Loading shot in a rifle

[Wes/Tex]

Like most of the advise so far, I agree it's possible but results can vary widely. This is mostly due to the rotational effect given the shot cluster i the barrel. The same effect spins the shot and centrifugal force does the rest. At shorter ranges it may indeed work for your purpose, 'short' being the operative word. Softer lead in shot will probably dirty the bore but shouldn't take more than a few more passes of a brush or cloth cleaning patch. Best advise is give it a try and see what the results are. Rifling depth will be the biggest factor most likely...you won't know till you give it a go! Good luck.

 

[coloradoclyde]

This may seem like a silly question to some, but I'll ask it anyway.

I am relatively new to traditional muzzleloaders. I have been wondering, what result would come from loading shot in a 45 cal. rifle for squirrel hunting?

Ok! listen up!
I've tried this several times....first decades ago with a 45 with poor results...Then again last year with both 45 and 50 caliber rifles. I even made special shot cartridges/ wads to slow the spread of the shot....In all my testing I managed 2 kills...All under 15 yards.

The bottom line is;
At the effective range that shot will hit the target I can easily take a headshot with a patch and ball at the same distance...and with greater ease and efficiency.
If you want to use shot, get a shotgun or smoothbore.

 

[Billnpatti]

Yeah, it is quite doable. However, you must realize that your effective range is compromised by the effect of the rifling on the shot. What happens is the rifling causes the shot to scatter into a wider and less dense pattern than would a smoothbore. But, as long as you keep your shots to a relatively short range it will be okay. Someone else suggested 20 yards as a maximum effective range and that seems reasonable to me. you might consider making and using paper shotcups as a way of keeping your shot pattern a bit more dense. They are easy to do and if you don't know how, just shoot me a PM and I will explain the making of simple but effective paper shotcups.

 

[jrmflintlock]

I do it all the time with my .45 flinter! 20 grains of FFF under a .440 RB. Most of my hunting is in National Forest with no houses or people for many, many miles!

The only reason I am getting ready to build a .36 is to use less lead and even less powder. One must conserve in these crazy times.

Heck Who needs a reason to build a .36?!?! :v

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[coloradoclyde]

Just a reminder....The topic is using shot in 45 rifle, not a round ball....

Although round balls do work like a charm....

 

[Billnpatti]

I'm proud of you. Ya done good. :thumbsup: It ain't braggin' when you can do it. I envy you having such a wonderful place to hunt. Do you know what I would give to be in your shoes? But, like my buddy Clyde pointed out, the topic is not round balls in a rifle but shot in a rifle. Have you ever tried shot in your rifle? If so, what were your results?

Oh, BTW good luck on building that .36. Be sure to post pictures and we want to see and hear how it shoots.

 

[pab1]

Just a reminder....The topic is using shot in 45 rifle, not a round ball....

But, like my buddy Clyde pointed out, the topic is not round balls in a rifle but shot in a rifle.

Both roundball and shot use has been discussed in this topic. The OP seems more interested in trying a prb with a light charge for small game than using shot at this point.

 

[fowlmouth]

No problems. I'm gonna experiment with the shot and see what happens.. I dis go shoot some today.. I hadn't shot the gun in a while.. The ball was very hard to start. I was actually worried that I wouldn't be able to loaded.. Once it got down the bore a couple on inches with the starter it got much easier.. My starter got stuck once and I had to pry it out.. When it got stuck, in actually cut off part of the patch.. I am hoping that the starter was just to big.. I took a belt sander to it and a wire wheel to knock off the sharp edges.. It got dark on me so Im to test my theory tomorrow.. We will see...

 

[coloradoclyde]

My starter got stuck once and I had to pry it out.. When it got stuck, in actually cut off part of the patch..

Starter was too big and/ or your patches are too large.
Your starter should never stick.

 

[fowlmouth]

My suspension is the starter.. Once i got it started it loaded easy enough with the ramrod... Could just be wishful thinking.. If i still have trouble after sanding down the end of the starter, I guess I'll be trying some thinner patch material.

 

[coloradoclyde]

My suspension is the starter..

Not sure what you mean by "suspension"?

I guess I'll be trying some thinner patch material.

From what you describe it sound like the problem is the diameter of your patches not the thickness of the material.
Sounds like the patches are coming up too far past the ball when loading and are grabbing the ball starter. One you get the starter removed, the ramrod pushes the excess material down out of the way....

Ever stick your finger in a Chinese finger trap?

 

[Billnpatti]

If your short starter will fit into the bore, it is okay as it is. Your problem is the size of your patch, it is too large for the caliber. What is happening is your patch is wrapping around the ball and then wrapping around the end of your short starter causing it to get stuck in the bore. The simple solution is to use a smaller patch. As a rule of thumb, your patch should be about 3/4 the circumfrence of your ball. Since you are shooting a .45 caliber rifle, you can simply multiply .45 (the diameter of your bore) times pi (3.1416) to get the circumfrence of your ball. Then multiply this by 3/4 to get the size of your patch. Use this formula to calculate the size of your patch:

.45 X 3.1416 X .74 = 1.06

This shows that the ideal patch for your .45 cal. rifle is either 1 inch in diameter for a round patch or 1 inch square for a square patch.

Using the correct size patch for your rifle will solve your problem of getting your short starter stuck. Of course, if you cut your patch at the muzzle all of this will be moot and you will automatically have a patch on which the ball is perfectly centered and a patch that will not grab your short starter.

Problem solved and I retire. :hatsoff:

 

[Zonie]

My suspension is the starter..

Not sure what you mean by "suspension"?

...

I suspect "suspension" is the result of a spell checker seeing a mis-spelled "suspicion" and offering the wrong word as the correct spelling. :hmm:

At first glance, the wrong word can look surprisingly like the word that was in mind and a inadvertent quick click on a mouse button can end up making a person look foolish.

 

[coloradoclyde]

That makes complete sense.... :hatsoff:

 

[fowlmouth]

I got everything sorted out. I just cut at the muzzle as suggested.. Unfortunately the squirrels didn't corporate.. I didn't even see any! I'm going to go again in the morning. I'm going to a different area and see what happens.

 

[pab1]

I got everything sorted out. I just cut at the muzzle as suggested.. Unfortunately the squirrels didn't corporate.. I didn't even see any! I'm going to go again in the morning. I'm going to a different area and see what happens.

Good luck! Having some unsuccessful hunts makes the successful ones that much better.

 

[fowlmouth]

I've killed a bunch of squirrels. That was the first hunting I did. There is just something cool about walking through the woods, with a blackpowder gun after them. Alot of my buddies don't seem to understand it.. "Seems like alot of trouble for a squirrel" is what I get alot of the time.. Many gunshops that I go to in my area, have never heard of a .32 caliber muzzleloader..

 

[Billnpatti]

Those who think it "Seems like a lot of trouble for a squirrel" are simply meat harvesters. They don't understand that it is the hunt itself, not the harvest, that is the main reason for being in the woods. Many times I have returned from a hunt with little or nothing to show but I had a great hunt. :thumbsup: