dove load devolpment for NWTF navy arms 12 guage

[silent sniper]

Hello guys,ive been getting ready for dove season which opens up here in ohio sept 1st. i tried quite a few different loads at ranges of 20 and 25 yards. i used big pieces of cardboard to pattern the shotgun on. the circles on them are the size of a dinner plate. i counted the number of bb's in the circle as well as looked for the best pattern over the whole board. i will post all the different loads and you guys can suggest which load i should use. here they are
1.70 grains FF,4os wads,90 grains #6 shot,1os at 25 yards.

This was my load that I had been using for awhile. Of coarse I never bothered to pattern the load lol lol. Well I found out that with that load I had a nice blown pattern lol.there were only 12 bbs in the circle.
2.70 grains FF,4os,unslit paper shotcup,90 grains #6 shot,1os at 25 yards.

there were 48 bb's in the circle.
3.was the same load as 2. load. it was also 25 yards.

this pattern was very tight and put 112 in the circle.
4.70 grains FF,4 os,70 grains #6,1os at 20 yards.

there were 65 in the circle.
5. same load as 4. also at 20 yards.

one circle had 51,the other had 52.
6.70 grains FF,40s,unslit shotcup,70 grains #6,1os
at 25 yards.

it had a nice pattern,but it was over to the right when i was using the left barrel. there were 23 in the circle.
7.70grains FF,4 os,1/2 slit shotcup,90 grains #6,1os. at 25 yards

it had 50 in the circle.
8.60 grains FFF,4os,80 grains #6,1os AT 25 yards.

it had 59 in the circle.(the big hole in the cardboard isnt part of the pattern lol)
I have never used FFF powder in a shotgun and never planned on it.I just happened to buy a new can of goex FFF and decided to try a load with it. I was suprised to see that it had shot a nice pattern. Is FFF to hard on shotgun barrels ? As you guys can see I only used overshot wads for the loads. I dont have any over powder or cushion wads at the moment. Would I get better patterns with either/both OP and cushion wads ? Or should i just stick to over shot wads ? I am up to any suggestions that would help get better patterns. So, are any of these patterns good enough for doves ? If so which load is the best for doves ? Thanks,SS

 

[paulvallandigham]

Is this a single barrel or DB shotgun? If so, which barrel fired which loads? You may have one barrel that is shooting off to one side. If it does that consistently, a bit of filing on the muzzle may move the shot to your POA.

I prefer using #8 shot for dove, because shots are close, and you get about 150 more pellets in the load, that helps fill the sky. It doesn't take much energy to bring a dove down, and at the short range, #8 shot seems to be more than adequate. Stick with the 1 oz loads, and 60 grains of powder. Use your OS cards, as that seems to have gotten rid of the hole in the center of your patterns.

Just my thoughts. :thumbsup:

 

[silent sniper]

It is a side by side double barrel. it only shot to one side when i used the unslit shot cup. i will pick up some #8 shot ASAP.

 

[dbutch]

Your un slit paper loads look promising.
FFF has worked well in my smooth bores.
# 8 shot will increase density of your pattern.
Does your gun barrels have any choke?

If not you will need to use some type of wads, paper ,plastic ,etc. You will gain yardage.try to keep a square load= width of shot column=height of shot column in your bore.

You could try ox-yoke wonder wads-1/8 th inch thick -yellow wool felt pads. lube the edges of the felt wads.
I have had luck using 2 of the felt wads over a over shot card over the powder.
With out any choking your fighting a uphill battle, keep your shots 25 yards or less it sounds like fun!

 

[silent sniper]

both barrels are unchoked

 

[BrownBear]

It's been a long time since I owned it, but my old Navy Arms double 12 with cylinder bores was my main ptarmigan shooter for about ten years. It was also my main snowshoe hare shooter over dogs. I always dreamed of using it on doves, but the danged things just never appeared up here.


It really did well with 1 1/8 oz of hardened #8's for ptarmigan, #6's for hares and #5's for ducks, and a charge of Goex 2f thrown with the same measure. I don't know what that translates into in grains of powder, because I never checked. The load was okay with a fiber wad over the powder and an overshot card cut from a shirt box.

It really sat up and took notice when I tried Winchesters AA red cups and the same homemade thin overshot card. With the full length AA red wad I could get a true "modified" pattern at 30 yards. Cut the petals to half length and it threw a decent IC pattern, and with the petals cut off completely I got what I'd call a Skeet pattern.

Trimming the petals like that was really handy for delivering a different choke from each barrel.

 

[Edlebrock454]

I've got a 10 Gauge double and the best patterns I get are with equal volumes of shot and powder and an over powder card and cushion wad, and I also use unslit wads as well to tighten patterns at longer ranges, and I also prefer #8's and #7 1/2's for dove as well, the pattern is denser and gives a little more handicap for the black powder, but the challenge is why we do it, happy hunting!

 

[pmwest]

I would have to say #8 shows good promise. I like #6 shot for dove from a muzzleloader. And the load looks good on paper. There is no problem at all with this powder charge using FFFg powder. I would suspect that you would get near equal patterns by using 70 gr. of FFg holding the other components the same. By all means, use the 4 overshot cards on top of the powder unless multiple shots without cleaning start to degrade the pattern. I never had much use for cushion wads but you might try woven felt like the Wonder Wads. I get consistent patterns with one woven felt wad between the powder and shot. I would take the loading that you have for #8 and test it at least five times in each barrel. Compare each pattern for how consistent it looks with the others. Check to see if it develops holes as the barrel becomes more fouled.

There are several things that I have found to be true about using a muzzleloader in a dove field, the biggest flock of the day comes over the field just after you decide there will be a lull in activity and you have just started to clean the bores. The easiest shots always present themselves between pouring the powder and trying to find your over powder wad.

Several words of advice that I can give from experience. Use the simplest load string that you can. Don’t hurry your loading no matter how many birds are in the air or how many shots you hear from the autoloader across the field. And, although it may hurt your soul, it shows good form to allow your buddy to use your ramrod to clear the jammed shell in his antique browning auto while you watch dove land on the ground 25 yards in front of you and all you have in your hands is an empty gun.

 

[Bretwalda]

Wild...very nicely said! :thumbsup: