Buffer use for smoothbores

[Ted W. Coombs]

I have read of using corn meal with your shot load for better patterns. How about using factory made buffer that re-loaders use in their shotshells. What is it made of? Has anyone tried it? Thanks Teton Ted

 

[Leonredbeard]

Teton Ted,
It's called Super Grex and you can buy it at any shop that sells reloading supplies. It would likely do no harm. How much it would tighten your patterns, I do not know. It helps prevent deformation of the shot, but black powder doesn't acelerate the shot nearly like smokeless does, thus less deformation anyway. And without a shot cup rubbing the barrel by the entire outside of the load will deform much more than aceleration.
volatpluvia

 

[paulvallandigham]

Winchester/western made Grex for their shells. Its not available for reloaders. You can buy PufLon, another synthetic buffer that is used in shotcups to buffer shot to keep it from deforming, or shattering on ignition. This particularly useful with Bismuth shot, which is very brittle, and will often shatter two or more layers of shot on firing , taking all those pellets out of the shot pattern. Check the online catalogue from Ballistic's Products for PufLon.

 

[shootemup]

I have used Malt-O-Meal as a buffer, and have also tried cornmeal muffin mix (a la Danny Caywood). I love doing this, but I'm not sure why. The truth is I haven't been able to convince myself it actually helps. Fun though. :grin:
Mark

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu need a very fine substance that will work its way down through the shot you use to fill in all the gaps between the shot. Malt-O-Meal may be fine enough. Corn meal is not, unless you buy one of those package corn meal mixes, like Jiffy . That stuff is ground as fine as flour, and should work. However, most duck and geese shooting occurs on rainy or overcast days. The fine natural materials will soak up water out of the air like a sponge. That is when you curse the stuff, and wish you had brought some PufLon instead. The synthetics( grex too, of you can cannibalize some modern shells to get it ) won't absorb water, either in your pocket, or in the gun. They will blow away in the wind because they are so light, so protect the muzzle of the gun with your back before you pour any of the stuff on your shot. You have to pour, then tap the side of the barrel to vibrate it down through the shot load, then pour some more, then tap that down, then pour more, etc. It is a slow operation in a ML shotgun, but you can use the stuff. You might want to work out how much of the stuff will fit in your particular load of shot, and then "pre-measure " that amount to carry to the field in a separate container. Then you will know when you have all the filler in your load that it can hold, and be assured that the filler has filled ALL the gaps.

When reloading shotgun shells( smokeless or BP) you can use a case vibrator, used to settle large powder charges in small bottle neck cases, to settle the filler in the case. You don't have that with a ML, of course, so it takes much more time to do.

If you mix the filler and the shot together, they will separate when you pour the shot into the barrel, as the lead shot will be so much heavier. But, some of the filler will go down the barrel with the shot, and that is a beginning. I would try this last technique before I stood around in a goose pit trying to jiggle filler down into my shot load when Canada Geese are coming into the set up. In fact, with any waterfowling, you might want to have a second gun ready to cap and fire, if regulations permit it.

 

[ffffg]

I use balistic products multimetal(i think its called) or simular named buffer with bismuth in very cold weather.. It definitly adds yards to my cylinder bore... At 20 below the air is very dence spreading patterns rapidly, and buffer helps this.. It neccitates another measure, im guessing 90 gr equivilent volumn number 4 bismuth for ducks and 35 grains(volumn) buffer.. pour buffer in over shot and tap barrel to settle it into the shot.. then over shot card........ I put in powder, nitro card, big glob of yellow tc lube in the tube on bottom of fiber wad, pack this down well.. then form a shot cup of typing paper around a taperd dowel.. two wraps of paper. fold paper end shut at bottom of dowel pull cup off dowel and put in barrel sticking out the top about 1/2 inch.. put in the shot, then buffer tap in buffer, push shot cup in until shot is flush with top of barrel, and peel off paper above shot and buffer.. then put on over shot card and slide down to meet fiber wad.. Never fold paper over the top of a shot cup..pack down the powder and wads, not the shot.. dave.

