BB Gun BBs in Smoothbore?

[pab1]

I have heard that BBs for BB guns are much harder than steel shot and they require a heavy shot cup. Can anyone recommend a shot cup for .62 and .56 barrels? Anyone have experience shooting BBs from a smoothbore?

 

[Rifleman1776]

Lotsa posts about making yer own shot cups. Do some searching.
Yes, BBs are hard. More practical to buy a 5 lb. bag of shot in the size you want.

 

[roundball]

I have heard that BBs for BB guns are much harder than steel shot and they require a heavy shot cup. Can anyone recommend a shot cup for .62 and .56 barrels? Anyone have experience shooting BBs from a smoothbore?

No first hand experience using such shot cups for steel shot in MLs...and I wouldn't say they're 'harder' than steel, they're simply steel with a copper wash over them. I do agree using a protective cup of some sort would be prudent...I know I would. Plus, as you probably already know, steel is a good deal lighter than lead, definitely affecting penetration.

 

[Alden]

Smoothbore's are not choked and BB gun BB's are copper plated so that they are softer than the barrels (at the interface)!

The ONLY time I personally would be concerned about using them is if a single layer of them in a barrel could wedge themselves, or a ball they might be in front of or behind, in a barrel. Therefore, they should be able to be used in .50 caliber and larger smoothbores...

They are a little lighter than lead of course and if you are shooting true shotgun loads then lead BB swanshot would probably be preferred if not for waterfowl. I use BB gun BB's in Buck-n-Ball loads for historic fun (cheap and available -- half a lifetime's supply of five at a time can be had for a few dollars worth in a little milk container full).

 

[azmntman]

 

[roundball]

 

[azmntman]

Chrome lined + shot cups

 

[azmntman]

No traces of plastic fouling

 

[coloradoclyde]

I have shot BB's through a 12 guage single shot whithout a shot cup and they definetely scratch the bore. I will not torture my ML's in such a way

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I have heard that BBs for BB guns are much harder than steel shot and they require a heavy shot cup.

No first hand experience using such shot cups for steel shot in MLs...and I wouldn't say they're 'harder' than steel, they're simply steel with a copper wash over them.

With respect, it's a bit more complicated than that. "Steel" bird shot is fairly pure iron and annealed after final grinding to make it as soft as possible, something like 128BHN if I recall correctly. Air rifle shot is common/inexpensive mild (low carbon) steel and unannealed, with a hardness something like 180BHN. This is getting closer to the hardness of barrel steels, somewhere around 220BHN.

Regards,
Joel

 

[roundball]

That sounds like a good piece of info to know...is there a good source to read up on about that?

 

[Joel/Calgary]

That sounds like a good piece of info to know...is there a good source to read up on about that?

I couldn't find a comprehensive one in a quick websearch, but I found some bits using "steel shot brinell hardness" as search terms. I originally read it in a discussion of just this subject on a shotgun board that expanded into the various hard and soft (comparitively) tungsten-based shot, with the specifics coming from members having engineering and metallurgical backgrounds. I'll post links if I can find a good source.

Regards,
Joel