newbie bp shotgunner

[utahhntnful]

Anybody have any favorite loads to hunt turkies with, I have a Pedersoli 12ga.cap gun I don't know what choke (s) it has,

 

[TrevorAaron]

I dont hunt turkey but i have had most sucess with 60 grain fffg over powder then 80 grain shot then over shot wad. at 30 yards its the same as a mod choke in my 20 guage. I have killed lots of rabbits with this load.

good luck aaron

 

[Jason Lewis]

let's assume it's a cylinder bore then. out of that gun i would shoot around 1 1/2 oz of either 5's or 6's over around 90-100grn 2F. call'em into 30yrds or closer and they'll be dead.

 

[BrownBear]

Unless your Pedersoli is a newer one with chokes, I'm kinda skeptical about generating turkey-killing patterns past about 30 yards. I'm not a turkey hunter, but I'm basing that speculation on long history with Navy Arms doubles and cylinder bores. With load development, and maybe shot as fine as #7 1/2, you could almost certainly pull together turkey killing patterns out to 30 yards, though.

Right now I'm shooting 90 grains of 2f Goex and a charge of shot dispensed from the same measure- roughly 1 1/4 to 1 3/8 oz. That is giving me dandy duck-killing patterns at 30 yards with #4 shot and even denser with #6, but I'd make a bet the density isn't there for reliability on turkey heads and knecks at that range.

 

[Jason Lewis]

1 1/2 oz of 6's will get you there at 30yrds.

 

[ssettle]

I have the same gun, got it through DGW several years ago. Improved and cylinder bore... I haven't come up with any load I'd trust on taking a turkey with out to 30 yards. I tried plastic wads once but that didn't go well. I do use paper cups I make myself that give a little better pattern. I stopped using a cushion wads, they seem to blow a hole in my pattern. Right now my load is 80 grains of Goex 2f and 2oz. #6s. A word of advice that is a very stout load and will kick the manure out of you. Atleast my gun does...it doesn't have a recoil pad. Thats one thing I need to address.

 

[utahhntnful]

Thanks Brown Bear, Do you use card board, Felt,
Cushion, wads? in what order? how about over the shot? what dia. would I use in my Pedersoli? can I make my own or is it better to buy them?
Thanks
Jim Brown(aka.Utahhntnful) :bow:

 

[Skychief]

Right now my load is 80 grains of Goex 2f and 2oz. #6s.




Why the frownie-face ssettle??? :idunno:

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks Brown Bear, Do you use card board, Felt,
Cushion, wads? in what order? how about over the shot? what dia. would I use in my Pedersoli? can I make my own or is it better to buy them?
Thanks
Jim Brown(aka.Utahhntnful) :bow:

I'm in the middle of testing the 12 right now, comparing loads. Basic setup is a lubed fiber wad between powder and shot, with a cardboard over-shot card on top. Some folks report blow-through of the whole wad and use half wads instead, but I haven't been bothered by donut patterns yet with whole wads. I'm getting patterns good enough to kill rabbits and ducks consistently at 30 yards.

Next step up is a lubed .125 nitro card (TOW calls them Type A wads) instead of the fiber wad and everything else the same. I'm not seeing any real improvement in my 12 (I do in my 20), but the nitro card is just easier to carry and seat.

Next up is using a lubed 3" round pillow ticking patch to form a cup on top of the fiber wad, then a standard over-shot card on top of that. This looks real promising. I'm seeing enough improvement in patterns that it just might be a 35 yard load, but I'm waiting for weather and tides to let me try it on mallards.

I've played some with plastic wads and an overshot card on top like I did 20 years ago. They're producing patterns about the same as the ticking cup. I've still got bags of the things laying around and will probably use them up. But once they're gone I won't feel handicapped to use the ticking cups instead.

 

[BrownBear]

Thanks Brown Bear, Do you use card board, Felt,
Cushion, wads? in what order? how about over the shot? what dia. would I use in my Pedersoli? can I make my own or is it better to buy them?
Thanks
Jim Brown(aka.Utahhntnful) :bow:

I reread you post just now, and I see I didn't answer your question about diameters. I haven't loaded for a Pedersoli, so can only speculate. The best thing to do is to mike your muzzles and go from there. I checked Track of the Wolf, and they have a Pedersoli 12 in their gun section, and though they acknowledge it's labeled a 12 they are calling it a 13 with .709 and .699 bores rather than .729 and recommend 13 gauge wads. Their listing for wads start on this page.

I've been using regular 12 gauge wads in my Navy Arms, and I just miked the bores out of curiosity. They both mike .705" which would make them 13 gauge rather than 12, too. No wonder I've been fumbling and fussing with those .740" diameter 12 gauge fiber wads! The 12's work, but I can see where 13's would be easier. And the plastic wads work fine, BTW.

I'd say get out the mike briefly, to confirm your guns muzzles, and go from there.

 

[utahhntnful]

Brown Bear thanks I like the I D ER , of usin the 3" pillow tickin as a shot cup it seems like it would remain nice and stiff and stay to the outside of the bore so as the shot will go in, I will try working around that,
You mentioned that you are shooting ducks with it so I assume you are using steel shot,unless things in AK.are different,anyhoo do you know if I can shoot steel in my "stock" Pedersoli.


Again Thanks
Utah huntin fool

 

[BrownBear]

I'll have to get around to photos, but I found an easier way to deal with the patches. I made a wood "short starter" with a 5/16" hole bore through it. The OD is right for seating the patch and I cut the barrel to length to seat the patch to just the right depth every time in a single motion. Since I was whittlin I made the top end a funnel for easier pouring. Just push the patch down into the barrel till it stops and pour the shot. Then pull out the starter and add an overshot card, then seat it home with your rod.

It took a couple of hours with rasp and sandpaper, but a guy with a lathe could do it in about 2 minutes.

As for duck shooting, I'm going to use bismuth since I have some on hand. In the future I'm likely to use ITX shot. My experience with steel (even in cartridge guns) isn't so good at lower velocities. Sure, they pattern tight, but you have to push them awfully fast to kill well. Faster than I think I can with black powder, anyway.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I checked Track of the Wolf, and they have a Pedersoli 12 in their gun section, and though they acknowledge it's labeled a 12 they are calling it a 13 with .709 and .699 bores rather than .729 and recommend 13 gauge wads.

Somewhat off-topic, but, man, I wonder if Track got some wrong information on that gun. Those sound awfully like muzzle diameters for IC & M chokes on slightly narrow 12ga bores. Didn't Navy offer that in a choked version for a while? And do Italian muzzle-loader proof markings indicate bore diameter and/or chokes, or just that it passed?

Regards,
Joel

 

[BrownBear]

I wondered the same thing, but there's no visual "thickening" of the metal at the muzzle when comparing my bores, as you often see when comparing two barrels of different choke. The mike confirmed it. I've shoved enough stuff down the bore now that I'm not feeling it suddenly ease up once I get past where a choke would end. And they sure appear to pattern the same.

As for the Track gun? It's curious to me that they're different diameters, even if the more open one is still smaller than standard 12.

Probably the biggest point to take from all this is that there's lots of variance and a mike is likely the only way to be absolutely certain what to order. I've seen that much variation in assorted Brown Besses and 62 calibers (20 gauge), so it's likely not just a 12 gauge thing.

 

[George]

I'd say get out the mike briefly, to confirm your guns muzzles, and go from there.

What is the best way to measure the bore behind the area a choke would be? Measuring the bore at the muzzle won't necessarily tell you the gauge, but I don't have a tool which will measure 2" down inside the bore.

Spence

 

[BrownBear]

The muzzle measure is important because even if the bore is bigger, you still have to get the components past the "choke" when loading. A buddy of mine is a world-class machinist and has a "feeler" mike (don't know what else to call it) that will reach something like 3" into something to measure, and I'd resort to bugging him if I felt the need. When I asked him where he got it and what it cost, he said I didn't want to know. Knowing how much his other stuff cost, I didn't push it. But I really don't feel the need to know either.

Another thing, I'm sure I'm being a little offhand in it. I'm having such good luck with the ticking "cups" that I don't think it matters, so long as my overshot card keeps things in place and I'm not getting gas blow-by past the base wad and into the shot column. The ticking cup "self-adjusts" to whatever the bore diameter might be, even as it's dead easy to get past the muzzle.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Try using the old fashion Inside calipers. See this:
http://www.google.com/products/cat...og_result&ct=result&resnum=2&ved=0CCoQ8wIwAQ#

You can find them cheaper than this price. Starrett is selling its name.

 

[Dave Rosenthal]

In my 10 ga. Pedersoli I use 11 ga. supplies. The gun was purchased used, and doesn't have the newer screw-in chokes (that I don't want anyway). Greg Dixon confirmed with me that the Pedersoli line generally is one size smaller, so your 13 ga. supplies should work well in your 12 ga.

The Ox-Yoke pre-lubed wads are really great as a quickie over-powder card. My son & I use them that way at trap shoots in the warmer weather where we will shoot the gun right after loading it, so as to ensure that the lube won't spoil any powder. In the cooler climates, the use of an over-powder .125 fiber wad goes down first on top of the powder, then a specially double-lubed 10 ga. Ox-Yoke pre-lubed wad, then the cushion, shot, and over-shot cards. I've found that smearing some wonder-lube onto the regular lubed wads gives me more ease of loading when bird hunting, as the extra lube keeps the fouling soft without coming into contact with the powder itself. Much easier on the reload, and the centerfire guys I hunt with appreciate the timeliness. Clean-up is a little easier too, with less leading in the barrels.

Once you get your 13 ga. supplies, you'll LOVE that gun!

Dave

 

[BrownBear]

...and the centerfire guys I hunt with appreciate the timeliness....

Ah man, you said a mouthful there. Dogs too! :rotf: