Roundballs and Smoothbores???

[Skychief]

I would like to hear from you guys with experience shooting roundballs out of your smoothies. Accuracy, power, hunting, trajectory, pros, cons. Basically anything you are willing to share of your experiences very welcomed!

Thanks, Skychief! :bow:

 

[flintlock75]

I shoot round ball about 80% of the time from my smoothbores. My tradegun is a .62 cal and i shoot 70gr of 3F with a .600 prb. It is very accurate at 25 yards and will keep its shots in an 8" plate at 50 yards.I use it mostly for trail walks but have taken a moose with it. Plenty of power at under 40 yards. My Bess i use a load of 90gr of 3F with a .705 prb. The bore measures .729. I have taken 2 moose with this gun at under 50 yards. It wackes them hard. It will shoot a sub 6" group at 50 yards but opens up to about 18" at 100 yards. I use it for smoothbore competition shoots.Both guns are flinters. My perc. double is a modified CVA 12ga, It wont shoot shot very well but shoots prb great. I use a load of 95 gr od 3F and a .705 prb, it is a killer on both ends, I took a bull caribou at 80 yards and it knoked him in the dirt like he was hit by lightning. I took a black bear with it at 20 yards with the same results. This gun has been fitted with lyman rifle sights, front and rear. at 25 yards it will shoot both barrels in one hole, at 50 yards the right barrel is dead on, the left barrel is 1" left and 1.5inch low, plenty good accuracy for hunting. I has also done a good job on a couple of moose, no second shot required.
My hunting partner carries a tulle fusil in .62 cal and shoots a .600 rb with 100gr of 3F, he can consistantly hit a 12" gong at 50 yards all day. He has a rear sight monted and only shoots rb.

 

[trdigger]

I have a .62 Tulle, and I shoot it a lot in matches. I have hunted with it, but no kills yet. I love it, and place really well against guys with rifles on trail walks. Won a candle shoot with it, it's all in the practice and the load. I shoot a .600 ball with a .015 patch, 80 grs FFF. Shoots big 20gs cloverleafs at 25yds, and under 5 inches at 50yds. I can hit a 12" gong consistently at 80yds, plenty good accuracy for me, plenty of knockdown power when the time comes.

 

[BrownBear]

I'm shooting RBs from a Bess right now, and it wants to be more accurate than I am. My sighting is still pretty crude with it, but I'm already doing 6" on a good day at 50 yards. If I was willing to go to filing on that bayonet lug to make it into a "finer" sight, I'm sure that I could beat that a little.

And power? :rotf:

We're talking about a .730 ball that weighs close to 600 grains!

 

[roundball]

I would like to hear from you guys with experience shooting roundballs out of your smoothies. Accuracy, power, hunting, trajectory, pros, cons. Basically anything you are willing to share of your experiences very welcomed!
Thanks, Skychief! :bow:

33" GM smoothbore Flint barrels:

.28ga(.54cal)
80grns Goex 3F
.022" patch
Hornday .520"
==================
.20ga(.62cal)
80grns Goex 3F
.018" patch
.595" cast ball

Both smoothbores keep them on a 3" aimpoint sticker at 50yds from a sitting position against a range post (to simulate hunting conditions sitting against a tree) elbow braced down on my side/chest.

 

[hanshi]

I'm pretty new to smoothbores myself. I just tried my best load-so far-at 50 yards and out of ten shots two were fliers and 8 went into a 2-1/2" group. Counting the fliers the 10 shots were 7-3/4". My load was .600 ball, .015 patch, 60 grains Goex 3f and an op card wad. I'll also be trying 80 grains which did very well at 25 yds. Per roundball's suggestion I plan shooting without the op wad to see how that affects the fliers.

My .62 fowler has a rear sight which helps [me] shoot better. As far as shooting past 50 yards, well, that may come later.

 

[KHickam]

My smoothbore (B Christian made fowler) is a 20 gauge. I shoot 85 grs FFFg .015 patch and a .600 rb. I have won smoothbore matches with it and stayed with the rifle guys on a few occasions. It has killed deer, hogs and most recently a bobcat. I generally practice offhand shooting at cattails and cut them on a regular basis at 20-25 yds. Anyway, hope this helps. :thumbsup: It is accurate enough to kill game at 75 yds

 

[Britsmoothy]

.562 and a linen patch on top of 80grn equiv rs.

Last time I put it on paper I was getting under 4" groups at a good 40 paces.

Seems fast!

Brits.

 

[Shane Carter]

I shot my .62 smoothie at the range the other day for the first time at a paper target and was happy with the results. I shot a 3 shot group at 25 yds with 50grns 3F,.010 lubed patches, and a .600grn RB and they were in a 2.5"-3" group. Then I shot the same load but used wasps nest wadding over the powder and also the ball and the group was all within the 9 ring with the second shot splitting the first and the 3rd 1/2" lower. Also, I did shoot another group with the only difference being 80grns of 3F. This group was in the 8 and 9 ring. Didn't think that was too bad for a smoothbore.

 

[rabjr]

Click on the two icon pics here, they tell the story of both. It still amazes me the power of the .12ga ball.
http://www.nimrodsplace.com/nefowler29.html

 

[stubshaft]

Nice animals, beautiful Fowler!

Thanks for sharing :thumbsup:

 

[Marc Adamchek]

I concur! And as if treating us to those beautiful animals and the beautiful fowler that dealt the sure swift blows, Swampy messes with our head further by putting in a picture of another great looking flinter (Roy Stroh too?) and a dynamite bag which HAS to be a Swampy original. That is, if you followed his "back" buttons and not your pc's.

What's the story on THAT beautiful set-up, Sir Swamp Fox?

 

[rabjr]

Funny I didn't have a good pic of that bag, was one of my first ones and made just for the smoothbore.

But what I didn't mention concerning those two deer, the ball hit the buck top of the shoulder/neck/spine and flipped him over. When the smoke cleared I was loking at his tail, laying on the ground. I swear he saw the flash of the pan and moved down just enough for me to hit him high. Don't matter as he never moved. The Doe I aimed top of her back and hit above her shoulder/spine and when the smoke cleared I saw belly hair where she stood, never moved. :thumbsup:

 

[hanshi]

What did your patches look like and what is your bore diameter? I gave up having to force and pound .600 + .016 patch. It shot great but is murder on my hands and impractical in the field. My fowler's bore is .615. I tried .010 patches but there was a burn or tear on every one. Gonna try a smaller ball and see what happens.

 

[rabjr]

Do yourself a favor and cut a fiber wad in half, lube the sides and put it between the powder and patch. It allows the thinner patch, thats what I do. :thumbsup:

 

[paulvallandigham]

You can buy .595" diameter balls from Track of the wolf. Use them with the .015" thick patching and your problem is solved. Unless you do a lot of target shooting on the primitive ranges, shooting PRB out of smoothbores, you should be able to afford the cast balls from Track. Call Eddie May to check on his prices, and see what diameter molds he may have that are even smaller.

I doubt that you need to go much below .595, but if he has a .590" mold it might be worth trying some of them. If you don't have Eddies address and phone, I have it here. Just ask.

 

[Deadeye]

Walmart has some cotton muslin that's .007 to .010
depending how you measure it. I use it in a .610
bore with a .600 ball, nothing between the patch and powder. I've shot some of these patches 3 times and they never tear or burn. It's super stuff and only $1.25 per yd. I shoot 70 gr. of 3F
but have shot as much as 140 gr. Try it you'll like it.
Deadeye

 

[Shane Carter]

Hanshi, to be honest I haven't checked the actual bore diameter. The patches did have some burn through though. I swapped to the wasp nest just to try it and after getting a better group will be using it for hunting too.

 

[Marc Adamchek]

Check out the next pic. Shows a beautifully crafted bag with a nice flap of some kind of fur, and another great looking shootin' iron.

 

[rabjr]

Oh thats my .58's bag I made using Calf hide with hair on for the flap, that bag its self was made from Elk leather. It hags against the tree with my .58. :thumbsup: