12ga. Roundball?

[Chris Cade]

shot my 12ga. cva yesterday with .69 roundballs yesterday. at 35 yards, one hit exactly 6" low from where i aimed the tip of the bead and the other hit 3" left and 3" low. i used 80gr. with a 1/4" wad over powder and over the ball. any thoughts what load will bring the ball up to where i aim?

 

[Bon Sauvage]

My thoughts are running along the lines that two balls might not be enough to be absolutely sure that the ball is consistantly hitting low. After confirming this fact with a few more rounds I would start by backing off the powder charge a little.

Less powder = less speed = longer time in the barrel. Assuming that recoil is forcing the barrel up then a longer time in the barrel should raise the point of impact.

Just my thoughts. Those with more experience will weigh in soon.

 

[Deadeye]

Raise your head a little and for better accuracy use a patched ball.
Deadeye

 

[flintlock75]

Use a bigger ball and or thick Patch. I use a .705 ball in my cva double with a .020 patch. shoots 1.5 inch groups at 25 yards, 90g of 3F.

 

[rich pierce]

Bend the barrel if you have to.

 

[Chris Cade]

i forgot to add that i used a piece of sweat shirt for a thick patch. picked this up with some earlier tips. i do need to shoot a few more times to be sure of how it shoots, but i feel confident that it hits low. i'll play with the load a little the next time i shoot it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Sorry. But it makes NO sense to use something like an old( or new) sweatshirt. The thickness of the fabric varies too widely for any kind of consistency in accuracy from a smoothbore.

Measure the bore of your gun. With calipers( cheap) or with a micrometer. Measure to a thousandth of an inch.

Only then can you possibly know what size 12 gauge RB to choose for the gun, and what size( thickness) patch to use. :hmm:

Once you have maximized the accuracy of the gun and RB, THEN you can play games with other kinds of wads and patches. We all do, to see if there isn't some "short cut" that will give us equal accuracy using something that is "FREE". ( Like old sweatshirts) :grin: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[jim gray]

I shoot .695" roundballs with a .020" thick patch out of a Navy Arms double barrel. One barrel shoots decent groups out to about 30 or 35 yards, but only with fairly stout loads (100 grains 2Fg. The other barrel has never been a good shooter with PRBs.

 

[robertdale]

I think a .710 rb is good with a .12 thou patch. put a 1/8 card wad over the powder first. I agree with the powder charge of 75 grn 2ff

ironjaw rathbun