 

[roundball]

I use balistic products multimetal(i think its called) or simular named buffer with bismuth in very cold weather.. It definitly adds yards to my cylinder bore... At 20 below the air is very dence spreading patterns rapidly, and buffer helps this.. It neccitates another measure, im guessing 90 gr equivilent volumn number 4 bismuth for ducks and 35 grains(volumn) buffer.. pour buffer in over shot and tap barrel to settle it into the shot.. then over shot card........ I put in powder, nitro card, big glob of yellow tc lube in the tube on bottom of fiber wad, pack this down well.. then form a shot cup of typing paper around a taperd dowel.. two wraps of paper. fold paper end shut at bottom of dowel pull cup off dowel and put in barrel sticking out the top about 1/2 inch.. put in the shot, then buffer tap in buffer, push shot cup in until shot is flush with top of barrel, and peel off paper above shot and buffer.. then put on over shot card and slide down to meet fiber wad.. Never fold paper over the top of a shot cup..pack down the powder and wads, not the shot.. dave.

I used to do all that (except for the buffer) and finally got tired of all the activity to just prepare one shot in my .62cal cylinder bores...had one jug choked full, the other choked Imp.Cyl.+....for me personally, I like the simplicty and faster reload time of just powder, wad, shot, card.

 

[ffffg]

" I like the simplicty and faster reload time of just powder, wad, shot, card." ....... Some of us dont care about the time it takes to shoot, or load that is.. The numbers of kills etc just arnt important to some... If we all consistently wanted simpler and faster this forum wouldnt exist... To some its about learning, exploring possiblities and making the trek thru the development of fireams and loads... For me it ends up with a cylnder bore longstock flintlock.. dave

 

[roundball]

" I like the simplicty and faster reload time of just powder, wad, shot, card." ....... Some of us dont care about the time it takes to shoot, or load that is.. The numbers of kills etc just arnt important to some... If we all consistently wanted simpl er and faster this forum wouldnt exist... To some its about learning, exploring possiblities and making the trek thru the development of fireams and loads... For me it ends up with a cylnder bore longstock flintlock.. dave

Youre post seems to be a bit of an over-reaction...did you mean for it to be that way or is it just the way it reads?

You posted information about something you do with smoothbores.

I posted information about something I do with smoothbores that is different.

How did you make the leap to "...making a lot of kills aren't important...this forum wouldn't exist"...etc, etc, etc ?

 

[ffffg]

The post and question asked was about buffer, you made the leap.. . . dave

 

[Russianblood]

I've used Cream of Wheat as buffer in both hand reloaded shotshells and my smoothbores. I have never really seen a difference in performance though.

 

[xxgrampa]

hello teton,

if it's buffer you want to try. balistic products special mix #47 is the one to try. it rapidly fills the space between the shot. (a very fine grind)

if you hunt pheasants or grouse, you mite want to pick up some of their nickel plated shot. unlike lead, it doesn't 'roll' in the feathers. it goes straight thru the bird. thusly :grin: requires less hits to down the meal.. also shoots a tighter pattern

think it's to costly for birds like doves, where you would shoot a 1000 shots for ten birds :hmm:

good luck and ..ttfn..grampa..

 

[paulvallandigham]

The secret to learning how to shoot doves it to learn to lead them more. Practice shooting incoming Station 8 Skeet targets, and similar incoming targets on Sporting Clays courses. My longest run on dove has been only 6 birds in a row with 6 shot, but I had a good friend who was highly angered when a third man said he could not kill doves with a .410. He shot 63 birds in a row with a s x s DB Winchester shotgun that year just to spite the guy.

The industry average is 7 shots for every dove killed, I was down under 3 shots per bird, and if I had picked my shots better, I would have been under 2 shots per bird killed.

 

[xxgrampa]

greetings paul,

thanks for the pointers. the 1000 shots for ten birds. came about after many, many years of practice. before then, i would just try to repulse the birds.

don't think that worked either, do believe the birds were laughing at me. howsomever, at one time thought i did knock a bird out of the sky. but, on closer observation, it died of a heart attack from laughing so hard..

..ttfn..grampa..