Premade shot cups - Revisited

[theoldsow]

FYI the Sept 2020 issue of Mussleblasts from NMLRA had another take on shot cups for smooth bores. Cheers, Foxtail

 

[griffiga]

For those of us that don’t get that magazine or haven’t read it, what was the synopsis?

 

[Carbon 6]

For those of us that don’t get that magazine or haven’t read it, what was the synopsis?

Let's hope he responds, of the 5 posts he's made in 6 years they have all been topics he has started and he has never responded to any of them. Just starts a topic then disappears.

 

[Zonie]

Some of the things the Bevel Brothers wrote in the article theoldsow mentioned.

You can't shove a modern shot cup down the bore and fill it with shot without the black powder melting the plastic when the gun fires.
The idea of a shot collar to protect the shot is a good one to protect the shot against being deformed as it goes down the barrel.
Making a paper shot collar can work but it is hard to load.
Rolling and folding in one end of it like a paper roll for a stack of penny's works pretty good. He used a 20 guage shotshell to form it and loaded it into his 12 guage. He taped the rolled paper before folding the end.

Left as a cylindrical roll, the paper collared shot didn't pattern too well. Cutting the paper into "wings" like modern shot collars did work. (Several cuts down the sides of the cylinder so it can open up after it has left the barrel. The cuts stop about 3/8" above the bottom of the collar.) The winged shot collars seemed to cause the pattern size to stay together about 5 yards further downrange.

The shot collar works in jug'ed barrels but you have to have the collar below the jug before you fill it with shot. If you fill it with shot while it is in the jug, you won't be able to ram it down the bore.

That's about all I have time for right now. Hope this helps.

 

[Roundball2319]

Thanks.

 

[stewart.leach]

I haven't tried the paper shot collars yet, but have experimented with using a buffering material in with the shot charge. This was for a 62 cal/20 gauge cylinder bore trade gun, to be used for turkey hunting. Had fine ground corncob and walnut shell on hand, so tried these.

Experimentally developed loading technique is to instill the powder charge, then start the over powder wad, only running it in about two inches. Add the shot charge, in my case an ounce and a quarter of copper plated number 5. Add corncob buffer a little at a time, tapping on the side of the barrel to get the particles to settle through the shot. Once the shot column will absorb no more buffer, add over shot card ward. The corncob is finer than the walnut shell, and took less time to sift into place. Note there is no cushion wad.

I went through about half my five pound supply of shot in the various combinations of powder, wads, shot and buffer. At the start, using conventional load- powder, OP wad, cushion wad, shot, OS wad- I got 5-7 pellets into a turkey neck target at 25 yards. With the combination above I was getting 7-9 pellets at 25 yards, and 5-7 at 30 yards. Beyond 30 yards the patterns really opened up. Clearly 30 yards was max range with that gun and load. During the Colorado Fall turkey season I was able to ambush a fairly nice tom as a flock strolled down to Coal Creek for water before treeing up for the night.

Will try the shot collar approach soon. The Bevel Bros. used target paper, I will try that, and also the paper bags my groceries arrived in from Costco.

 

[ohio ramrod]

I have had good results making shot charges by rolling three thickness of newspaper around a wooden dowel. Tying off one end with kite string, filling with shot, twisting and folding over the other end and tying shut. More than three thickness tends to hold the shot in a clump, less than three tends to fall apart when carrying. . I also use a wax paper powder charge for premeasured powder. I dump the powder in, put the wax paper left in, then a leather wad and finish with the shot charge folded end out.