24 vs 20 gauge smoothbore. need advice

[mreed1000]

new to the smoothbore world. need some advice on best guage. i have been given some advice that i should get a 20 guage. i plan to deer turkey and squirrel hunt as well as shoot smoothbore matches at the rendezvous i go to. i found the exact smoothbore i have always wanted but is in 24 gauge not 20. it is a bucks county fowler with a 41 inch barrel. any advice is greatly appreciated. below is a link to the gun
http://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/f-206/

 

[George]

Need to make sure a 24 ga. is legal in you state, several states limit shotgun size for turkey hunting to 20 gauge or larger.

Spence

 

[19 16 6]

Would it be a reasonable idea to get the barrel bored to 20, if the wall thickness allows.
O.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I would suggest looking for another gun. Can you see the gaps around that buttplate full of some kind of filler? The lock is browned apparently so as not to have to remove much as cast surface. It appears quite slab sided, too much wood on the lock panels, untapered barrel, etc.
I would recommend looking into a Chambers kit in 20 bore that has been put together by someone of capable abilities. You should be able to get one put together without any added fancies like engraving or carving for not much more than for not much more than the asking price of the item you linked. You will get good components that way. A Chambers lock cannot be compared to other brand offerings as they surpass out of the bag by a long shot. The barrel will be of a correct shape and from a top maker. The hardware and architecture will be correct for the gun you choose.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The 24 gauge of 0.58 caliber is a light and handy firearm.

Hunting of turkeys in Missouri requires a shotgun of a gauge larger than 0.410 so the 24 gauge is adequate.

Muzzle Loading requirements are for a bore of 0.40 or larger.

The minor drawback of a 24 gauge is that you might not be able to walk into Trail Creek, Graf's or Denny Dennis and pick up 24 gauge wads and cards. You will be able to find 0.570 balls readily enough.

While I use a 20 gauge or 12 gauge fowler, I think that the 24 gauge is a suitable gun for use in Missouri.

What rendezvous are you attending?

 

[Loyalist Dave]

One of the reasons folks urge using a 20 gauge black powder gun or larger, is because of the lack of a choke in so many of the guns, the amount of shot needed to take the turkey is high. The pellets have to be large enough to penetrate, which reduces the number of pellets per ounce, so the bore needs to be large enough to have a decent amount of them.

I like #5 shot for squirrels in my 20 bore trade gun, and I like an 3/4 to one ounce of shot. That's about 125 to 170 pellets. 3/4 of an ounce is about the same weight of a single ball that I shoot, so I know I'm OK with 3/4 of an ounce to an ounce, on squirrels. YET most of the turkey hunters out there will tell me that's too light for turkey. I may need as much as 1.5 ounces of shot. :shocked2:

In your case, a .570 ball is about 279 grains of lead, or 5/8 an ounce. That's about 110 pellets of #5. You could, I suppose increase the shot load by the same percentage that I increase mine when going from 3/4 to 1 ounce, which would give your .58 3/4 of an ounce of shot for a "heavy" load...and 125 pellets....for squirrel. What about turkey? That probably isn't enough to match a 20 gauge at the max range of the 20 gauge. So... do you have to "match" the 20 gauge performance?

I think that the answer is going to be, if a legal gauge in your state, that you will be able to hunt turkey, but you're going to have to get them in under 20 yards to use the .58. That's how you're probably going to compensate for the lower amount of pellets. That's supposing that an unchoked 20 gauge at 25 yards is being used as a "standard" for hunting turkey with a smoothbore flintlock. So just be aware you are probably giving yourself a bit more of a challenge.....

...., but if we didn't like challenges, we wouldn't shoot flintlocks, now would we? :haha:

That's also assuming you don't match the amount of shot that the 20 gauge is shooting....some folks would do that, and I can't say that's a bad idea, as I don't know how your barrel is made. It might be perfectly alright. In such a case then you should be fine at 25 yards.

LD

 

[bigburk]

Two years ago I ordered a 20 gauge smoothbore kit and when it arrived it had a 28 gauge barrel. I was anxious to get started and figured I'd be shooting a lot more targets than game so I kept it. I bought #6 shot because that is all I found in town and so far my little fusil and I have taken three turkeys in three seasons. Can't tell you if a 20 gauge would have done it better but I'm liking my 28 so far. I think you'd be pretty happy with that 24 gauge.

