non toxic shot loading

[colt100]

Hey guys.

I'm a complete noob when it comes to black powder. However, I have wanted to get into the sport for sometime. I have been thinking of getting a 10 ga pedersoli double from cabela's.

I would mostly be using this shotgun for hunting ducks, grouse, and rabbits in Wis. I know close to nothing about black powder but own a lot of other smokeless guns and reload for them.

I have been reading that steel shot needs plastic shot cups in BP shotguns so as not to ruin the barrel. I looked at the prices of bismuth and basically ruled that out. 80+ dollars for 7 pounds is a bit high IMHO.

I spoke with a cabela's rep and he told me that the shotgun can be used with steel shot and the choke tubes are rated for steel. However, in my experience, most of these guys just don't have a lot of knowlage in one subject and sometimes give bad advise.

What's the scoop on this shotgun? Are there any books/manuals I can buy that gives good easy to read instructions on loading the shotguns? I know the dangers of reloading and don't want to screw something up.

Sorry for the long post. I just have a lot of questions before I buy. Thanks

 

[ffffg]

they should have chrome lined bores, but id still use a shotcup.. ive argued much about shot cups and one guy seemed to have a solution, fill the base of the plastic wad with lube.. might be ok.. the heat generated in bp does not work great with plastic in my idea.. without proper lube the fouling gets hard and youl get blow by if not done right, and the plastic wont seal in some cases,. may be most of the time, but i just couldnt get it to 100 percent like fiber wads and nitro cards.... it also depends on your humidity and temps.. here in montana cold weather complicates and hardens fouling,.. so it depends on how you do it and where you are and what time of year it is... i also dont like steel shot, ducks with a 10 you will probably get enough large shot in a 10 ga to do the job,but velocity will be minimal for the light shots pennetration in some cases.. i wouldnt like it for geese personally.. dave.

 

[Rocky Johnson]

Colt 100 You will love the Cabelas Pedersoli 10 ga. they are very nicely built. I found a can of bismuth on sale that I have not used yet and have only used lead for turkey and rabbits. I have read you need to push the steel faster to get it to work. Cups might be hard to load with the tighter chokes? :winking: Rocky

 

[Rocky Johnson]

Colt 100 There are books and there is a lot of info on this fourm about loads for smooth bores.Power? Your choice Pyrodex is easy to get works great. I think instructions that come with the gun say max one and a quater ounce of shot whitch is a good load for rabbit, the gun will handle more they just don't dare tell you that. Use the same volume measure for power and shot. :winking: Rocky

 

[AJFedak]

It costs more up front but considering the number of loads you get(about 70), cost tends to drop below the 3" modern loads. AS an example I found these prices in the latest issue from Ballistics Products:

Hevi-shot $23.95 / 10 shots $167.65 / 70
Kent Fasteel $ 9.95 / 25 shots $ 39.80 / 75
Kent Fasteel was the least expensive in their catalog.

Winchester $13.95 / 25 shots $ 41.85 / 75
SuperX Dryloc

Bismuth $19.99 / 10 shots $139.93 / 70
Tungsten $18.95 / 10 shots $132.65 / 70


The costs for bismuth loads:
Muzzie Loads
$ 8.99 FFFg
$79.95 7# Bismuth
$ 6.00 wads
$ 3.50 100 caps or 5 flints $4.50 total
$99.44 for 70 shots.

With the exception for the steel shot, which has come down over the years, it rather makes it very similar in final cost to other forms of non-toxic shot for the modern waterfowlers.

 

[colt100]

Colt 100 There are books and there is a lot of info on this fourm about loads for smooth bores.Power? Your choice Pyrodex is easy to get works great. I think instructions that come with the gun say max one and a quater ounce of shot whitch is a good load for rabbit, the gun will handle more they just don't dare tell you that. Use the same volume measure for power and shot. :winking: Rocky

Could someone recomend a good book that I could buy for this information? I am looking mainly for shotgunning information as I'm completely new to BP.

With Bismuth, do you have to use the plastic shot wads to protect the barrels or can you load like lead? I would like to stay with traditional BP like the goex powder. It migth be more of a pain but if I wanted more modern working shotgun, I would just take out my mossberg.

Also, can anyone tell me the difference between #10, #11, and musket caps?

I have been reading posts on this forum and it's a wealth of information but I have a lot of noob type questions and ome of the post are greek to me because I don't have the base of knowledge needed to fully understand. Thanks guys!

 

[AJFedak]

Colt 100,
You can load bismuth just like you load lead shot. The easiest thing to do is buy lead shot in the same size as you desire for the bismuth. Pattern your gun at the intended range.

Some shooters use the plastic shot cups, some make paper shot cups, others just use the wads. It all depends on what your gun shoots the best. Then switch to the bismuth. There shouldn't be much if any difference between the patterns.

Also for help you could contact the NMLRA Field Representatives: http://www.nmlra.org/

Wisconsin
Donald Boughton
1654 Flett Ave.
Racine, WI 53405
(414) 633-0367

Richard F. Hanesworth
P.O. Box 24
Stoddard, WI 54658-0024
(608) 457-2227



As for reading material, look for the following:
Lyman's Black Powder Handbook & Loading Manual,by Sam Fadala
http://www.trackofthewolf.com/ under books.
All new Second Edition, with the largest selection of loading data for black powder rifles, pistols, shotguns, and a section on cowboy action and black powder cartridge. Over 20,000 shots were fired and recorded, from rifles, muskets, pistols, revolvers and shotguns.

Hope this can help you get started.

AJ/OH

 

[colt100]

Thanks guys