RB Diameter for Bare Ball Loads in a 20ga. SB?

[smo]

Thanks Maven, I thought maybe post one was a typo.

As for the “out of group annoyance “ , the low shot on the 13 yard target was caused by pulling a finer bead on the target.
It was the 3 rd shot fired in that group , the last two were back up there with the first two not using the “finer bead”.

As for the 25 yard group, all I can say is , I’m getting old! LOL

Thanks for the update .

Here’s what I’ve been using for a cleaner/ patch lube lately....

It says protectant as well, but I’m not so sure about that, I’ll stick with Barricade for that .

 

[Roughneck]

I tried some bare ball loads this weeekend through my French trade gun. I only had .600 & .610 ball but had good results. Used 60 grains of Swiss 1 1/2f. Shot both 25 and 50 yards offhand. The .610 ball shot better. The first 2 targets are at 25 yards and 3rd one is at 50.

 

[Maven]

Nice shooting, Roughneck!

 

[Roughneck]

Maven, thanks. I was surprised how well it shot as I only shot it one other time and I put it aside cause it was to short of a length of pull for me. I might have to just get used to it and not sell it LOL

 

[Flint62Smoothie]

Great shooting!

FWIW an option I’m now using (that those who frequented the Lake George ‘tacticals’ will be very familiar with) is using paper cartridge loads at first, then using the same ball as a roundball load as the bore fouls up.

One caveat to that in my looooong barreled guns (> 54”) using 1Fg powdah is that I have yet had to scrub the bore after a 30+ shot shooting session. And accuracy was still superb! Not a ‘bad problem’ to have, huh?

 

[Maven]

Not a bad problem at all, Flint62S, especially since the conventional wisdom holds that FFg and Fg are dirtier than FFFg. I should try the cartridge load as I have .598" (Tanner & Lee) and .603" (Lyman) RB molds. Btw, with a greased felt wad and a bore diameter, i.e., .618" RB + 80gr. FFFg, fouling was manageable, but swabbing or damp swabbing the bore was necessary after each shot: Time consuming, but I was trying to maximize accuracy. It helped, as seating that RB would have been quite difficult without doing so. As it turned out the grease wad + roughened .618" RB was more accurate than the "as cast" .618" RB. Adding an OP wad to the latter, which I tried several weeks ago, grouped better though slightly to the right of my point of aim. However, a patched RB, in my gun at least, seems to be the most accurate of all.

 

[smo]

Maven are you saying you see a difference in accuracy if you don’t swab after every shot?

With the little bit of testing that I’ve got to do, I didn’t see any difference in accuracy , only in loading.

 

[Roughneck]

You guys are probably going to think I am nuts but I never swab the barrel till I am done shooting and it’s time to clean the guns at the end of my shooting session. I never see a decline in accuracy. Even my French trade gun that I mentioned in the other post I probably shot at least 50 round balls through it before cleaning. I think it took maybe 5 or 6 patches to get the barrel squeaky clean and I am OCD!

 

[Maven]

Maven are you saying you see a difference in accuracy if you don’t swab after every shot?

With the little bit of testing that I’ve got to do, I didn’t see any difference in accuracy , only in loading.

With patched RB's (wet patch), I don't need to swab. With the bore diameter RB's, I have to swab else I can't get the ball down the bbl., but I don't think dry swabbing in that case makes a huge difference in accuracy.

 

[Juice Jaws]

[QUOTE="smo,

Here’s what I’ve been using for a cleaner/ patch lube lately....

It says protectant as well, but I’m not so sure about that, I’ll stick with Barricade for that .[/QUOTE]

Good shooting , I have always said if something works for you don't change it, I don't know what your cleaner/patch lube cost but I bet its 99% water.

 

[smo]

It very well could be, but whatever percent it is it work,
But so does Olive Oil for a patch lube .

But not so much as a cleaner.

 

[Nessmuck56]

Got a Question .....we have sheep here at the house.....instead of a wad of tow on top of the bare ball....would sheared wool work ? We have plenty of that...and it wouldn’t start Forrest fires either..lol

 

[tenngun]

Wool works great. I did use hair brushed off my Yorkee named Shamus, I took a plastic bag full of his hair and added some melted lard. Then squeezed and worked the bag till it was a hair mass. Cut off hunks and used it as wadding. Called them my Shammie wads.
But,
A deligation of maggots asked me to stop shooting them due to the stench. They did smell really bad.
I do have some wool blanket scraps that I pick apart and shoot.

 

[Travler]

This is a great thread. I am learning a lot!
For reference I shoot a NorthStar NW trade gun (20gage). Never have measured the bore, but a real thin patch (.005) is required for a .600rb to get the ball down the bore. I use 70g FFg usually, but FFFg seems to work the same for me. I think most of the time when I miss it is my fault! LOL
My question is about using what I understand is equivalent to a cushion wad between the powder and the Ball. What is this supposed to do in terms of loading? I get it for a birdshot load, but not sure for a solid projectile. Is it to create a gas seal due to no patch around the ball?
Regards,
Nick

 

[Brokennock]

I use a thin card, commonly sold as "over shot" cards, sometimes 2, directly on top of the powder to help form a gas seal and to separate lube from powder. I then place a lubed felt wad between the card and round ball to both carry lube down, then back up, the bore, and 5o somewhat have the edges theoretically cup the ball supposedly keeping it centered in the bore.

The lube helps keep fowling soft, and I think the combo of the lubed felt and tight fitting stiff card scrapes fowling down on top of the powder charge, essentially always having only 1 shots worth of fowling in the bore. I don't wipe between shots except when patterning shot loads for load development.