 

[mreed1000]

Grenadier1758 , i go to the rendezvous at old mines in MO and the spring and fall events at fort de chartress. Thanks for the input. I have heard good and bad things about sitting fox. I think i will take the safe route and go with a more well known builder and supplier.

 

[mreed1000]

Thanks Capt. Jas. . I hadn't looked that close at the fine details. now i see the lack of quality and workmanship. I would rather spend more and wait longer to get something i am happy with. I have done some research on kits and am having trouble finding a kit that matches what i want which is a colonial fusil fin or some variation of it. the bucks county fowler is close to what i am looking for. the only place i have found a kit for the colonial fusil fin is at sitting fox unfortunately. does anyone know of a supplier that has a kit similar to the one in the link below from sitting fox?
http://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/k-51/

 

[The Baron]

I think you'd be OK with a 24ga for turkeys, loaded and used properly, but better with a 20ga. Either should be excellent with shot loads for small game like squirrel, and for deer with a ball.

I, too am on the hunt for a new smoothie. Other than TOTW, Sitting Fox certainly has the largest selection of "ready to go" flintlocks. However, after doing so research here, I've learned that Sitting Fox outsources all their builds to various different builders and that the build quality can be hit and miss. The only thing I can think of worse than waiting a long time to find the right fowler, would be finding it and then being less than happy with it when it arrives. Better to pay a little more/wait a little longer for that forever gun.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I'm usually at Fort de Chartres in April, June and November. We should arrange to meet. If you have your smoothbore, perhaps you may be looking for a team for the November Woods Walk.

 

[crockett]

You'll have to check the legal aspects, for example in Florida for deer and muzzle loading- at least 40 caliber or if two barrels- 20 gauge. If it is a single barrel fowler; then I would think the 20 gauge would not apply- but check that out.
For some reason folks think pellets from a larger gauge fly faster, hit harder. Gauge doesn't have much to do with velocity so pellets from a 24 gauge ought to hit as hard as the 20. For equal payload- that is number of pellets, the smaller gauge means they are lined up longer in the barrel and the pattern may or may not be as good as a larger gauge. In other words a 1 oz load from a 16 theoretically ought to yield a better pattern than a 20 magnum but nothing is etched in stone.
If the price is right and it is legal in your state- I don't see any reason not to buy it.

 

[Skychief]

If my state would allow them for turkey hunting, I'd jump on one. It'll kill a turkey just fine plus you'll save a good bit of lead when shooting ball. Still big medicine for venison.

Good luck and have fun, Skychief

PS, welcome to the forum :hatsoff:

 

[nhmoose]

Nope pics not good enough but if you can see them ok

 

[BrownBear]

The 24 gauge of 0.58 caliber is a light and handy firearm.

But only if it's a light barrel. Most 24's I've seen use the same barrel stock as 20's, making them even heavier than the 20's. I'm very fond of 58 caliber in rifles, and by extension I've been looking hard at having a 24 smooth made up. But I want the "light and handy" you specify. So far finding that more slender 24 barrel has been a grunt.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Nope pics not good enough but if you can see them ok

Really? 8th picture down on the OP's link. I can even see it plain as day on my phone without glasses.

 

[Golfswithwolves]

Apparently most of the original trade guns were of 24 gauge, and ball was available at all the Hudson Bay trading posts. But I tend to think the difference between the 24 and 20 gauges is about like that between a .270 and a 30.06 rifle; that is to say not too much. So whatever you run into in a quality piece should be just fine.

 

[nhmoose]

Better eyes than mine on a 19 inch flat screen

I only get 6 photo's so who knows.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

Better eyes than mine on a 19 inch flat screen

I only get 6 photo's so who knows.

NHMoose,
Try this. It is a direct link after clicking on the 7th photo in the link above. http://sittingfoxmuzzleloaders.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/04/IMG_20160410_144909641-1.jpg

 

[Ray-Vigo]

I have a 24 and two 20s. I prefer the 20s for shot for the reason Loyalist Dave described. At 25 yards, either of my 20s handle the shot better. But with a round ball, the 24 really is pretty handy. I say 24 if you're shooting mostly ball, 20 if you're going back and forth between shot and ball a lot.