Round Balls Out Of A Bird Gun

[nkbj]

Round ball is very doable in the old Navy Arms 12 Ga doubles supplied with 14" and 28" barrels, but it really is a matter of seeing how the barrels hit and how far away you can hit what you're after.

For loading on a shotgun muzzle with no rounding on the edge of the bore, consider a smaller ball and a patch material like corduroy to give you some compression. Recently came upon a lovely Pedersoli trade gun that needs to have corduroy tried out.

 

[Jungle Dave]

Pressure testing of equal weight payloads (ball or shot) has shown that pressures are higher with shot loads. It is believed to be due to the shot charge "squatting" under acceleration and trying to expand radially. The round ball can not do this, as it is a single mass of lead. I've found that a 12 ga. ball at 1200 fps is more than enough to kill a deer, the ball punches a large hole straight through. Recoil is no worse than a trap load, an ounce of lead is an ounce of lead. Modern day deer slugs are loaded to 15-1600 fps, quite lethal but brutal to the shoulder. You don't need all that speed!

True. A long long time ago, I realized that 1200 to 1250fps is all that is needed with round ball, or conical for that matter, out of any large bore. Optimum speed for knockdown and penetration with the naturally wonderful sphere.

 

[Polecat_Tom]

Here is one of my targets showing three shots at 25 yards. I was shooting my NW Tradegun. Load was 60 grains of 2F, a 1/8" nitro card, .715 ball and an overshot card. At 50 yards it opens up to around a three-inch group and that could be because of me or the gun.

 

[nhmoose]

Interesting, I'm inclined to think that a round ball is going to generate more pressure, thus more recoil. My 6 pound unmentionable pounds the cr** out of me with slug loads. Thanks

Only in your mind. Physics don't lie

 

[nhmoose]

If the ball goes down it will come out no difference in force.