A Day At the Range

[Cruzatte]

We had a nice break in the weather here in N.E. Kansas; sunny, 80°F, low humidity, and a refreshing breeze. Got with a club member and managed to score some 2fg Goex and I was fixed. Rather than use a standard brass adjustable powder measure which are marked in grains, I decided to use a shotgun measure marked 7/8 oz., and 2¼ dr. and see what I get.

Gun:: Track of the Wolf fusil de chasse, 44" bbl., 20 ga. (.615" bore) My loads were as follows:
#1 2¼ dr. 2fg Goex
leather 5/8" dia over powder wad
.610 ball
tow over shot wad

#2 2¼ dr. 3fg Scheutzen
leather 5/8" dia. over powder wad
.610 ball
tow over shot wad
Here are the results

I think I like the first load a little better.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Very nice shooting! Can you show us your fusil? Is it a recent purchase?

 

[Cruzatte]

Not exactly a recent purchase, as you can see by the date stamp on the photo. Thanks for asking.

 

[hanshi]

That's a nice gun you have. "Bare" ball loads can give minute of deer accuracy at typical woods distances.

 

[Maven]

Just a thought Cruzatte: Try tow wads fore & aft, but make sure they're large enough so that it takes a bit of effort to seat them. I tried this recently in my T/C Renegade SB (with a .550" RB) and got the same accuracy @ 25 yd. as I did with that RB patched.

 

[Cruzatte]

Just a thought Cruzatte: Try tow wads fore & aft, but make sure they're large enough so that it takes a bit of effort to seat them. I tried this recently in my T/C Renegade SB (with a .550" RB) and got the same accuracy @ 25 yd. as I did with that RB patched.

I have used tow in the past as an over powder wad. And it smoldered quite obviously without some sort of lubrication. The tow I have is quite old, probably pretty dried out, and short fiber. You can pull apart small wads and roll 'em up into a 5/8" dia. ball easily. The other thing I noticed was the increased fouling. There was nearly as much fouling as there would have been had I been shooting blank loads after five or six shots on a woods walk.

The lesson I've learned is that while tow is an excellent over powder wad, it really needs some kind of lube to keep it from setting the prairie on fire.

 

[Maven]

Cruzatte, My tow is old & dry too, but the other day I got no smoldering. However, it was necessary to damp swab the bore every 2nd or 3rd shot for the sake of easy seating & accuracy.

 

[Cruzatte]

Funny thing, isn't it? Sometimes it smolders, and sometimes it doesn't. I've had both experiences.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Nice shooting but I would be starting at 3dr!

 

[Cruzatte]

Nice shooting but I would be starting at 3dr!

I might have done so had I a 3 dr. measure. I'd like to try that load.

 

[Grenadier1758]

3 drams is 82 grains. You could try the 82 grain load.

1 dram is 27.344 grains