A question about the .62 caliber

[cayugad]

After reading some of your information I must admit you have my interest (much more then I should have /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/wink.gif). I have a T/C Renegade which will accept a Green Mountian drop in barrel. In fact I just ordered two barrels for it. My question is at the Green Mountian site, they talk about a .62 caliber smoothbore. On the Track of the Wolf they talk about a 20 gauge barrel. Are they one and the same?

Could the 20 gauge shoot a .62 caliber ball? This sounds like it might be a real fun smoothbore/shotgun to have.

thanks in advance.

 

[roundball]

.62cal is .20ga

 

[cayugad]

Even though I might never hear the end of it... I think I need one of them. It would be a good challenge...

 

[roundball]

I bought a Green Mountian .62cal smoothbore Flint barrel for a TC Hawken...it's great

 

[cayugad]

Glad to hear that. I just got an answer back from Track of the Wolf and they told me it was one and the same and the barrel came with sights. I think I could have fun bunny and squirrel hunting with this. Not to mention shooting round balls for deer.

Have you shot yours as a shotgun? If so, what kind of pattern and range do you get? Would this be able to be loaded stiff enough to take a turkey? I think that would be a good challenge. I have shot a lot of turkey. This would make a new excitement in the sport....

 

[roundball]

I've only used it as a shotgun and have a complete writeup on an outstanding .62cal turkey load using paper shot cups.
When you go to my URL below, it will appear as continueous text, but when you download it to your PC, it'll either straighten out automatically, or you can simply realign the paragraphs in just a moment.

http://www.members.aol.com/wjcutbush/62calShotCupTurkeyLoad

 

[cayugad]

Excellent information there roundball I hope you don't mind but I saved that information to a file because I think you just made my mind up to purchase a .62 caliber smoothbore barrel.

I checked and there is a place called circle fly wads that looks like they would sell some good wads for the smoothbore. I also want to shoot roundball out of it. I really think this is going to be fun...

Thanks again... excellent information :applause:

 

[Rancocas]

You asked if the 20 ga. can shoot a .62 caliber ball, but I haven't seen anyone answer that specifically, yet.
I'm sure you know that you do NOT use a .62 ball in a .62 caliber gun. You might use a .61 ball, but most commonly a .60 ball is used. I have even heard of some folks using a .59 ball.
In my own 20ga. fowler, I use a patched .60 round ball. A lead round ball of this caliber weighs about 320 grains. I use a powder charge of 70 grains of 3F, and prime the pan with the same powder right out my powder horn.
When hunting small game or birds, I still use a 70 gr. powder charge, but I then use an equal "volumn" (not weight) in small shot. I just use my homemade 70gr. powder measure for both powder and shot. It may not be the most efficient shot load, but it is convient and it works for me.
Happy Hunting!

 

[roundball]

I came away from my tests with the conclusion that I got better performance and tighter patterns with the OxYoke prelubed wonder wads, compared to the traditional 1/2" cushion wads available at ML supply places like Circle Fly.
And another big benefit I like about wonder wads is that they reduce fouling and keep it soft so you don't have to wipe between shots...use them in all my rifles also.

 

[musketman]

Could the 20 gauge shoot a .62 caliber ball? This sounds like it might be a real fun smoothbore/shotgun to have.

You can shoot both, I would refrain from shooting a ball in something with a full choke...

If it is a cylinder barrel (no choke at all) then you can shoot both with ease and its a lot of fun to boot...

I like the flexability of the smooth bore, a gun that will handle what ever nature dishes up and ask for seconds...

As stated before, you want to allow for the patch, .62 caliber using a .600 round ball and a .020 patch, but this is not always the rule...

You can use NO patch at all and a .62 round ball, the foulings in the barrel from the shot before will work as a crude patch, but not for the first couple of shots, the ball could roll forwards off the powder charge, and that would be a bad thing...

 

[cayugad]

Thanks much for the good information. I have decided to purchase a Green Mountain drop in barrel for the Renegade. And I spoke to them and they explained that they shoot a .600 diameter roundball patched tight. They actually said many people underestimate the accuracy of a smoothbore claiming good groups out to 100 yards.

My real interest is small game hunting like rabbits, squirrels, grouse, and of course turkey. Roundball's information was a great help as is yours. I have never in my life of shooting countless black powder rifles and handguns, hunted with a smoothbore weapon. From reading all of your posts, it sounds like just too much fun to miss out on.

