Buck n' Ball

[Dr5x]

My memory maybe failing but I thought Buck and Ball was developed with a large Mini ball and three /32 caliber buck shot. The purpose being it you missed the "enemy" with the ball you could maybe ruin his day with the back shot.
I can think of no reason to use it in a hunting situation.

Dr5x

I have loaded roundball and 3 "pairs" of buckshot of slightly less than 1/2 bore dia. Each in Charleville, 20 ga. Trade gun, 24 ga. Fusil as well as breech loading smoothbore.
It's easy to see why buck n' ball load was popular with Roger's Rangers.
Groups at 20 to 25 yds.are pretty similar regardless of caliber or ML vs breech loader: ball hits point of aim and 5/6 buckshot print evenly around the larger cal.hole like spokes of a wheel. (#6 is almost always a "flyer"....go figure.)
B & B has no purpose I can think readily of in the hunting field, but it is interesting to experiment with anti-personellloads that were used centuries ago.
(There is one factory 12ga. Cart. Loaded w/buck & single ball.)

Dave

 

[tenngun]

My memory maybe failing but I thought Buck and Ball was developed with a large Mini ball and three /32 caliber buck shot. The purpose being it you missed the "enemy" with the ball you could maybe ruin his day with the back shot.
I can think of no reason to use it in a hunting situation.

Dr5x

It goes back to the first shoulder fired arms. The blunderbuss was designed for buck shot, and was used heavily in flintlock era wars. It was called buck shot because it was used to hunt bucks with. Today we don’t say it much but snipe shot goose and swan shot were common names, along with beaver shot ect.