How much shot

[mtharney]

I have a dbl barrel and was wondering if there is a rule of thumb as to how much shot to use. It is a 12 ga and one barrel looks to be a tighter choke than the other.

 

[Larry (Omaha)]

Mike,
That is a broad question. Tell us what you are shooting. Turkeys, bunnies, doves, blue rock etc.
There is lots of good advice from this forum, but we need more information.
Flintlocklar

 

[coloradoclyde]

I'd say the "rule of thumb" is to use the same volume of shot as powder.....

Here's Goex's load data....
http://www.goexpowder.com/images/LoadCharts/MLSS.pdf

 

[Feltwad]

I have a dbl barrel and was wondering if there is a rule of thumb as to how much shot to use. It is a 12 ga and one barrel looks to be a tighter choke than the other.

Use a volume load it is the best .
Feltwad

 

[BrownBear]

...a rule of thumb as to how much shot to use...a 12 ga....

The more or less standard shot charge for 12's is 1 1/8 ounce. I use that most of the time, but increase or decrease it for conditions. I use 7/8 ounce (actually standard for a 20 gauge) a lot in close cover for snowshoe hare or places where the ptarmigan are flushing close. I will increase it as high as 1 5/8 ounces for more pattern density when using larger shot for waterfowl. My 12 (a Pietta with CYL barrels) is very light, and the 1 5/8 ounce charge comes back as hard as I want, though folks load heavier in heavier guns.

I particularly like the 7/8-ounce shot charge for hares and ptarmigan because we have lots of hares and no bag limit, and the bag limit on ptarmigan is 20 a day. There can be a whole lot of shooting on better days. Added to that, we have to climb 1,300 feet up steep brushy mountains to break into the tundra and ptarmigan country and go lots higher from there. Using lighter shot charges on lots of shots adds up to a bunch of weight saving for climbs.

My standard load with modern 20 gauges is 7/8 ounce and 5/8-ounce in several 28 gauges. Both have proven entirely adequate, so I have no qualms about using similar loads in my Pietta 12.

 

[tenngun]

The square load is the rule of thumb. The volume of seventy grains of powder equal about an ounce of shot. Eighty about an ounce and an 1/8 and so on. Square is what I use most, but if you increase any thing on its own try shot first. More shot less powder is another rule of thumb.The beer can test is good. Should your shot go through a beer can at your range it has power to put game on the plate. More shot can make denser patterns. More powder has a tendency to blow your pattern out.

 

[mtharney]

I'm mainly shooting paper with this gun. It is a gun that has been in my family for a while, I'm the 5th generation for this shotgun, that we just shoot for fun.

 

[jrmflintlock]

In my 12 gauge double I shoot 80 grains of FFg. If I am shooting flying targets I use the same measure of "80 grains" of shot, #7 for dove and quail and #6 for grouse and pheasants. Load sequence is: Powder, 1 over shot card, 2 lubed felt wads, Shot and one over shot card.

For a denser pattern for Turkeys I use the Skychief method!! 80 grains of FFg, 3 over shot cards, "90 grains" of #6 mixed 50/50 with #5 shot, an over shot card and a "sloppy" wet with Olive oil fiber cushion wad on top!

Have fun!!

 

[Feltwad]

I'm mainly shooting paper with this gun. It is a gun that has been in my family for a while, I'm the 5th generation for this shotgun, that we just shoot for fun.

Lets have some images of this gun
Feltwad

 

[Stumpkiller]

One rule of thumb is that the shot column in the bore should be "square" - that is, as tall as it is wide.

So a 0.729" (12 bore) would stack up 0.729" "tall" column of shot.

Best way is to play around with a few loads and shoot paper to see how you are patterning.

An old rhyme that Kit Ravinshear had in his brochures:

More powder, less lead
Up close, wide spread.

Less powder, more lead
Shoots far, kills dead.

 

[mtharney]

I'll take some pix tonight.

 

[mtharney]

Here are some pix of my shotgun. If anyone can give name, year or any other info, that would be great. How do you add pictures? I'm on my phone, if that makes a difference.

 

[mtharney]

Let's see if this works.

 

[Cruzatte]

Let's see if this works.

Nope. Tried several different ways. Closest I got was a page informing me I needed permission.

 

[Stumpkiller]

An image file has to end with .jpg or .pnp (and it has two protocols).

Nope. Beyond my doctoring. I'm not sure Google is an image file host.

 

[mtharney]

I'm having trouble posting pictures, but if you click on the link, it will open the pictures. Any help on narrowing down the date/country of origin or posting pictures would be great.

Full Length: https://files.ofile.com/ofile/?controller=Download&action=download&id=1714260

Side of hammers: https://files.ofile.com/ofile/?controller=Download&action=download&id=1714257

Top of hammers: https://files.ofile.com/ofile/?controller=Download&action=download&id=1714261

 

[mtharney]

Maybe this will be better.

[/url]20180731_180544 TOP by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/img]

 

[mtharney]

YEAH! It worked.

Here are the rest.
Full Length.
20180731_180157[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr] 20180731_180157[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/url]

Side hammers:

[/url]20180731_180535[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/img]

Hammers angle:

[/url]20180731_180527[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/img]

 

[Feltwad]

YEAH! It worked.

Here are the rest.
Full Length.
20180731_180157[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr] 20180731_180157[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/url]

Side hammers:

[/url]20180731_180535[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/img]

Hammers angle:

[/url]20180731_180527[1] by Mike Harney, on Flickr[/img]

Thank you for the images . looking at them the gun looks in a very tired situation and my advice have it checked out and not use too heavy a load .
Feltwad

 

[Glen1313]

"I will increase it as high as 1 5/8 ounces for more pattern density when using larger shot for waterfowl. My 12 (a Pietta with CYL barrels) is very light, and the 1 5/8 ounce charge comes back as hard as I want, though folks load heavier in heavier guns."

Hi BrownBear,

I've got two Pedersoli 12s. On both of them, it's stamped on the barrels "89gr 1-1/4oz". So far, I've never exceeded that because I just wasn't sure if it was safe to. Neither in my Pedersoli manual, nor on the barrels states that is the "Maximum charge". Ive just assumed it is max because it's stamped on the barrels, but I've thought about trying a 1-3/8 oz shot charge just to see the pattern density when prepping for turkey season here, but have thus far been reluctant. Other than an increase in recoil, have you found any other issues using the heavier loads that you mentioned in your Pietta sxs? Are your barrels also stamped 89g 1-1/4oz? Thanks.