Powder question

[Crow#21957]

I read a post of a guy using 120 gr. 2f in his 20 ga smoothbore. Seems like pretty Stout load. #2 is 3f ok for my 20 ga. For turkey and squirrel ,reason I ask is I really don't want to have two powders in my inventory. And what would be a decent stiff load without stressing the stock or gun in general. I'm not into magnum loads but would like to take squirrels out to at least 30 yards. Thanks

 

[Christophero]

Hello Crow, I'm not a BP shotgunner but have shot many pounds of BP in rifle form and, yes, 120 grains is far more than necessary for that, unless grizzlies are on the menu.

It is the slow season on this board but try checking out Skychief's load for a comparison at the top of this forum. I can't see why 30 yards is unattainable to knock a squirrel out of a tree. Might be pushing it, pattern testing will shed light on that, though.

 

[Spikebuck]

You will only know if your smoothie likes 3f if you try it. It won't hurt it.

For squirrels in my .62/20ga smoothie with a cylinder bore I use 50 grs of 2f black behind around 1 1/4 oz of #6s. Less powder...more lead...kills 'em dead. That gets me 25 yards. Pattern thinning a bit too much at 30, but every gun is different and I have killed a few at the distance.

 

[Crow#21957]

Thankyou both. I will ck out sky chiefs load

 

[Loyalist Dave]

I read a post of a guy using 120 gr. 2f in his 20 ga smoothbore. Seems like pretty Stout load. #2 is 3f ok for my 20 ga. For turkey and squirrel ,reason I ask is I really don't want to have two powders in my inventory. And what would be a decent stiff load without stressing the stock or gun in general. I'm not into magnum loads but would like to take squirrels out to at least 30 yards. Thanks

That's a 4.4 dram load, and YES that's a bit stout for a 20 gauge. You don't mention weight of the shot or shot size. Getting too much umph behind the shot is a good way to blow patterns and then it doesn't matter how many pellets you launch.

You need to find a balance between the amount of pellets and the pattern they throw. For instance #9 shot will likely just wound a squirrel unless you're right on top of it, and a turkey will likely stop and laugh at you using #9. So IF you used #4 and an ounce, you'd get about 130 pellets, and if you go for squirrel and went to #2 lead, you'd get about 85 pellets.... on the other hand go smaller to #5 lead, and you get about 170 pellets, but going even smaller you reduce lethality.

LD

 

[Paul-in-PA]

I use 2F and 3F in my .54cal rifle, .62 Fowler and my .75 Brown Bess. Just need to work up different loads for each powder to find the sweet spot. And I find that 4F for priming is the great equalizer. 2F in the pan is a little slower ignition then 3F.

Now for my question, instead of buying 4F - can you grind up 2F or 3F safely to make priming powder? Or just use the stuff that settles to the bottom of the can, since it is finer?

A pound of 4F lasts a lifetime, not quite but I am less then half way through the pound I purchased seven years ago.

 

[Crow#21957]

I have ground 3f to make priming powder.
I have a marble/glass bowl and the crusher. Both marble. Don't use metal and stay away from sparks and such.Black powder does not explode by confusion,,,impact. I read an article about this. Interesting. If I'm wrong someone will correct me but I'm saying I'm right.

 

[Rifleman1776]

All good replies so far. As to load, some folks like the big charges. When I had smoothies (14 ga. sxs; 11 ga. Brown Bess and 20 ga. fowler) I preferred more moderate charges in the 50 to 70 gr. range. 3Fg will work just fine but 2Fg gives a less sharp recoil, more of a push. Do yer own experimenting, it's a good excuse to do more shooting.

 

[Rancocas]

I use 3F for both my flintlock and percussion .50 rifles, and .62 flintlock smoothbore fowler. My standard big game load for both is 70 grains of 3F. I prime with 3F also, all from the same horn.

I think 120 grains is excessive in a round ball gun, unless you're going after grissly bear at close range.
I have a black powder, .450 Express dating to around 1900, that takes 120 grains of 2F and fires a 480 grain conical bullet. At one time this was a popular round for dangerous game in Africa, things such as lion, rhino, and cape buffalo. It was also a very popular round for European stags and wild boar.

A smoothbore load for small game is something that you will have to work out with your individual fusil. I can tell you that squirrels have a tough hide. I use nothing less than #6 shot for them. In fact, I like #6 for just about all small, upland game, and would put #4 shot at the upper limit for most small game. For turkeys I will use #6, 5, or 4; whatever I have on hand. Head shots only.
I do drop down to #7 1/2 shot for doves and woodcock, but don't consider it adequate for anything larger.
#9, in my opinion, is only suitable for clay birds or shooting mice at close range.

When I lived up north I used to train bird dogs. I needed a lot of live pigeons. I would go to a grain elevator where hundreds of pigeons hung out, feeding on spilled grain. I used a cannon net with four homemade cannons to pull the net over the birds. Iron tubes with car pistons for cannon balls were used. A charge of 140 grains of 2F in each of the 4 cannons was fired electrically so they went off simultaneously. The system worked well for collecting several hundred live pigeons all at once.

 

[Rifleman1776]

I think 120 grains is excessive in a round ball gun, unless you're going after grissly bear at close range.
I have a black powder, .450 Express dating to around 1900, that takes 120 grains of 2F and fires a 480 grain conical bullet.

I once had an original CW rifled musket that was part of a trial with a limited number of them made in .72 cal. it had a Nock type breech that required no less than 120 gr. to fill it up. Any less powder would have left a dead air space which would prove dangerous to shoot. Using a patched round ball (nearly an ounce) the recoil was sumptin' ferocious. I shutter to think what a much heavier bullet would have felt like.

I use 3F for both my flintlock and percussion .50 rifles, and .62 flintlock smoothbore fowler. My standard big game load for both is 70 grains of 3F. I prime with 3F also, all from the same horn.

I think 120 grains is excessive in a round ball gun, unless you're going after grissly bear at close range.
I have a black powder, .450 Express dating to around 1900, that takes 120 grains of 2F and fires a 480 grain conical bullet. At one time this was a popular round for dangerous game in Africa, things such as lion, rhino, and cape buffalo. It was also a very popular round for European stags and wild boar.

A smoothbore load for small game is something that you will have to work out with your individual fusil. I can tell you that squirrels have a tough hide. I use nothing less than #6 shot for them. In fact, I like #6 for just about all small, upland game, and would put #4 shot at the upper limit for most small game. For turkeys I will use #6, 5, or 4; whatever I have on hand. Head shots only.
I do drop down to #7 1/2 shot for doves and woodcock, but don't consider it adequate for anything larger.
#9, in my opinion, is only suitable for clay birds or shooting mice at close range.

When I lived up north I used to train bird dogs. I needed a lot of live pigeons. I would go to a grain elevator where hundreds of pigeons hung out, feeding on spilled grain. I used a cannon net with four homemade cannons to pull the net over the birds. Iron tubes with car pistons for cannon balls were used. A charge of 140 grains of 2F in each of the 4 cannons was fired electrically so they went off simultaneously. The system worked well for collecting several hundred live pigeons all at once.