Patterning my NWTG

[Smokey Plainsman]

Well howdy gang!

I’ve got plans to squirrel hunt with my 20 gauge northwest trade gun this fall. Today I patterned the gun with a few different loads after some tips from the members here:

All loads were fired with flax tow over shot and over powder wads lubed with Track’s mink oil. This creates no smoldering and keeps fouling controlled nicely.

I charged the gun first with a square load of 80 grains of Goex 3Fg powder and 80 grains of #6 lead shot harvested from some Remington shotshells.

I paced off the average distance I’ve seen squirrels in my woods from previous experience which ended up being 17 paces.

This load didn’t do very well. The pattern in the center was pretty open and the squirrel drawing experienced only a few peripheral hits. The lethality was dubious at best for this load. I tested this same load yesterday with the same poor outcome.

Following the advice from some here, I kept the same charge of 80 grains of shot but backed off the powder charge to 65 grains:

The results were MUCH better. The squirrel experienced multiple lethal hits and I’ve got no doubt it would have experienced a VERY bad day if it were real.

Out of curiosity I then tried a square load of 65 grains shot and 65 grains powder:

The squirrel was once again heavily pelted with hits. I counted just as many wounds compared to the previous load. The pattern is a bit less dense, but I suspect the lighter payload has better velocity. Recoil was also milder than the other loads.

Overall it was a ton of fun. I’m going to increase range next time and will be using empty tuna cans to test that the pellets fully perforate it to ensure lethality against small game.

Any tips or advice for better loads etc. is welcome. I’d like to stick with wadding that would have been available to the average person during the fur trade era.

Thanks gang!

Dillon

 

[Yewbender]

Smokey, the trade gun looks nice. The second patter is the best. Remember whan you try different loads only change one thing at a time and write it down. If the over powder wad is the 1/2” fiber ones i would cut it in half and do the same load but with half the wad, might tighten it up lil more. Also if you have any 2F powder give it a try. 2F will have lower pressure and therefore “should” tighten up your pattern. You just have to find what the guns likes. Good luck and enjoy your range time and get ready for them squirrels!

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Try 2f, it helps with cylinder bores. Also ditch the nifty tow stuff and use standard cards. Get some 3/8" felt wads and lightly lube with some sort of bore butter.
I have always had better results with #4 shot. Kills better and patterns better.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I always went with a bit more shot than powder. You should be able to kill squirrels at 30 yards with a cylinder bore 20 when your load is right.
BTW, that is the biggest squirrel feet I have ever seen!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Try 2f, it helps with cylinder bores. Also ditch the nifty tow stuff and use standard cards. Get some 3/8" felt wads and lightly lube with some sort of bore butter.
I have always had better results with #4 shot. Kills better and patterns better.

Thanks, Mike.

I’m trying to keep it period for a trade gun. Were these types of wads around during the early 19th? And would anyone have used these with such a gun?

 

[2 shots]

snowshoe hare had its way with a squirrel

 

[Yewbender]

I always went with a bit more shot than powder. You should be able to kill squirrels at 30 yards with a cylinder bore 20 when your load is right.
BTW, that is the biggest squirrel feet I have ever seen!

That might just be a drawing of the very rarely seen BIG FOOTED SQUIRREL!!!

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

snowshoe hare had its way with a squirrel

All I can say is I tried. I’m not an artist.

I was more concerned with the size of the vital area and did my best to mimic the size/shape of the big fox and grey squirrels I’ve shot here.

 

[Fisherking]

I think your squirrel is boss and I’ve had a ton of fun experimenting with my trade gun and Fowler. Congrats and keep up he reporting!

 

[2 shots]

nice lookin gun. tell us about it please

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

I think your squirrel is boss and I’ve had a ton of fun experimenting with my trade gun and Fowler. Congrats and keep up he reporting!

Thanks, Fisherking.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

nice lookin gun. tell us about it please

I bought it from Rick Howard at the Fort Charters rendezvous. It was made off a Pecatonia kit. Great gun that’s beautifully made.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

Thanks, Mike.

I’m trying to keep it period for a trade gun. Were these types of wads around during the early 19th? And would anyone have used these with such a gun?

They are always present in caed percussion shot guns. How far back they were common I don't know.

 

[PathfinderNC]

It's counter-intuitive, but a smaller load of powder than shot works best. I think you'll have some squirrel meat this year
As an aside, I sometimes use corn meal (same volume as powder) in lieu of an over-powder wad and I am super-impressed with the pattern.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

It's counter-intuitive, but a smaller load of powder than shot works best. I think you'll have some squirrel meat this year
As an aside, I sometimes use corn meal (same volume as powder) in lieu of an over-powder wad and I am super-impressed with the pattern.

Never tried the corn meal thing but have heard folks say it works. I'll have to give it a try. Should help keep shot deformation to a minimum

 

[PathfinderNC]

Never tried the corn meal thing but have heard folks say it works. I'll have to give it a try. Should help keep shot deformation to a minimum

You might be impressed. Evidently the corn meal provides a nice cushion for the shot and there’s no wad that blasts through the shot load as it sails unencumbered on its happy way to your unsuspecting target.

 

[IanH]

Once you use cornmeal and 3F you'll give your wads away except for the over shot cards.

One scoop of powder, one scoop of yellow corn meal, one scoop of shot. Ram a card, prime, and shoot. If your OCD just can't stand it, put a thin card over the powder, but I've never seen unburned powder come out so it doesn't matter if a little cornmeal filters through the powder before you ram the load. One more reason for 3F, plus it's cleaner and the cornmeal makes up for the sharper kick to the shot which is one thing that blows patterns. I like 2.5 to 3 drams volume per scoop.

 

[TDM]

Glad your getting good results now with the reduced powder load @Smokey Plainsman

 

[IanH]

I went and dug out my paper cartridge patterns from my cylinder bore 20 with 41" barrel.

This is two shots at 27 yards, first shot I circled all the hits with Sharpie:

This is the same load at 40 yards. Tail up had a big hole in the middle of the pattern so I went tail down and this is what I got:

The load stacks in the gun as 3F powder, wadded up cartridge tail, corrugated cardboard partition wad necessary only for separating powder and shot in the tail-down cartridge, then cornmeal, then 7-1/2 shot, then card wad sealing the end of the cartridge. Three dram "triangular" load.

 

[Smokey Plainsman]

Thanks, gang.

Should I try the Skychief load?

It seems while it’s a stretch, that these types of wads theoretically could have been used in such guns considering the very large range of times and places NWTGs were used during the 19th C.

Is my logic flawed on this? And is the old Skychief load worth pursuing?