Howdah gun's ballistic handicap?

[Naphtali]

Since the howdah gun most of us might have seen and/or used is one of Pedersoli's, I'll ask for information about it.

Compared with standard barrel length (25-30 inch barrels) cap lock 20 gauge shotguns, what is a good rule of thumb for the amount or percentage of muzzle velocity for larger pellets and buckshot Pedersoli's 20 gauge howdah gun loses by way of its short barrels? I am anticipating propellant charges remain reasonably constant between shotgun and howdah gun.

 

[majg1234]

can't give you an answer in FPS as I've never chronographed mine.I did switch to 3f over 2f and it made an obvious difference in the velocity but the shot pattern opened up some.It is quite effective on squirrel and bunnies out to about 25yds and with patched roundball it will easily shoot through a 2x4 and keep going.The thing is fun to shoot, OK on accuracy out to about 20yds and would no doubt be devastating with buck shot.As far as percentage of velocity loss I don't know.....But it appears to be some Just based on observation,even at that it packs considerable terminal energy :idunno:

 

[Loyalist Dave]

Pedersoli doesn't recommend going over 30 grains of powder, so your performance would be less than 1/2 that of the shotgun to start, since the shotguns are using 60 - 80 grains of powder.

On the other hand I have conversed with several folks who shoot 60 - 80 grains of 2Fg through their Pedersoli Howdah pistols. They theorize that the barrel is the same as in the Pedersoli shotguns, only shorter, but the breech areas are the same and will hold the same pressure. :idunno: The question then is how much of the powder is being wasted as a fireball of powder ignited in front of the muzzle? How much stress is being placed on the pistol stock? :idunno: Not to mention stress on your wrist, but they say it's not bad.

The barrel length is less than 1/2 that of a shotgun with a 25" - 30" barrel, so you could guesstimate with a load comparable to the shotgun, you're getting a tad less than 1/2 performance..., and if in actuality you get more than 1/2 then that's in your favor. So keep your round ball hunting to 25 yards or less and you shouldn't worry.

They weren't meant for "sporting" use. They were meant to blow an enraged tiger off the back of the elephant that you are riding because you shot the tiger, and it wants a to kill you before it succumbs to its wounds....up close and personal and two shots to make the big, pissed-off kitty go away. :shocked2:

LD

 

[majg1234]

I use more powder than recommended by the mahufacturer.It does really well and is not at all anemic like the factory recomendation :grin:

 

[Wes/Tex]

Question is a bit hard to answer.. 'All I cna tell you for sure is that a standard 28" barrel fot 1110fps with 90 grains and a 14" barreled Confederate Cavalry model got 845fps with the same load. Haven't seen loading data for the Howdah but if you need to keep the charge low by rules from teh maker, the above does you little good.

 

[Wes/Tex]

They weren't meant for "sporting" use. They were meant to blow an enraged tiger off the back of the elephant that you are riding because you shot the tiger, and it wants a to kill you before it succumbs to its wounds....up close and personal and two shots to make the big, pissed-off kitty go away.

Pissed-off kitty is about right. Here's what happened to some forest rangers in India adn they'ree trained...it happens just this fast. Howdahs were desinged for "repel boarders"...not hunting!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1n-3cFIuQBc

 

[joevic57]

Just shot my 20/20 Howdah with a .610 patched round ball and 35 grains of 2FG black powder, and, the ball penetrated a one inch pine board at 15 yards like it had been drilled. So, different strokes for different folks, but why the talk about loads of 50 grains on up and even with 3FG black powder. The 35 grain load is very mild on the recoil end and fun to shoot, but, a tiger would not like it. Shoot more and stay safe

 

[Sam squanch]

Poor kitty just wants to PLAY!!

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Can't kill tigers with 30 grains. I'll stick with my .44 mag.

 

[earlwb]

The original Hawdahs fired the big .577 rifle cartridge. Granted there is a significant loss of muzzle velocity but you get a big fireball, big bang noise too. Plus that big bullet traveling at sedate velocities still has a big knockdown stopping factor as well. It was as mentioned a up close and personal repel boarders kind of gun. Thus our modern replicas should be able to handle similar charges too. But as mentioned unless one has a use for using heavy charges a more mild fun to be had charge is the way to go. Plus now we can get the wild and scary fun 12 guage AGH double barrel pistols too. Those are lots of fun too.

 

[Commodore Swab]

As the powder hasn't been mentioned I figured I'd mention it. BP has a much faster burn rate than synthetic. Synthetic will result in a greater difference shotgun to howdah due to this burn rate.