Shooting Crows with a Flintlock

[roundball]

I'm interested in trying a Flint smoothbore on some decoyed crows...when I've done it in past years, I have an Owl decoy pulled up into the branches of a bare tree, and a half dozen Crow decoys stuck around on the ground, fenceposts, etc.

The typical shot is low and slow as the crows come right in and coast around the general area of the decoy tree trying to figure out what's going on...probably 50-75' high...doubles are pretty standard, with an occasional triple not out of the question...but that's been with a Remington 1187 autoloader.

I'm thinking of trying a .54cal Flint smoothbore...it throws an outstanding pattern of #6's at 25yds (75 feet)...wondered if anyone has any first hand experience shooting crows, or anything decoyed, with a Flintlock?

At that fairly close distance and their slow speed, even through the complete flintlock shot cycle would be a bit longer than a modern shotgun, I'm thinking that the lead-distance would be about the same, maybe just a few inches more lead?

 

[ffffg]

id use 7 1/2 at close range for crows, you can also get number 7 shot.. go to 6 if you see a problem with the 7 1/2.. they arent going to take off into the brush and run like a pheasant , or swim off like a duck, so a wing shot should be fine unless youve found out otherwise..

leads on crossing birds is quite difficult with black, and this is complicated tenfold with a flintlock.. here is what ive learned.. sustained lead is what you want to use, go to 3f to increase velocity, making sure your load is down solid on the powder.. leading will be prevelent with lead shot and it will decrease ball accuracy, so id recomend number 7 nickel shot from balistic products when you can get it.. id guess your lead will be 1 1/2 to 2 times that of modern guns with sustained lead depending on speed of target and distance.. with a smoothbore you can usually lead the bird and have it in the pattern.. that is lead so bird will be hit on right side of pattern while it is in the left side of the pattern as it flys right to left.. that would be slow moving close bird.. nothing seemed to help me opening day on ducks. . if you squeeze trigger properly, and are swinging past with flint lock and it lags iginition your lead will be too much, so with sustained lead you pull the trigger and hold a head of target untill relieved (by shot leaving barrel). follow thru, and youll be getting started in the flintlock shotgun buisiness.. dave..

 

[roundball]

"...and are swinging past with flint lock and it lags iginition your lead will be too much, so with sustained lead you pull the trigger and hold a head of target untill relieved (by shot leaving barrel)..."

Good tip...

And Crows are tough old birds...#6's did better then #7.5's in regular shotguns so I'm sure I'll at least use 6's with black and hope they'll be strong enough with BP velocities...I think they should be at the relatively close distances.

 

[ffffg]

double check your pennetration with 7 1/2. shoot a campells steel soup can with your load and see the distance it will pennetrate one side of the can with a square hit,, this is plenty of pennetration.. then pattern at that distance.. then shoot same distance with number 6 with a pattern with same load except changing size of shot.. if 6s give same density then use the 6s.. if the 6s are thin giving only a two or less hits to the crow(consistently) then use the 7 1/2.. becouse the 7 1/2 has pennatration and density.. hard to explain.. you need three hits with good pennetration for downing an average bird.. 6s are used for turkey head shots, , i know guys who use 7 1/2 for close range pheasant.. .

with some searching ive found a load i used at 35 yards at 45 degrees in 2001. in 16 guage with 85 gr 3f and 85 grains equivelent number 7 knickel plated shot i shot at 35 yards and hit a large campell soup can 7 times with two pennetrating and two glancing off. the glances are counted as hits, but cant pennetrate at a glancing angle.. . these cans are about 7 inches high, i used these for penetration testing for duck and pheasant size birds.. another pennetration chart using 85/85 and 7 1/2 shot had 80 percent pennetration at 30 yards at 35 degrees.. so you can see as you get closer with round balls, the power is considerably higher than at 40 yards.. you may be shooting at further ranges than you estimate.. but one thing i know for sure you have to use what works for you, and what you have confidence with.. with patterning and pennetration tests you will be able to find your best load at the furthest possible distance that your smoothbore will be able to accomplish.. .. further down the experience trail i started useing phonebooks for pennetration. you could shoot your modern shotgun with 6s at the phonebook at 40 yrds and measure the average thickenss of pennetration with a micrometer in the phonebook.. then load your smoothbore up with 6s and move phone book in closer untill you have simular pennetration, if the pattern is as good on the phone book at that distance s with the modern gun, and you can live with the yardage, you will be fine but somewhat limited to that yardage. dave...

 

[paulvallandigham]

Most of the difference between " modern" shotgun velocities and BP velocities vanishes in the first 20 yds. According to my Lyman Shotshell Handbook, a load of $6 shot going 1330 fps at the muzzle is down to 990 fps at 20 yds, and 790 fps at 40 yds.

A similar load of sixes at 1135 fps at the muzzle is down to 860 fps at 20 yds, and 695 fps at 40 yds.


Travel time for the high load to 20 yds, is .0535, and for the slower load, at 20 yds., is .0612.

Drop for the fast load is .5 inches, and for the slower load, .7 inches.

I don't see anyone seriously holding off much for the difference between the two load. The bead on the front of your barrel will not let you hold .2 of an inch for drop difference. And 75 thousandths of a second is not enough time for a bird to fly much more, certainly not out of a reasonable pattern. So, based on actual data, maybe we should not short BP velocities. They will get the job done, and were doing so for 400 years before " smokeless" powder came around.