Another Smoothbore Question

[nightwolf1974]

Ok, I've settled on a 16ga. flintlock fowling piece.

I wanna shoot a bare-ball load, a buck & ball load, birdshot load, and a buckshot load.

TOW sells a .648 rb & a .662 rb..... Will the .648 rb be too small for the bare-ball load? AND/OR will the .662 rb be too large for the bare-ball load?

This will probably be my one and only (LOL) flintlock long gun.

 

[Britsmoothy]

TOW sells a .648 rb & a .662 rb..... Will the .648 rb be too small for the bare-ball load? AND/OR will the .662 rb be too large for the bare-ball load?

How do we know buddy? We don't know the bore diameter!
A gauge can be anything within a range of diameters.

On a side note......what is the fascination with so many folk stateside with buck and ball loads?
Y'all got to much lead and powder or somert?

 

[Bigpete]

How do we know buddy? We don't know the bore diameter!
A gauge can be anything within a range of diameters.

On a side note......what is the fascination with so many folk stateside with buck and ball loads?
Y'all got to much lead and powder or somert?

Agreed on the buck and ball loads,they seem pretty useless for anything these days

 

[PathfinderNC]

Buck and Ball was apparently quite common whilst facing those ever-so dapper men in scarlet, all lined up in a row, many many years ago

 

[Grenadier1758]

We tend to forget that during the French and Indian War (F&I), those wearing the dapper red coats were on our side.

Buck and Ball loads were common to both sides whether the uniform was white (F&I French), blue, red (F&I & AWI) or blue or gray. These were loads intended to create as many casualties as possible to the other side.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Yeah, I get the history of it but why today

 

[Rifleman1776]

We don't know the bore diameter!
A gauge can be anything within a range of diameters.

Wise words. Get the gun first then measure the bore and go from there. For example: I had a so-called 12 ga. sxs shotgun that actually measured 14 ga.; another so-called 12 ga. smoothie was actually an 11 ga. Don't go by the ads. Get the gun first then measure and outfit accordingly.

 

[rich pierce]

16 gauge should be around .664. I don’t do bare ball loads. For a patched round ball load I’d use about a .640 ball.

 

[nightwolf1974]

Agreed on the buck and ball loads,they seem pretty useless for anything these days

You never know when it would come in handy....

 

[R Ellis]

Also is the barrel choked or just straight

 

[Grenadier1758]

Not too long ago I bought a 12 gauge smoothbore. It was a conglomeration of parts best described as a 1970's West (St. Louis) County Special. At the muzzle, the bore measured 0.700". Was it really a 14 gauge? No, a telescoping gauge inserted about 2" down the bore and expanded could not be pulled out. A 12 gauge wad was very tight for about 3" and then the weight of the ramrod would push the was to the breech. Speculation was that the barrel came from a single shot, choked shotgun that had been fitted with a flintlock breech to make what the builder envisioned as a 1760's trade gun.

Measurements are important and help us to prepare an effective load.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Agreed on the buck and ball loads,they seem pretty useless for anything these days

How do we know buddy? We don't know the bore diameter!
A gauge can be anything within a range of diameters.

On a side note......what is the fascination with so many folk stateside with buck and ball loads?
Y'all got to much lead and powder or somert?

I don't know guys...

Washington loved those Buck & Ball Loads. They proved very effective when employed by Raw Recruits, against groups of lined up Brits at distance...very effective in volley fire, wall of lead.

Course there is the point that...well it was awhile ago. So yeah, there's that...

 

[PathfinderNC]

Yeah, I get the history of it but why today

Novelty, perhaps?

 

[Britsmoothy]

Just seems a waste to me, sorry.

 

[hanshi]

Since we are no longer engaged in formal hostilities there is no reason or use for buck & ball loads. Even if we were I'd choose a more modern arm. All one needs to handle everything from clays to deer is a patched ball load and a shot load. In shooting buckshot loads, both muzzleloaders and modern, 25 yards is only a maybe while 50 yards is more of an "are you kidding"?! One big round ball drops deer like a sledge hammer while shot loads work wonders on everything else.

 

[Rock Home Isle]

Gentlemen...it's a useless factoid.

 

[Bigpete]

Yeah, I get the history of it but why today

Apparently in case of red coats. Maybe its a good load for foxes Britsmoothy

 

[Bigpete]

Since we are no longer engaged in formal hostilities there is no reason or use for buck & ball loads. Even if we were I'd choose a more modern arm. All one needs to handle everything from clays to deer is a patched ball load and a shot load. In shooting buckshot loads, both muzzleloaders and modern, 25 yards is only a maybe while 50 yards is more of an "are you kidding"?! One big round ball drops deer like a sledge hammer while shot loads work wonders on everything else.

I don't know about that entirely. I'm on a fb group called Buck and Slug Reloaders,and there are guys there who achieve the seemingly impossible. But it takes LOTS of mucking around,both with the loads and with the firearms themselves. Definitely not something you'd achieve by just grabbing a packet off the shelf

 

[PathfinderNC]

I am rather surprised that ATF and the AG have not declared "Buck and Ball" as illegal. It's right up their alley

 

[nightwolf1974]

Since we are no longer engaged in formal hostilities there is no reason or use for buck & ball loads. Even if we were I'd choose a more modern arm. All one needs to handle everything from clays to deer is a patched ball load and a shot load. In shooting buckshot loads, both muzzleloaders and modern, 25 yards is only a maybe while 50 yards is more of an "are you kidding"?! One big round ball drops deer like a sledge hammer while shot loads work wonders on everything else.

I'm well aware of what unmentionable items can and will do at what distances. As for why? WHY NOT? Do you ask a 21st Century person why they dress up as someone from Centuries gone by, and interact with others that do the same? Do you ask why anyone on this site still uses outdated and obsolete technology for hunting or target shooting? My house is filled with obsolete tech and materials, yet I live in the 21st Century (unfortunately). I love to know things.........even if I'm not currently fighting the Native tribes or those dressed in red, blue, white, or gray.*

*I wouldn't be fighting those dressed in gray anyway...... *