hunting loads for a brown bess

[Tommy Bruce]

It looks like I'm going to be waiting another fall season on my fowler so instead of foregoing another squirrel season or worse (hunting with a modern gun) I'd like to try with my Brown Bess. Can any of you guys recomend a load for squirrels, bunnies and possibly turkeys. I realize each load would be different but I've always hunted with a smaller guage gun and would like to give this a try. Thanks

 

[shootemup]

Tommy,
Is your Bess a 12 gauge cylinder bore? If it is, you might try 70 grains of 2f with equal volume of #5 shot for squirrel - try it on a target first of course, you'll want to know if there are any big holes in your pattern.
If the pattern does have holes you can increase the amount of shot, say, 80 grains' volume equivalent to the 70 grains of powder. You will need to experiment a little bit to see what will work for your gun.
You might not need quite that much powder to kill a squirrel, but you might need it to pattern well (my experience). My son killed his first few squirrels with 45 grains of 3f Swiss out of a little .56 smoothbore. That was a marginal load but effective at 25 yards or so.
For rabbits you can use less powder, I use 60 grains in a 12 gauge with slightly more volume equivalent #5 shot.
I like the 1/2" fiber cushion wads, your mileage may vary (we use Wonder Wads in the little .56's). It's fun to experiment. I soak the cushion wads in melted Crisco shortening, wipe them off with a paper towel and store them in a little baggie before use.
Please do post your progress and results, I for one am very interested in smoothbore shooting.
What kind of fowler do you have on order?
Mark

 

[Swampman]

I'd try 70-90 grains of 3F with an equal amout of #4s for everything except deer. A hunk of hornet's nest between the shot and powder, and another over the shot works nicely and won't set the woods on fire.

My deer load is 90 grains of 3F and a .715 PRB.

Be really careful if you use regular paper wadding. It WILL set the woods on fire.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Simply there is little difference in the performance of a muzzleloading shotgun and a modern one. The real advantage lies in the choke. The Brown Bess gives the advantage of large bore diameter.

The charges to use are roughly the same as a modern shot shell. The measurement indrams of powder are for the equivalent weight of ffg black powder.

We can take advantage of the paper cartridge rolls to use as shot cups and the fact that slightly reducing the charge will tighten up a pattern. I make a cartridge out of computer paper to just fit the bore. You can use heavier paper, Sticky notes are pre-glued and index cards are as heavy a paper as one would want to use. The heavy paper you may want to add some slits to encourage the break up of the paper cup.

Now for some specifics, about 3 drams of ffg powder, thats about 85 grains. I think that 10% larger volume measure of shot is good, so 95 grains (volume measure) of 7 1/2 to 6 for rabbits and squirrel. For turkey, I recommend the larger shot from 6 to the legal limit. These loads are suitable for up to 30 to 35 yard shots. Pattern your gun before going hunting. If you use a shot cup, you want to know that it is going to break up rather than send an ounce and a half projectile toward your target. I use one over powder 1/8" wad and one thin over shot card. It is also good to use two or three over shot cards as over powder wads. Too large of an over powder wad and large pwder charges can cause the the wad to push through the shot and destroy the pattern.

Good hunting with your Bess.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

Thanks gentlemen, These loads give me an excellent place to start. Hopefully I can get to the range and shoot something besides blank cartidges.