Pedersoli 12ga double advice

[dstoch]

I have been following the forum for quiet some time now and there is a wealth of information from the members. But this is my first post.
I finally got to pattern my side by side. I took the rule of thumb equal shot and powder. I will be hunting ducks over decoys so I loaded 1 1/4 of shot and powder by volume to drive #6 Nice shot. Powder FFG, 2 nitro cards, lubed felt wad, shot, and overshot card. The modified barrel covered a 30" circle very nicely at 30 yds. All test shots with this barrel patterned about the same and would be a good load for the type of hunting I do. However, using the same load, the cylinder bore had holes in the pattern. All appeared left center of the center spot. Any thoughts on the cause??
What a ball to shoot. Can not wait to hunt with the 12 SxS.

 

[Drago]

Try a little less powder or more shot, I hear that works well. Let me know how it works. I am planning on getting a smooth bore.

 

[BrownBear]

Try a little less powder or more shot, I hear that works well.

That's sure been my experience, especially when using a lubed felt wad, as is my practice.

But I went in a little different direction. Rather than having two measures- one for shot and one for powder- I tried using 1f instead of 2f. With the same measure used for both powder and shot, I'm now getting nice smooth patterns.

BTW- My gun (Pietta rather than Pedersoli) is not choked in either barrel, so I'm down to adjusting loads to "tighten" patterns rather than relying on chokes. The 1f was sure the right answer for my own gun in doing that.

 

[dstoch]

Another question. Is it common to get "cap burns" on your left arm when firing the left barrel? It happens every time with #11s on the pedersoli 12 SxS.

 

[dstoch]

I will try some fg because I am using the same measure for both. Why do you think it only shows up in the cylinder not the modified?

 

[BrownBear]

Why do you think it only shows up in the cylinder not the modified?

Not a clue. I'm not using choked bores, so maybe someone else who's using them can chime in with experience.

 

[Wes/Tex]

The two things I'd suggest you try first is load more shot, by volume, than powder and try cutting the lubed wad in half. Sometimes whole wads will push through the shot pattern which creates sort of a donut shot pattern. I've actually put a couple shot cards between shot and powder rather than the traditional lubed wad with fairly good results. Good luck.

 

[DanChamberlain]

Yup

Cap burns on the support forearm are common. I shoot with long sleeves because of it. You can get those little guards that will end the problem, but I just wear long sleeves. If your wrist is exposed, you might try wearing a very light glove.

 

[Roguedog]

Personally, I've never experienced this problem but then again, I'm usually wearing long sleeves when I shoot.

Jeff

 

[wvbuckbuster]

You stated that the holes in your pattern are to the left. Is the whole pattern shooting to the left? The Pedersoli I had did not have the barrels regulated shooting both to point of aim. One of them shot a little off. Just learned to hold a little toward the other side. Just a thought. Dan.

 

[dstoch]

Are these the little German silver cups that fit over the cap?

 

[dstoch]

I have to say you can learn more in 5 minutes on this forum than you can in surfing the web in 3 hours. THANKS to all for your help!!!

 

[Lorne Johnson]

Another question. Is it common to get "cap burns" on your left arm when firing the left barrel? It happens every time with #11s on the pedersoli 12 SxS.

"Only when I'm wearing short sleeves." So, I wear a long sleeve shirt and a liner glove on my left hand. I'm usually shooting targets with a group if it's hot out, so the glove protects from heat of the barrels as well.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I would forget the two nitro cards...waste of time in my humble opinion!
You could bring that left tube shooting left to the right with a good flat file!

B :thumbsup:

 

[Joel/Calgary]

I will try some fg because I am using the same measure for both. Why do you think it only shows up in the cylinder not the modified?

Basically, choked and cylinder bores are different animals. A shot charge going through an unchoked barrel is a compact static mass. In the period before chokes were developed, loading more shot than powder was the standard method used to tighten the pattern, with 1/3 more being a commonly recommended optimum for balancing pattern improvement and penetration. A shot charge going through any degree of choke becomes a dynamic granular pseudo-fluid and behaves very differently - it literally squirts out much like water going through a constriction nozzle. From what I've read from writings and cartridge advertisements in the period through when chokes were perfected and became common, the common loads went from being equal volume or less powder before chokes to equal volume or more after. For example, a 1.1/4oz - 3dr load is nominally equal volumes. In muzzle loaders and in cartridges before chokes, it was (and still is in muzzle loaders) common to see powder charges ranging from 2.1/4dr (the "1/3 more shot than powder" load) to 2.3/4dr. Paul V. reported that the most common 12ga duck load used by market hunters before chokes was 1.1/4oz-2.3/4dr with #4 (lead) shot. After chokes were the norm, powder charges were rarely less than 3dr and often 3.1/4-3.3/4dr, and one sees the same in the "dram-equivalent" smokeless loads to this day.

Regards,
Joel

 

[bigted]

I would forget the two nitro cards...waste of time in my humble opinion!
You could bring that left tube shooting left to the right with a good flat file!

B :thumbsup:

ill bite ... what do I do with a flat file to regulate the barrels? im interested in this as a new smoothie soot shooter.

 

[Britsmoothy]

No need bite...I had to do it to one of my peders.

If say a left barrel shoots left you remove material/steel from the left side of the muzzle....NOT THE BORE...just the end of the barrel and just a few strokes at a time. Do it where you can shoot to see the effect.
So as you now look at the muzzle remove steel on the right side (left side gun mounted).
The earlier escaping gasses or and drag the other side just tips the shot the way you want.

Done it to cartridge guns too. In fact I have owned English guns that can be clearly regulated this way!

B.

 

[bigted]

well ill be darned!!! I woulda never guessed that this would ever be done on purpose ... guess too many years with smokless and BPCR rifles that NEED a square muzzle for accuracy. never guessed that a smoothie would respond in a consistent way to an uneven muzzle.

thanks for the tip and ill tuck it away for future use.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Sorry.....typing on my phone earlier.
I meant to say I have owned and seen many an English sxs that has been clearly regulated this way.

B.

 

[Lorne Johnson]

well ill be darned!!! I woulda never guessed that this would ever be done on purpose ... guess too many years with smokless and BPCR rifles that NEED a square muzzle for accuracy. never guessed that a smoothie would respond in a consistent way to an uneven muzzle.

thanks for the tip and ill tuck it away for future use.

It was, and still is, a significant aspect of regulating double rifles. (To amplify, not disagree with, Smootie's post.)