HELP Brown Bess proper wad (Ovrpowder!)

[Armando]

Experimenting with my Brown Bess shot loads.

Are the cushion wad and over powder wad (pictured) supposed to be stacked on one another?

I was just going to use tow for over shot wad, but could I use one of these?

 

[Rifleman1776]

No "supposed" anything in this game except safety measures and sometimes reenactment rules. But, usually, cardboard over powder, fiber wad over cardboard, shot, then thin cardboard over that. But, preference vary. I used to shoot my Bess with ball loaded like a rifle. e.g. prb

 

[tenngun]

They are designed to be stacked, but don’t need to be. Just the fiber works fine.
Tow is historic but looses pressure so gets a lower velocity
Folded brow paper is dandy

 

[oldwood]

Back when a B Bess was one of my shootin' irons , I used only .125 card wads on top of the powder , and 1/2 of a .125 on top of the shot. The cardwads fall out of the shot pattern more quickly than a big fiber wad. Cards might make a slightly more dense shot pattern. Roundball ,I always patched it same as rifle. LOL

 

[shaman]

I've recently been out trying to get a decent shot pattern with my Brown Bess pursuant to turkey hunting.

I tried several options, and researched several more. The winner by a mile was the SkyChief Load.

One thing of note: at 80 grains of 3F and 2 OZ of powder I had the oil-soaked wad pierce the target's corrugated backer board twice at 30 yards. Once it was higher than the pattern, once it was slightly lower. Bottom line: it doesn't just fall away after leaving the muzzle.

 

[Armando]

This is helpful. Are the wads I have (in pic in OP) correct?

I tried to find a video of someone actually loading for shot to see the procedure, but no luck.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I would think that Mike Beliveau of Duelist's Den has some videos. I found using a quick search, this video of shooting a 12 gauge flint lock smoothbored gun.



It would not surprise me to find that @B P Maniac Shooter has a video or two of loading a smooth bored gun.

Now as to whether your wads are correct? Measure your bore. Most Pedersoli Short Land Pattern Muskets will have a bore that measures 0.750". This is closer to 11 gauge and the 12 gauge wads may be too small. I would use the 11 gauge over shot cards. Use three cards for over the powder and one for over the shot.

Of course, read the sticky at the top of the forum on the Sky Chief Load.

 

[shaman]

This is helpful. Are the wads I have (in pic in OP) correct?

I tried to find a video of someone actually loading for shot to see the procedure, but no luck.

Track of the Wolf has 11 Gauge Wads and Cards and such. That is much closer to the bore on a 'Bess. My guess is 12 GA is too small. When you have the right gauge, the cards and wads will take a bit of effor to get started and will give you a lot of resistance as you're ramming them home due to air pressure building up on the other side.

 

[Grenadier1758]

If @Armando has a digital vernier caliper, he can measure the bore diameter of his Pedersoli Brown Bess. Most will be 0.750". Then the 12 gauge wads will be too small. It's best to measure first, then purchase.

 

[Armando]

If @Armando has a digital vernier caliper, he can measure the bore diameter of his Pedersoli Brown Bess. Most will be 0.750". Then the 12 gauge wads will be too small. It's best to measure first, then purchase.

These came with the Bess...the original owner used them. I just need to try it out but want to not mess up the loading sequence and end up with what would basically be a pipe-bomb next to my face.

 

[Armando]

How much powder to use in SkyChief Load (or what would be a good rule of thumb)?

 

[Grenadier1758]

These came with the Bess...the original owner used them. I just need to try it out but want to not mess up the loading sequence and end up with what would basically be a pipe-bomb next to my face. .

Those 12 gauge wads won't hurt anything being a very loose fit. You will have gas blow by and a slightly reduced muzzle velocity. Performance would have been less than we desire and that's probably why there were so many wads to go with the Bess.

 

[Grenadier1758]

How much powder to use in SkyChief Load (or what would be a good rule of thumb)?

You would use the same amount of powder (2Fg) that is used for most loadings. For your Bess that would be 85 grains (volume) or 95 grains which is about 3 drams. A good rule of thumb is the loadings for the unmentionable cartridges, but stay away from the magnum loadings.

 

[Felix the Cat]

My 46" Long Pattern Musket is proved for 7 Drams, which was the original full military load, but I would not want to shoot that much! I generally keep it to about 80-90gn FFg.

I take my Long and Carbine Muskets to a game show near Inverness each year and shoot around 300 rounds over a couple of days at a "have a go" stall. I make up paper cartridges with the ball tied into one end with a wipe of Bore Butter as I load them. I can almost keep going without having to clean..! The accuracy I get with these is quite remarkable with most folk hitting a 3 x 3 target at about 30yards.