is that some pellets will get a flat spot by rubbing on the barrel and the pattern will open up because of it.

Correct. I'm sure there is a reason that 00 is not available (that I have seen) in modern shotshells. I figure it was either overpressure concerns or duch deformity that it couldn't hold a group.

 

[nkbj]

Had the formula put together for calculating the round ball size that nestles three to a layer.
Maybe it's in this computer somewhere.

 

[nit wit]

5o gr is about right, I used 50 gr of #4 buck in a .58 with good results.
Nit Wit

 

[Thomas.bill92]

I t

Had the formula put together for calculating the round ball size that nestles three to a layer.
Maybe it's in this computer somewhere.

Hi k you may have replied to a previous thread I posted asking that question, believe it came back around .28" which if pretty close to #4 buck. I just don't want to pay $35 for 5 pounds of the stuff. I've heard that the lee mold for that size is a true pain in the but to deal with.

 

[NorthFork]

If I were going to use 00 buck in a 20 ga. ML, I'd load it like this:

Powder
Equal volume of cornmeal
Buckshot
Another measure of cornmeal, tap barrel several times to settle it.
OS card

Or, you could always use grits instead of cornmeal but I'd prefer to keep the grits for eatin'!

Hey @Thomas.bill92

@centershot has it right. I would only add an over shot card over the powder before the cornmeal for a better gas seal. Nothing bad will happen. I shoot .320" balls from a .63 (not a typo) all the time with that recipe.

 

[SDSmlf]

On one of those ‘just to see days’, tried 00 and 1-1/2 buck in my Spanish made percussion blunderbuss with a 13” barrel. It’s close to 26 gauge with a .56” bore. Forget the count of each buck loaded, but tried each by themselves and mixed, plus tossed some number 6 shot in (it’s what I had at the range) on a few shots, with no more than 1-1/3 oz total load by weight. Used a 5/8” diameter 1/8” thick hard felt wad over 60 grains of powder with another wad over the buck/shot. At 7 yards most everything stayed in or near a 12” circle. At 25 yards not everything stayed on a 24” square target, though I imagine if one were boarding a sailing ship back in the day, no one would want to stand in front of you. Remember the 1-1/2 buck ‘grouping’ the best. Don’t believe I kept any notes, it just a fun thing with a couple others also taking a few shots. The photograph below is one of the targets, though I forget details of what exactly was shot at it. Impressed one the shooters enough to take the photo and send it to me. The laughing stop after the first shot was taken.

 

[Rob M.]

Oh yeah ,I ve shot every size of shot through a 20 ga. tube ,works just fine ... Kicks good , kills great.!

 

[2 shots]

first off what lead are they cast from?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

If I were going to use 00 buck in a 20 ga. ML, I'd load it like this:

Powder
Equal volume of cornmeal
Buckshot
Another measure of cornmeal, tap barrel several times to settle it.
OS card

Or, you could always use grits instead of cornmeal but I'd prefer to keep the grits for eatin'!

LD

 

[2 shots]

blackpowderbill, why is it sad wanting to know what lead he used to cast his ' slingshot ammo' ??? very hard lead would make his concerns worse. no?

 

[Thomas.bill92]

first off what lead are they cast from?

Wheel weight, but if soft lead is recommended, I can do that too.

 

[Thomas.bill92]

View attachment 245487


LD

So skipping any sort of nitro card or wad and just relying on corn meal, correct?