20 ga loads?

[AZ-Robert]

Broke in my (early) Christmas present today, after getting it back from surgery with Dr. Brooks - I'm the proud new owner of a 20 ga smoothie! :grin:

I was shooting .600 PRB and #5 shot over 65 grains of 3f. Pretty good results but wonder what the rest of you guys are using for loads in your 20 gauges.

 

[Cruzatte]

I shoot 65 gr. 2Fg .012" linen patch, spit lube, and a .600" ball. For shot loads I load 2¼ dr. 2Fg, 1 overpowder wad (thick cardboard) one half of a lubed fiber wad, 7/8 oz. 7½ shot and a thin overshot wad. This load I have used in informal clay pigeon shooting. It patterns acceptably in my gun.

Cruzatte

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. AZ-Robert,
With the .600 PRB we use 100gr 2F and with #6 shot we use 60gr 2F and an equal (by volume) amount of shot.
Best Wishes

 

I'd say yer pretty close to the sweet spot for a load. 65 gr. of FFFG is around the same as 70 gr. of FFG, which is pretty close to the starting load for powder with 80 gr. of shot. With ball .600 is OK, try switching the weight of your patch material and see if it moves point of aim, or effects the group size. My two 20's each like different feedings to satisfy them. The percussion 20 likes 80 of FFG, with 90 gr. of shot, but 70 gr. FFG with a .600 ball and .15 patch. My flint fusil, only likes 70 gr.FFFG powder with shot and ball, and a .18 patch for the ball. They're just like kids, they each have their likes and dislikes. :rotf: Bill

 

[roundball]

"...wonder what the rest of you guys are using for loads in your 20 gauges..."

In my 1" GM .62cal Flint smoothbore, I settled on the following as a hard hitting, long range turkey load:

70grns Goex 3F (or 80grns 2F)
2 Oxyoke wonderwads
Paper shot cup
1+5/8oz #6 hard shot
.030" overshot card

29 pellets in the 4" bottom of a tuna can at 30yds
8 pellets in 2.5" x 4" coke can at 40yds

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. AZ-Robert,
As Mr. RB did, perhaps should qualify our load for #6 shot. It is used for close range (20 to 25yds) shots on Grouse, Snowshoe Hare and Ptarmigan. Very effective for our style of hunting.
Best Wishes

 

[RiverRat]

I must admit that I have shot a 25 to 1 ratio of rb's over shot in my .62cal smoothie. I have much more fun shooting .600 rb's with .018 blue denim over 80grs of fffg. My shot load is 1.5oz of 4x6's over a circle fly over powder card glued to a half of a vegetable fiber wad over 80grs of fffg. I have to work on my shot load, but I am having too much fun shooting rb's :thumbsup:

 

[Dave K]

My load is 7/8oz. of 7 1/2's for doves and clays, change that to 6's for rabbits. I am using about 70gr. of 2F. Over powder card, 1/4" thick shot cushion and an over shot card.

 

[mbritt]

Everyone does it different. This year I've been spending a lot of time shooting at cardboard trying trying to get the best pattern possible with my 20 gauge fowler. Also did a lot hunting squirrels and rabbits and pheasant. I've tried many different combinations of powder, wads and shot. What I found works best for me is 65 grains of 2f, two 1/8" felt wads, and if the temp is above freezing a third 1/8" felt wad soaked in olive oil, 1 1/8 oz of #6 shot, one thin overshot card. With this combination the pattern at 15 yards is the same as my modern 20 gauge wtih modified choke and it has killing power for small game.

 

[bnail]

Hey, AZ don't keep us in the dark, How about a pic! :thumbsup:
Though I don't know if I can stand the torture

 

[AZ-Robert]

Hey, AZ don't keep us in the dark, How about a pic! :thumbsup:

Thanks for the interest, Skagun! If the vendor can be believed, she is coming to me at least second hand. Even my untrained eye has spotted a few discrepencies, but all-in-all I think it is a pretty fair representation of a Type G as depicted in Hamilton's Colonial Frontier Guns. 46" Getz barrel (tapered, octagon to round), walnut stock, brass furniture hammered out of sheets. Right now, my only complaint is that I have to remove the ramrod to get the front lock bolt out (notch in the bolt gives the ramrod clearance)... but until recently my complaint was that she just wouldn't shoot! After about the third shot, it was a 50/50 (or worse) probability of getting ignition. Simple vent hole real close to the face of the breech plug didn't give much room for fouling. Found that out while trying it out, but bought it anyway. Mike put in a coned liner and scored some room on the face of the breech plug, and now she works like a champ. The liner is practically invisible on the white barrel so it didn't change the overall appearance of the gun at all. She is shooting straight on deflection... I'm still getting the hang of aiming without a rear sight so elevation is a bit more problematic, but I'm getting 10 shots within a 3" circle at 25 yards. With the help of load suggestions picked up here, I'll try her at 50 and 75 yards next time out. I'm telling the wife this is what she got me for Christmas, I got her a new (used) tractor :grin: Here she is:

 

[Rebel]

Very nice. Wanna Trade? :grin:

 

[thomas]

That's a good looking gun Robert!