Like a lot of you, I am not all that concerned whether I return with game at the end of the day. It's nice if I do, and if not, then we take a steak out of the freezer. If I was, I would not hunt with some of the weapons I do. It is just that I find so much more satisfaction hunting with black powder weapons then the modern. This 20 gauge/.62 caliber smoothbore gun seems like a great addition to my collection.

 

In the 20bore smoothies, most guys up here in the bush, use a .595 ball to allow a thick enough patch to hold enough lubricant for sustained shooting without having to clean often. Even the .595 ball only takes a .013" to .015" patch. A bigger ball requires a thinner patch.
: The Lee mould of .600 should be OK, but the guys here with .62's, use the Lyman mould. The Lee moulds weren't available 2 years ago when the influx of 20guage happened here.
: that said, for paper ctgs. with ball, I'd use a ball slightly bigger to takeup the windage better, as in .610 or .615(if available).
Daryl

 

[cayugad]

The only thing that worries me with going to a .610 ball Daryl is if you get the ball to big, then it is a real chore to seat them. I ran into that when I casted a bunch of .535 balls for the .54 caliber. You almost needed a hammer to seat them unless you were willing to use some real thin material as patch which then suffered from the heat blast of the powder. That was before I learned about bore buttons and never heard of dumping cornmeal down the barrel to act as a gas seal.

What would happen if you dumped your powder then a nitro card on the charge, then a fiber cushion and then the patched round ball? Could you get away with shooting a lighter patch but a bigger ball? It would have to be a real thin patch too, but since there is no rifling and spin in the ball/barrel considerations, that should not make a difference because all the patch does is help guide the ball... right? (I really know nothing about a smooth bore and appreciate all this information.)

Should I make sure and talk to Track of the Wolf and make sure the barrel is cylinder without any choke? I want to hunt deer with the ball of course (besides target shoot) and then hunt small game with the shotgun aspect of the weapon...

 

As I mentioned, with cloth patch, use the .595 ball or perhaps the larger .600 from the cheaper Lee mould. A .595 ball will allso another 3 thou or so of material to hold more lbricant and hat makes seating easier. As stated, the .610 was suggested for use with paper ctgs. as they were the issued ammo for the various Military muskets. Now, the military was interested in prolonged shooting without any tight fitting ammo. That's why they (American & French) issued .64 balls in paper ctgs. for the .69's Muskets and the English issued .69 and .70 cal. balls for the Bess's much larger bore, being .75 to .77.
: Paper cartridge accuracy is much better with a tighter than Military fit, so I suggested the .610 ball. One wrapp of typewriter (printer) paper is appox .003 per side. That's .006 on the sides of the .610 ball, giving a .616" fit in the .620 or .625 bore. 1 1/2 wrapps comes out to .619". Dip the ball end of the paper patch in melted lube, quickly, sit them bottom up, and the excess will drain and harden. This will help soften the lube for extended shooting without contaminating the powder charge.
: I wold use a BP lube for this, not ALOX, which is for smokeless powder.
: Insidently, all of the guys I shoot with who use .54's, use a .535 ball and .015 denim patch in their rifles. They all use 3/8" wiping sticks for loading & none use mallets. Almost all of them do shoot .54's, as their match rifles are the same ones they use for Moose. .54 is generally the recommended RB for Moose up here. They can be taken with smaller balls, but he range is much closer. A well loaded and accurately shot .54, will do for up to about 125yds on moose.
Daryl

 

[roundball]

Green Mountain .62cal smoothbore barrels are just that...62cal the full length...no choke, etc

 

[cayugad]

thanks guys, I am tucking all this information away. I really think this will be something I am going to enjoy.

 

Oh yeah - get BP into your blood - it won't come out.-BTW- that stings a bit- BP in a cut, I mean.
Daryl

 

[roundball]

You got THAT[url] right...stings[/url] like somebody poured battery acid in there!!

 

Actually it's a good cauterizer- at least it feels that way- HA!

 

[Rob M.]

Yeah , as stated before , 20 ga. is .62 cal. Dont shoot one ! Because if you do your gonna want one ! LOL ! Smoothbore 20 ga. is my favorite ,fun , light and versatile . I use them to get all the game I can in Ohio .