ITX load 12ga sxs

[brentp]

The goal was to find a nice load for #4 ITX shot to use on waterfowl. I weighed the shot by weight (not by volume). By volume, 1-1/8oz of ITX is about 110grns as oposed to lead at 80grns.

80grns 2FF, over powder card, fiber cusion wad, 1-1/8 of ITX shot (by weight), and an over shot card.

This created a pattern where 81% of my shot landed in a 30" circle at 20 yards. This will be perfect for decoying ducks. BTW, 1-1/8oz of ITX= 200 pellets.

I am going to give it a try on friday afternoon. If there are any ducks flying, I will post a report!

 

[BrownBear]

If there are any ducks flying, I will post a report!

Ha! :rotf: We're rowing the same boat. I have my loads all worked out, but haven't popped a cap since the opening bell 12 days ago. Between the good weather, the few birds on hand, and on very grumpy bear opening day, I just haven't had the chance to cut a feather. But the weather is perfect right now, so all that should change in the next day or two.

Your experience mostly reflects my own with ITX. I never weighed the charge dispensed by my Irish head, so you make me wonder how heavy my 1 1/4 oz measure really weighs. For that measure I'm using 80 grains of 2f and what sounds like an identical wad arrangement.

I haven't counted holes in paper, but have been producing good, duck-killing patterns at 30 yards, though I don't think I'd push it much further. I'm most impressed with how smooth the patterns are- no gaps and nice clean edges. I've taken half a dozen ptarmigan (roughly teal size) with the load and found the pattern of #4's too thin at around 25 yards.

I may switch to #6 for my all-around duck load so I have a denser pattern. Based on many years of muzzleloading mallards over decoys to 30 yards with #6 in the days of lead, I think the penetration and power will be there while I have more pattern density for smaller ducks.

Keep us posted! You can bet I'll be crowing when I splash my first ITX mallard. :rotf:

 

[paulvallandigham]

YOu might want to split that cushion wad in half, to prevent "donut" hole patterns as the shot gets further from your muzzle. :thumbsup:

 

[brentp]

thanks for the tip paul!

Brown Bear, when you used to use lead #6's did the pellets normally pass through? How about the ITX #4?

I should also add that I am using an 1870's belgium made sxs 12ga 33" barrels and no choking in either barrel.

 

[brentp]

Are you using a 12 ga Brownbear?

 

[BrownBear]

I'm using a Navy Arms Pietta 12 gauge SxS with 29" barrels and cylinder bores, identical to the one I used back in the days of lead.

My experience with lead was that depending on the angle of the shot, I'd sometimes recover a pellet or two, but the same was true for #6 and #4. I've never shot ptarmigan with #4 lead, but I certainly didn't recover any #4 ITX from the few I shot. Ptarmigan feathers aren't as heavy as duck, and they were all flying straight away or angling into a crossing shot.

FWIW, with lead I actually think I got fewer crips using #6 than #4, perhaps due simply to more hits. Dunno, and when I get some #6 ITX I'll probably put it in one bore and #4 in the other and alternate for a while until I get a better feel for it.

When you think about it, inside 30 yards even #6 pellets from a ML are traveling with a whole lot more geewhiz than guys are getting at "typical" longer ranges most of them claim for their duck shots. The CYL bores make it lots easier to hit up close than tight chokes too, so overall I've averaged more hits and kills with a ML than I ever get with a modern gun. It's just a matter of respecting the range limits and sticking to the birds within them.

 

[BrownBear]

Opportunity and weather coincided, and I finally got out for ducks again this afternoon. The wind was howling and the mallards were on the move.

I have one word for ITX as waterfowl shot: OUTSTANDING! :thumbsup:

My closest shot was on the order of 10 yards and the longest probably nudging past 30. No crips, no followup shots, no excuses. Just very dead mallards each time I did my job pointing the gun.

Because of the wind and my setup all birds were crossing from right to left. I missed my first shot outright, but scored a double on crossing birds with the second barrel. Bagged a bird with each barrel on the next flight, then things slowed down. I bagged both singles that came in over the next hour, then it was time to go home. I call 6 for 6 a fine day of shooting, no matter what gun you are swinging.

I'm tempted to pattern it with the plastic wads I mentioned before (WAA12R), but I don't need longer range because I'm not a long shooter. And a tighter pattern is likely to cost me on some close, fast birds.

In a nutshell, I think I'd go right on shooting ITX even if they legalized lead tomorrow. It's that good.

 

[Swtodd]

Cool, that is impressive. I'm ready to try it on rabbits here in NM. Just for the no lead thing, even though it(lead) comes from the ground, depleated uranium. The greenies see it as a problem, makes no sense.

steve

 

[Richard McCullough]

My ITX shot load out of my Cabelas (Pedersoli)12ga Double is 85gr 2F Goex, 2 1/8" lubed wool wads, 1 1/4oz by volume #4 or #6 ITX shot followed by one more 1/8" wool wad on top. This is out of modified chokes and a nice tight pattern at 35 yards. Taken teal to swans with this ITX shot. I like it.

 

[Supercracker]

Where are you getting your ITX from?

No one around here has it and I couldn't find a place searching. Going down south next month and need to get ready.

 

[BrownBear]

Where are you getting your ITX from?

No one around here has it and I couldn't find a place searching. Going down south next month and need to get ready.

You have to order it from Ballistic Products. It looks expensive, and is at $125 for 7 pounds. But look closer.

It's cheaper than Bismuth (and better in my experience), and is waaaay cheaper than premium modern shotshells. ITX works out to around $1.40 per shot for 1 1/4 oz loads. I just checked the Cabella's waterfowl catalog, and Federal Ultra-Shok High Density loads go for $37 per box of 10 shells, or $3.70 per bang. :shocked2:

That's the most expensive I could find to help make my point, but here's something else. ALL of the premium shotshells from every manufacturer are more expensive than ITX from a muzzleloader.

Sure you can buy standard steel loads cheaper, but you get what you pay for....

 

[Supercracker]

SWEET. Thanks. Wonder why google didn't spit that out?

Even better. I can buy a pound at the time of the stuff I only want a little of.

I figured it would be expensive, but most of the good stuff is. lol

A couple of times later on this year I'm gonna be going down on the kissimmee river area. My plan is to walk the flood plain looking for pigs but I should get the odd chance at a duck or goose. Then later on in the day go up into the dry brush looking for quail. Of course, if I take a shot at even one duck I'll need to have non toxic for everything. If I get checked hopefully the warden will let me slide on the 16 bore round balls not being for fowl. lol

 

[BrownBear]

Brown Bear, when you used to use lead #6's did the pellets normally pass through? How about the ITX #4?

Thought I should follow up on this.

I just finished skinning out the birds. This time of year they're eating salmon eggs, and you don't really want to pluck one, leaving behind the fat and skin. :barf: They're fine in December and January, but not now.

Skinning (and yeah, I save the legs and thighs) let me look at wound channels and count holes pretty good. Hard to tell which bird was which in terms of distance shot, but you can infer a lot. One had 10 hits, and I'm going to say it was the 10 yard bird. One had 3 in the body, and I think one in the head and probably one in the neck. I'm calling it the 30 yard bird. In between 10 hits and 3, I had 4, 6, 6, and 7. Howzat for a CYL bore gun and no plastic wads! :grin:

I got back one lonely ITX pellet, and that from the 30-yard bird! It was under the skin on the breast from a hit in the back. And it looked brand new- zero distortion.

Two things I notice. Wound channels are bigger than I ever got with #4 lead. And they "pull" fewer feathers into the channel than lead. Not as clean as Kent Tungsten Matrix (the best I've ever seen), but still very good. I'm of the opinion that dragging feathers cuts down on penetration, so I always watch it.

Birds are boned out and in the freezer now, and though the wind isn't going to be much to speak of today, the tide will be right starting in another hour or so. I'm outa here!!!!! :hatsoff:

 

[brentp]

some pictures would be nice...

I went out today too. Missed a close shot at a buffle head and that was it. Not a lot of birds here yet.

 

[BrownBear]

I had the camera along yesterday, but you got more shooting than I did! :grin: The wind didn't materialize as forecast, and without it hardly a seagull was flying. We have 15-30 knots in Monday's forecast, but I'm keeping the gear stacked by the door.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Brown Bear: You have convinced me to give ITX shot a try for waterfowl. I hate the idea of spending that much money to obtain some, but I am through with using Steel Shot. Maybe I can find someone to sell my remaining steel shot shells to in order to off-set the cost of the ITX.

Thank you for the report on your latest duck hunt, and the performance of this shot. :thumbsup: :thumbsup: :hatsoff: :hatsoff:

 

[Richard McCullough]

Paul I think you will like the stuff, I do. I had some heavy shot but it didn't pattern as well as ITX.

 

[Dryfly5300]

I have been lurking on this site and working up 10 & 12 Gauge Pedersoli Loads. Two questions, first did you ever get steel to work as a load? My hope was to get 30 to 35 yards out of a steel load for decoying ducks (yes I have a very good retriever). I have been experimenting with Ballistic Products and Precision's 12 gauge plastic shot cups for steel (10 gauge seemed too tight for the 10 gauge barrel even with chokes removed). At this point (after a lot of trial and error) I have decided I need Mylar wraps inside of the cups, to assure that no shot leaks out. Second question ties into the shot cups issue, did you ever get a load to work with hevi shot? I see in your post you mentioned you had some hevi shot, but it seemed that the IXT #4 was what you were using. I remember shooting a lot of ducks, and still shoot pheasants with lead. My hope is is to get lead like performance out of a non-toxic load from a muzzle loader. Then use steel when the ducks are decoying well to keep costs down. Sorry for posting so late and its length, but you and Brown Bear seem to have been working on the same stuff last fall as I am trying to figure out before this season. I duck hunt in Minnesota and plan on getting a couple trips to North Dakota hunting with my 84 year old dad :grin: priceless.

 

[BrownBear]

I'll let Richard speak for himself, but my issue with steel is the inability of black powder to give it velocities comparable to smokeless. My experience there has been that I have to go up three shot sizes above lead and go to max vels to get the kind of reliable kills I want. The lower vels possible with black powder or subs makes me think I'd have to go even larger on my shot, at which point the patterns start getting really thin.

Long answer for a short response: I haven't tried steel in a ML because I'm leery of performance on game, rather than barrel damage versus use of plastic wads.

On the other hand, what little duck shooting I got to do with ITX last year with no plastic wad showed it gives patterns similar to or slightly better than lead from a ML and kills like crazy when it connects.

Dunno if that helps, but it's a view into my thinking.

Richard?

 

[Richard McCullough]

Hello,
I have not tried steel. I have shot hevishot out of the gun, but I like the performance of the ITX better. I also do not use a shot cup in my Pedersoli (Cabelas) 12ga. May patterns with ITX #4 and 6's are tight. with 85 grains of 2F black or 60 grains of 2F Triple 7. 80 grains of 2F blackpowder is even tighter. For upland, I just use the same loadings.