Oh, what to get, what to get....??

[hanshi]

:hmm: Think about this comment, your a farmer and only have enough money for one weapon, you need one for shoot and round ball. .62cal./ 20ga fits your need !!

Makes sense to me. Plus I like the idea of a 325 grain ball; not too big, not too small. An advantage often credited to the 20ga by modern shotgunners is that it has a longer shot column than the same load in a larger ga. and therefore a denser swarm of shot. You'd need a heavier load in bigger gauges to get the same effect. What you'd need for turkey plus less recoil. I don't really know but this is what "they" say. For the one gun man a .62 fowler just sounds good.

 

[tg]

I gather you don't understand "gauging ". If I am wrong, I apologize. When we describe a gun as a 28 gauge, that means that 28 balls, the diameter of the bore, will weigh one pound. They are approx. .550 in diameter. A "20 Gauge " barrel means that only 20 balls,the diameter of the bore, weigh one pound. The Bore diameter of a 20 gauge is approx. .615". A 14 gauge is .693" bore. The 16 gauge is .662" diameter. The 24 gauge is .579" bore


In earlier times the bore was quite a bit larger than the size of the balls to the lb, a gun made to shoot 26 balls to the lb would shoot a .562 ball and the bore size range would be from .577-.623 just some confusing historical stuff to think abbut

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

The longer shot column is what you want to avoid, otherwise we'd all be shootin 2 ounces of shot in a .410 shotgun. The "square load" is what the experts have always touted as best. A load where the length of the shot column is the same as the diameter. This is in part why we have several bore sizes--you decided what you wanted to shoot at and how much shot you wanted to throw at it and selected your gun accordingly. Unless you were a militia man and had to own a gun of acceptable bore for that duty. Choked bores changed this to some extent, but a strung out shot charge is still not desirable. You want the shot cloud arriving more or less at once and as dense and hole free as possible. No matter what amount of shot you stuff down a 20 bore's throat, a 10 bore will always take more and use it better.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

:hmm: Think about this comment, your a farmer and only have enough money for one weapon, you need one for shoot and round ball. .62cal./ 20ga fits your need !!

Unless you are a militiaman and have to show up on the town green for drill and inspection each month. And unless you are horribly crippled or the village idiot, you do. Then you need an approved gun and that means a larger bore. Also nice for ducks and geese. And the larger ball will do anything the smaller one will only moreso. And the bigger gun can be loaded down for lighter work which is often overlooked in these modern times. I am very happy with my twenty, but have no illusions that it is more potent than a ten gauge or even a sixteen.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Sadly, unless you custom order your barrel, you will most likely get a 16 gauge barrel prfile on any production barrel from 28 bore up to 20 gauge. This makes for a heavy gun. Look at an original fowler, and the barrel walls at the muzzle are almost paper thin--not from wear but from a desire to make a light and fast handling fowler.

 

[hanshi]

That's the reason I gave the "shot" cloud blame to "they" :wink: . It was actually something Jim Carmichael wrote about long ago. Hmmm, 2 ounces of shot in a .410....; sounds interesting.

Don't forget when you full choke a 12ga you're making the shot column long and narrow :wink: . Just messing with you....or maybe not :haha: .

 

[hanshi]

Hey, the 20ga would work on the smaller Redcoats, wouldn't it :hmm: ?

All seriousness aside, after what I've seen even a .45 will do on deer, I think I'd be more than happy with a .62....not to mention hostiles. :thumbsup:

 

[thewho66]

I dont disagree with you there, my point is if he ordered a 28 gauge barrel he would be getting a heavy barreled fowler. If he went with TVM he might be able to get a more gauge specific barrel in 28 and reduce the weight. As for the overall 20 gauge barrel I wish sone one would offer a 16 gauge out of the gate since I think its the best of both worlds. Looks as though I will have to save the pennies and have one made by Mike Brooks or Old Army to get what I want in the future.

 

[Russ T Frizzen]

Muzzleloaders and breechloaders are very different, especially when the muzzleloader is loaded without modern shotshell components. Choking makes for a denser pattern not a long shot string. Or it should. And I imagine Jim Carmichael was speaking about breechloaders. Right? Maybe even using plastic shells with plastic shot cups? Apples and oranges....

