new gun

[gungho]

this is the best place to put this I hope I would like to buy a smooth bore or shot gun for lack of better words now I need to know what size to get i am looking at this one at TOW
American Fowling Gun,
12 gauge, 44" octagon-to-round barrel by Colerain,
early Ketalnd flint lock, maple, brass,
by Nathan McKenzie but would I be able to shoot PRB out of it or would it be better to go with a 20 guage I would want to use it on ducks and geese

thanks
Gung

 

[wtilenw]

You can still shoot round balls out of it, just bigger ones. .690" I think off the top of my head.

 

[grizzly adam]

You're better off with the 12 bore for waterfowl, Gungho. In fact, if using the fowler for it's intended purpose is your goal, you'll probably find the 12 more versatile and better suited to wingshooting a variety of birds, and much better for geese and turkeys.

You can certainly shoot round ball with your 12 bore fowler, but keep in mind that a 12 bore round ball is a BIG old piece of lead, and that it needs a lot of powder to propel it at killing velocity. Think blast, recoil, and expense.

If you intend to use the gun both as a shotgun and a smooth ball gun, I think you'd prefer the 20 bore (or something even smaller, if you think you'll shoot more roundball than shot).

Up to you, my man. No reason to hurry; there are lots of good guns out there, and Track usually has more than a few possibles. Take your time.

I think you'll find the general consensus to be that fowlers work best as shotguns, and that rifles work best for shooting ball.

 

[Canerod]

Yep, .690-.715 will work, depending on your patch thickness. You see a lot of 20's out there, but I like the versatility of a 12 bore. You can always load it down for lighter recoil, but the 12 is a lot better for waterfowl.

 

[longrifle78]

I agree , for ducks and geese the 12 is much better. The 20 makes a good all around woods gun but is not as good when it comes to water fowl IMHO.

 

[paulvallandigham]

WADR, a 75-80 grain powder charge of FFg is all that is needed behind a 12 ga. RB to kill deer or just about anything. The felt recoil comes from the weight of the ball, and the design and weight of the gun. There are some 12 gauge guns that are going to hurt you no matter what you shoot from them.

The reason you don't need more powder, or more VELOCITY is that the huge ball is the equivalent of a freight train when going through flesh: Once started, it almost can't stop. It does tremendous damage to internal organs and deer die very quickly. Don't forget that a pure lead Round Ball will also expand on impact, even at low velocities, and that makes that primary wound channel even larger!

Are you going to shoot deer with a 12 gauge RB out at 200 yards? I hope you would have the common decency and respect for game to never even try such a shot! RBs are short range projectiles, even though they can kill at many times that range.

A RB out of a smoothbore becomes a 70 yard or less deer gun. Inside that range- and by far most deer are taken under 50 yds.---- the 12 ga. RB will kill your deer if you can accurately place that ball in the deer's torso.

There is a huge difference in how a RB performs out of a smoothbore barrel, and a rifled one. Don't confuse the ballistic's data for the two.

 

[Mike Brooks]

I'd go with the 12 bore for fowling.

 

[Tommy Bruce]

I'll add one more for the 12 bore. I've also looked at the gun you're talking about. It looks pretty good in the pics and a fair price as well.

 

[Many Klatch]

A 12 gauge roundball can be just as accurate as a 20 gauge, but the recoil is heavier. For those of use in the Lead Ball Bowling league, recoil is comforting, but there are a lot of people that don't care for the recoil. The 12 gauge ball accuracy tends to fall off precipitously after 50 or 60 yards, but then so does the 20 gauge.

I get my lead free so I enjoy shooting the bigger roundball, but if lead is a problem, remember that 12 ball takes one pound of lead.

Many Klatch

 

[paulvallandigham]

Manny: I think I know what you were trying to say, but I think it came out wrong!

A 12 gauge( bore) gun shoots a roundball which has a diameter and weight that makes it 1/12th of a pound. That is, there are a dozen, 12 gauge size balls to the pound.

A 20 gauge(bore) has 20 balls to the pound. That is how shotgun barrels are " Gauged". If you do the math, a 12 gauge ball will weigh 1 1/8 oz. A 20 gauge ball is 8/10ths of an ounce or 350 grains. However, neither gauge can shoot a ball of exact bore dimension. So, the typical 20 gauge ball will only weigh 325 grains( .600 diameter vs. .620 bore), and the typical 12 gauge ball will be .715 vs. a .729" bore diameter) Weight is closer to 1 1/16 oz than to 1 1/8 oz.