Need info on shooting round ball 16 Guage smooth

[flintlock54]

I am on the waiting list for a custom fowler. The plan is to use a Getz 16 Gauge smooth bore barrel. Would like to know what is the best way to load round ball in a smooth bore. What ball size for the 16 Guage works best? .662?

 

[Rat]

You'll want to mic your bore when you get it, before ordering any balls or a mould. Your barrel will be off, give or take a few thou", from whatever a 16 gauge is supposed to be. My .62 calibre Colrain barrel is actually a .612".

My smoothie likes a tight ball/patch combo for accuracy, but "tight" in a smoothie is a little loosey compared to a rifle, as when the barrel fouls it gets a little harder to load than a rifle barrel. I load my first load with a .018" patch, and proceding rounds with a .010".

For a comparison my musket bore mics out at a true .750", best as I can tell, and a .735" ball gives me a real tight fit. With a Wonder wad, and Swiss powder I can get three shots for sure before wiping. That might give you a ball park figure, but again you won't know exactly what size your bore is until you get it.

Good luck and have fun, you will love that sweet sixteen.

Rat

 

[Wes/Tex]

Agree with Rat...mike the bore before anything else. My system to use a ball .020" under bore size with .017" lubed patching. Bob Spencer's site has a lot of good info for both smooth and rifled guns.

http://members.aye.net/~bspen/

 

[amccall]

Another thing to try is to get some over powder/shot card wads. I have better accuracy when I use an over powder card with my patched ball. Some people don't even use a patch and ball combo but use an overpowder card / ball / over shot card combo. It depends what works with you and what you like. :thumbsup:

 

[Stumpkiller]

I used a .650" ball in my .662" Getz barrel (on a Kit Ravenshear fusil) with paper cartridges. It worked very well with 0.015" cloth patching, too, but I did have to wipe the bore occasionally to chase the fouling away.

 

[sherpadoug]

How does one mike the bore more than a few inches deep? I would consider it at least as useful to buy balls in a few sizes and try them.

 

[B.Habermehl]

My usual load is almost the same as Stumpkiller's. .650 ball dia and bluejean denim fabric for patching about .017 thick. I don't think you will go wrong with a .650 dia ball mold. BJH

 

[Stumpkiller]

How does one mike the bore more than a few inches deep?

Calipers.

Anything expandable and small enough to go into the bore. Stick it in, open it up, lock it, then remove it and measure it with a micrometer or vernier calipers.

 

[riarcher]

Don't forget the dialbore, intramic and telescopic gages. :sorry: eace:

 

[flintlock54]

Thanks everyone for the help. What make of .650 mould do you recommed or will I have to go custom?

 

[Rat]

Dixie can make/sell you a mould in any size, realitively inexpensive. It could be a manure-shoot however.

Long long time ago I bought a .570" ball mould from them. Casts a nice round ball of exactly .570 diameter. Nice machining, very smooth ball. Great mould and I think they cost $10.00 at that time. About $30 now I think.

Recently I got a .735" mould from them that cast kind of a pear-shaped ball, and the machining was very rough. I sent it back for a refund, but first cast about 100 balls. THEN I discovered that the pear shaped ball loaded sprue down worked great. Do'h! The sprue end was the smaller end. I may order another from them at .730" and shoot them FIRST before complaining!!

I also purchased a .726" ball mould from Tanner, and it cast a "long ball", it is about .670" in the middle, and end to end measures .726". This shot VERY badly, it appearently tumbles or something. Beutiful mould though...

Lee moulds are great if they make them in that size, inexpensive too. And nothing wrong with getting a more expensive Rapine mould, or something custom made to compliment your fine fowler...just experiment with some different size balls first!

Rat

 

[ffffg]

ive had a chambers .665 16 gauge 42 inch barrel in a jim chambers mark silver for about 15 years..ive taken many ducks and a pheasant with her.. getz recomonds a .648 lyman mold (extinct), but can be found.. i use a dixie .645 ball, sprue down as mentioned earlier and .018 patches with 70 grains 2fg, liberal amount of neatsfoot oil on the patch in summer, and a fiber wad between the patched ball and powder.. i think the .650 is a good idea but you will not need a thick patch over .018.. too much powder is the foremost mistake most smoothball shooters make.. 70 grains with the 400 round ball gives me 1000fps.. plenty of power out to 70 yards.. pleasant to shoot.. dave...

 

[Le Mamou]

I shoot a flintlock 16 ga. / .662 cal. Colerain barrel.
I use .648 round ball with a 1-1/2" .010 patch, Stumpie's Moose Snot. I shoot 80 gr. FF Goex, FFFF Goex for prime.

The mold and patches came from Jeff Tanner.
I bought the blocks from Jeff, and picked up the handles localy. I like his products.

I also used Jo Wood's muzzle coning tool, ball start much better.

Jim...

 

[flintlock54]

Thanks everyone for your support. Nothing beats years of experience. Just ordered a Lyman single cavity .650 mould from a dealer that still had them in stock. Took a chance. As recommeded, the worst that I would have to do is adjust the patch thickness. I normally use the .010 pre-lubed patches from Sagebrush in my .54 Early Virginia. They are generously lubed with a non-scented thin oily lube which really helps them slide down a fouled bore.

 

[B.Habermehl]

I think you will do fine with that dia. As you said you will need to fool around with patch thickness a bit. Heck we all have to do the same with every new gun any how. I think you are off to a good start. BJH
PS I use 55 gr. of ffg. .017 patch and Simple Green soap for lube. You can shoot alot of rounds with this combo with out fuss. In my gun anyhow. :results:

 

[old hop]

I'm using 65gr. powder and a .640 ball from a dixie mould with pillow ticking mink oil for lube. My gun is a North star west musket it shoots that load well about 4" at 50 yards.

 

[WV_Hillbilly]

Your barrel and bore may differ considerably, BUT mine miked at .670 and I use a .648 ball

(Lyman used to make a mould in this round ball diameter). Otherwise, I use .650 diameter mould that I had from DGW. (NOTE: The Lyman mould is obviously much better quality and the ball size more uniform with greatly smaller sprue too. The problem is finding a mould that someone cares to part with... that can be an "adventure".

I suggest that after you get the measurements that you consider a ball diameter that is roughly .020 under bore size. I can also get 3 shots off with out wiping down the bore--the 3rd shot is a good bit tougher to load, but that one still stays in the target cluster! Naturally, a tighter fitting ball will work, but you'll need to wipe every other shot OR every shot...

I shoot 80gr FFg Wano with Swiss FFFFg for ignition and a .018 patch with "possum" fat lube. Will cloverleaf 3 shots most every time at 35 yds, which is good enough for the heavy cover where I hunt Whitetail.

Shoot Safely!
WV_Hillbilly :front:

 

[flintlock54]

Sounds like the Lyman .650 mould that I located was a real find. It was the last one the dealer had in stock. New in the box for $55.00. God blessed me again.