 

[rkmeyer]

I like my 20 ga. fusil lot. It is very useful for a wide variety of shooting needs. :thumbsup: Have it jug choked, it works great!
Dusty :wink:

 

[alrany187]

I purchased my Wilson from Caywood about 10+ years ago. It has a 36" 20 ga./.62 cal smoothbore barrel. This barrel shoots extremely well with both shot and round ball. After owning and shooting my Wilson for 10 years, this past fall I purchased a .58 cal rifled barrel. After fitting and bluing the barrel, I took it out and the first 3 shots from 50 yards were a 1" group.

The interchangeability of barrels is definitely a Caywood advantage. The 20 ga./.58 cal combination is an extremely lightweight shooting system and provides a wide choice of target/game opportunitites.

 

[PGTMG]

Hi, All
Getting back in after many moons. Looking at 28 gauge fowlers for crows/groundhogs/clays. Also low recoil. Considering Caywood vs.TVM for a lefty. Any views on comparative quality, weak vs. strong points. Cost is close, any others I'm overlooking to consider?
Thanks, wkndman

I like the discussion on this but to directly advise you on your question 28 should be fine for your chossen game.
I have only seem pictures of the above builders products but they are both top notch from what I have read hear (shooting not total historical accuracy).
Good luck :thumbsup:

 

[tg]

" I wish some one would offer a 16 gauge out of the gate since I think its the best of both worlds."

Check out the French Fusil with 44" barrel on TOW site they offer it in 20/24/16 gauges I built one in 24 which has a heavy barrel compared to the others but it is not a problem the 16 gauge in that gun would be a very nice gun weight would be around 7 lbs. Someone on the ALR forum built one with the 16 gauge barrel and it looks good.I had a gun I wanted to keep in .62/20 gauge and did not want a larger bore so I went with the .58/24 gauge, I have a few onces more than I would have with the .62 but it handles well and shoots very well.Another plus to this parts set is that with a bit of tweeking it is the closest to the originals that is offered with the possible exception of the Rifle Shoppe, it is a plain Fusil de Chase from the Tulle armoury.circa 1730 give or take five years.

 

[Capt. Jas.]

I wish sone one would offer a 16 gauge out of the gate since I think its the best of both worlds.

Not quite "out of the gate" (finished) but at least in the chute, Mike Brooks offers an English fowling piece kit that utilizes a colerain 16Ga. 44" barrel.

 

[tg]

That is likely the same barrel they use in the Fusil parts set 16 gauge option, probably 1 1/16" at the breech maybe 1 1/8" I cannot recall which mine is and I suspect the other options are the same.

 

[wkndman]

Hi all, did some research and started dialing in a vision:

http://www.trackofthewolf.com/(S(mhac2s45ajpqpyvh34zphbzs))/categories/partDetail.aspx?catId=12&subId=81&styleId=284&partNum=AAG-703]Link[/url]

If this photo does'nt link, it's TOW, flintlocks-AAG-703, if interested.

Ideally, it would be lefty, percussion and 20 or 28 gauge, but hey, I could live with a right percussion, definitely one of the lighter bores,
although the money is always an issue, isn't it.....that's a little pricey, prob worth it, just above me.
Anyway, found I live about right between Colerain barrels and TigerHunt stocks, how's that for luck? But, speaking of money, I figured a kit for a gun close to my image with their products and lock/furniture from TOW woud be around 650-700. Then comes the work.....

Or....found a Tennesee poorboy fowler at TVManufacturing, finished, for 850. Heard J. Garner's work is top notch, any one have his guns? Also, gauges avail. 20,28,50 and 410.That would take some shooting better than mine, and the pics of his smoothbores show octagon to round, doesnt mention swamped/tapered, so don't about weight, gonna call and ask.

So, got some big doors opened up, seems I'm on the way somewhere?
Thanks for all direction, this is the fun part, oh, was advised to attend Dixon Fair in July for info, looks like my summer's around muzzleloading....
Dave

 

[skwerl-eater 1]

I have handled the tvm guns often, they are nice. I own a caywood wilson in 28 ga and it is great.While the outside dimensions of the barrel are the same as a 20 ga, it is still light and a pleasure to shoot. The wilson lock is also excelent.