Carrying steel shot cup loads...

[roundball]

This is a terrific idea...scroll down to the photos!
http://www.ilstu.edu/~taparme/steel.htm

 

[Hanz]

That's pretty neat. Thanks for sharing the link.
:thumbsup:

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I've never gotten around to trying that yet (I'm severely deficient in "round toits"), but I've wondered about putting a cotton ball, or maybe half of one, over the shot so that the shot is undisturbed when the tape is peeled off.

Joel

 

[roundball]

Seems like an OS card would work...I'll try some this week

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Seems like an OS card would work...I'll try some this week

I was thinking that whatever was under the tape would tend to come away with it (some shot, a card, etc.). The cotton-ball would be just a sacrificial filler on top of the shot to minimize fussing on loading. One would still need to thumb the filled shotcup down after removing he tape, and insert the O/S card on top.

Joel

 

[roundball]

We're after the same goal...and I assume a cotten ball would work, I'm just thinking of sacrificing an OS card instead of bothering with introducing an additional item into the mix like a cotten ball...OS cards are cheap, I already know they fit, there's no bulk, and I'll normally have them on hand anyway...

 

[mazo kid]

We're after the same goal...and I assume a cotton ball would work, I'm just thinking of sacrificing an OS card instead of bothering with introducing an additional item into the mix like a cotten ball..

How about a bit of TP or tissue paper under the tape? Cheap and handy, no more hassle than an OS wad.

 

[roundball]

I suspect that would also work...to me it just seems like it would be simpler at assembly time to just grab an OS card and tape it in place...ideally, if the masking tape will peel off the OS card, the card will be right where I want it to seat the whole thing down

 

[roundball]

Well, the pre-loaded shot cups didn't work for me...hands and fingers are just too big to fumble around pulling tape off those tiny little .20ga shot cups, its slow, and I spill a few pellets.
.10ga or .12ga size cups might be OK for big hands but the little .20ga size are just too small and slow (for me)

However, using a plastic screw top vial to hold a shot charge I can actually stuff a cushion wad & shot cup below the muzzle and pour in a vial of shot faster than I can when fiddling around unwrapping one of the little .20ga pre-loaded cups, and I don't spill a single pellet in the process.

So I'll use the vials...a few powder charges, a few shot charges, cushion wads & OS cards...just need some geese within range
http://www.containerandpackaging.com/item.asp?item=B390

 

[paulvallandigham]

Perhaps if the shot cups were carried in a LOADING BLOCK- thicker, of course, than what you would use to hold round balls-- they would be easier to handle, and load into the barrel. I would only want 5 or fewer such cups with shot in them for any given block given how much weight the loaded block would have, but it would be a great way to help quickly reload a fowler, or shotgun in the blind.

Any way you can work it so you don't have to carry loose shot in a bag, or flask, etc. to load your gun has to be okay. I was thinking that if you made a loading block, that has a bottom to it, sliding back and forth in a rabbit groove, so that the heavy shotcup does not fall through the block, you could find a way to seal the mouth of the cups, other than using tape, to hold the shot in the cups while being carried.

I just like your idea of loading the shot in the cups before you go into the field. My field experience, to date, has been limited to loading 12 gauge cups, as I have not yet tried it in my 20 gauge. But, I have large fingers, too, and I suspect from what I have already experienced working with my 20ga. that I will have similar problems like yours when it comes to loading the smaller gauge. Thanks for the candid appraisal of your efforts to date. I don't think you should be completely discouraged, however. You just need to solve some problems you didn't see coming at you to make this work.

Ideally, a light, clear, plastic tube with the inside dimension equal to the diameter of the OS cards would make a good way to carry a loaded shot cup, with the OS card(s)? keeping the shot in the mouth of the plastic tube, and some kind of bottom holding the cups from falling out. You would load the shotcup into the barrel the same way you would use an In-line percussion capper.

Maybe, if I can find such plastic tubes, I can glue them into a light,wood block, drilled to the OD of the tubes, putting 3-5 holes in the block, with the sliding bottom on it, so that the bottom is slid back to allow the loaded cup to be pushed through into the muzzle of the gun( with a short starter?)

 

[pmwest]

Pellet Packer

 

[paulvallandigham]

Wildshot: Interesting idea, but you still have loose components to deal with out in the wind.( And its PLASTIC, for Gosh Sakes! Not very Traditional oriented!) I am thinking about needing shot buffers to improve the performance, particularly of non-toxic shot, All the buffers I have seen, and read about are so light they just blow away in the lightest breeze.

The way to avoid having the lack of compartments in this little case, and eliminate all the handling in the field is to be able to load something like this at home, out of the wind.That is the brilliance of Roundball's concept. :thumbsup:

After I wrote this think piece post last night, I began to think about those plastic " Speed loaders" with their caps on both ends, etc.

I think some kind of cap on the plastic tube would insure that the shot and OS cards are not lost in the field. And, instead of sliding open the bottom to let the cup with shot go into the muzzle, I think turning my system around might be a better idea. The " open end" in my idea would be capped, and the sliding bottom would stay in place, only moved when putting the cups into the tubes at HOME, in the opposite direction, with the base of the cup closest to the open end.

All the components, including shot buffers, if used, would be put in the cups( paper or plastic) and the sliding lid closed and locked. The caps on the individual tubes would keep the loaded cups from coming out of the block until the cap is removed. Gravity and a slight tap on the box would be all that might be needed to get the components to move out of the block and into the muzzle of the gun.

I suppose one could avoid even the plastic tubes if you can find the correct drill and reamer, with the right hardwood, to make the holes in the block. Some kind of cork or wood stopper( as used for reloads for Matchlocks) would make this whole arrangement Most Traditional. I only thought about the use of inexpensive plastic Tubes because of an earlier idea that Roundball described and pictured.

I thought with a plastic tube, the shape of those thick, plastic cups for steel and non-toxic shot he's using, sold by Ballistic's Products would be adequately held with the shot in them, so they cups would not bulge and be difficult to load down the barrel. I have some of the BP shotcups in 20 ga. but have not yet loaded them with shot to test this out. The do have thick walls, so My concern( more valid with standard, and thinner, plastic wad shotcups) may not be a problem with these. Bulging can be a problem with paper cups. I also thought the use of plastic tubes, like pill bottles, would save weight, over using a 1 3/4" thick piece of wood, no matter how light a wood was used.

Thanks for the comments. With some ideas from you and others, we might just be able to come up with a product idea that will work for everyone. :hatsoff:

 

[pmwest]

No they are not “traditional” but then neither is the required nontoxic shot. I never had any problems with wind and I have used these in all kinds of harsh conditions. Try the Ohio River in a boat during January at 30 degrees with 30 mph winds with a mix of rain/sleet/snow. I was not, however, trying to use a buffer in the loads. Buffers present a problem for any carry method for muzzleloaders. Unless the load is packed and held tightly, the shot and buffer will separate. Even if everything is premeasured and put in container, pouring it into a shot cup or down the barrel will separate the shot and buffer.

If I were to use buffer and a plastic shot cup, I would get a cardboard tube with an inside diameter nearly equal to bore diameter with cardboard end caps. The length would be long enough to store powder and the wad column. The shot and buffer could be properly loaded in the shot cup inside the cardboard tube and held tight with the os card to retard separation.

 

[paulvallandigham]

But would a cardboard tube hold up in damp weather?

 

[pmwest]

They could be made of waterproofed materials, wax or silicone treated but that would increase the cost. Such treatment would also effect how the wads slide in and out of the tube and if it were too sticky, the powder would cling to the inside and provide more resistance to pushing the wad through. The wall thickness would be heavy enough to withstand the stress of repeated use. Even without special materials or coatings, a plain kraft paper tube is reasonably weather resistant. Complete soaking in water would swell and delaminate one. Normal use in dry conditions, the plain tubes should last quite a few loadings but they would eventually need to be replaced.

 

[AJFedak]

I do alot of skeet shooting and waterfowl hunting and I pre-measure my shot into a 32 gauge hull then slide a 28 gauge over the the top. Then loading is a matter of separating the two and pouring the shot down the barrel.

For larger shot sizes I've used 16 ga and 12 ga hulls. That way I can color code the shot size or volume. Load up a handful and grab some over-shot wads and away I go.