Thomas

 

[Mike Brooks]

That's a great gun Robert. :thumbsup: I completly disassembled it when I had it over here and it's a solid and well built gun. You should have no trouble with that gun in the future. The ramrod problem is unfortunate, but things like that happen at times.
Loads.....
Try to get 3fff to work for RB start at around 50gr and go up in 5 gr incremants till you hit the sweet spot. I'd shoot a .600 RB with a pillow tick patch (.018). Find something you like for lube. You might try murphy's oil soap (the thick liquid type) and cut it 10% with alchohol. Slickest stuff I've ever used. Won't work well for extended hunting situations ytho.
Shot. At least 70gr 3fff , hard card, 1/4" felt cooked in hard crisco, between 1oz and 1 1/4oz of shot. There are alot of variables with shot, so experiment a bunch. You may want to go even heavier with the amount of shot. But hang onto the gun, it's short pulled and pretty light!

 

[pennsyltucky]

is the lock screw thing common? ive heard of that before.....


80g 2f and about 1oz of shot works best in my .62, but i have a choke so it may not in urs... nice gun!!

 

[AZ-Robert]

Thanks for the compliments, guys.

Pennsyltucky, I hear that the notched lock bolt is not uncommon. This one probably has a deeper notch than most. It was pretty much required by the thinness of the stock profile -- there just is not enough wood right there for the barrel, the bolt, AND the ramrod.

On the wads - I have the 1/8" wonderwads and, as Roundball suggests, was shooting the shot loads with two of them stacked to give that 1/4" wad. For those of using half of the regular 1/2" fiber wads, how are you cutting them? Razor blade?

Anyone have a source for 1/4" wads?

 

[Mike Brooks]

Your ram rod problem wasn't created on purpose. The ram rod drill wandered a little bit off course during construction is all, and is quite common unless you have alot of experience drilling RR holes. Better to go where it did instead of out the bottom of the stock.
There's an outfit called "Mike's Shotgun Wads" that sells every kind of wad imaginable. He's set up with Flintlocks Inc. at Friendship every year. I just Googled for both and came up with nothing. Maybe someone here will be familiar with them.
I just bust my cusion wads in half with my thumb. Of course, I'm a pretty low tech kind of guy.....

 

[roundball]

Your ram rod problem wasn't created on purpose. The ram rod drill wandered a little bit off course during construction is all, and is quite common unless you have alot of experience drilling RR holes. Better to go where it did instead of out the bottom of the stock.
There's an outfit called "Mike's Shotgun Wads" that sells every kind of wad imaginable. He's set up with Flintlocks Inc. at Friendship every year. I just Googled for both and came up with nothing. Maybe someone here will be familiar with them.
I just bust my cusion wads in half with my thumb. Of course, I'm a pretty low tech kind of guy.....

I've mail ordered from from Flintlock, Inc before (and Mike is their Son)...have the info at the house...will post it tonight.

They also have what they call "Hunter-Pacs".
A resealable bag that contains, 100 OP cards, 100 1/2" cushion wads, and 100 OS cards, for $6.00

A note on using a 1/4" wad...from smoothbore articles by well known folks on this subject, they contend that the weight of a large wad can drive forward into the shot column, messing up the pattern, and suggest using smaller OP cards and even multiples if necessary, but to stay away from a single item which has more weight & mass.

That's why I tried the two separate wonderwads instead of a single 1/4" was...they worked, so I'm still with them...they're pricey, but I don't shoot enough shot loads for it to be an issue....turkey hunting and now going to try some squirrel hunting...hardly any shots involved to speak of. (unfortunately :grin: )

Member DaveK has a lot of actual hands on experience in this area...amybe he'll see this and chime in.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I knew somebody would have the correct hook up for Flintlocks inc. :thumbsup:
RB is dead on with the heavy wad issue. If your throwing donut shaped patterns with a cylinder bored gun it's almost aleways the heavy cushion wad blowing the hole. Some times cutting the wad in 1/2 works, sometimes not. I have several guns that I load no cusion of any kind, just a hard card and get incredible results. Many guns only like felt wads and not fiber cushions....they're all different. I've never used the wonder wads as they are too expensive for my cheap ways, but many folks RAVE about them and for good reason.
getting a shotgun to pattern shot correctly takes far more work than getting it to shoot RB.
Oh, and hunter packs? 100% cool. :thumbsup: You get to try out combinations with out buying a thousand at a time.

 

[Runner]

I use the thick over powder wads, but no cushion wad at all. My gun patterns too tight to use the full choke tube with lead shot. Not having as much luck with steel yet.