Shot and Roundball in a smoothbore

[bezoar]

I just have a few questions that may have been answered before.

Does having a large bore and long barrel increase velocity or accuracy of shot?

Is there a company selling a smoothbore that can use commercially available plastic shotcups for a .410?

What caliber would be best for hunting birds AND putting a ball into a nice fat deer?

What kind of accuracy/velocity would be encountered if an expanding base bullet was used in a smoothbore?

 

[robinghewitt]

> Does having a large bore and long barrel increase velocity or accuracy of shot?

A long 20 gauge barrel was normal for shotguns until Nock's patent breech around 1800 when a shorter 12 gauge barrel took over. To tighten the pattern you reduce the powder charge, unfortunately this is against nature for some people so they end up choking bores on guns that were never meant to have chokes, or, messing around with shot cups.

> What kind of accuracy/velocity would be encountered if an expanding base bullet was used in a smoothbore?

If a Minie ball doesn't expand into the rifling accuracy is gone, anything that happens to hit the target could easily be travelling sideways.

Just my opinion of course :imo:

 

[rayb]

How about a little more detail about reducing the powder charges to increase pattern density. I'm trying to shoot trap with cylinder bored gun and not doing too well. I know i need to spend more time at the pattern board, but a little planning beforehand seems approp0riate.

rayb

 

Try 1 1/8 ounce in a 12 bore along with 75gr. 2F. that gives a 2 3/4 dram charge. That should increase density. Using the same measure for shot and powder will usually blow pattens a bit. Experiment with wads, like card over powder, then fibre(1 or 2), then thin card or not, then shot then "B" over shot wad. Other tricks like hollowing out one fibre wad with a 3/8" punch, and using this on top of the first fibre. The shot sitting inside the hollow wad will increase the centre density of the shot pattern.
: Way Back when, card wads for over powder use, were normally 1/4", not the 1/8"not sold by Track today - you must experiment.
: Rayb - you didn't say the guage you are shooting. If a 20 bore, try 7/8 to 1 ounce and 62gr. 2F, roughly 2 1/4 drams.
: You can look at modern shotshell loads- and see the drams equivalent. Look to using the same amount of powder in your BP gun as the drams equivalent for various loads. For 20 bore. check out Skeet loads of #9 shot.
: For expample, my bro was having trouble smashing clays with his .77 Bess. He'd been shooting 110gr.(4 drams) and 2 ounces of shot. The muzzle blast was probably destroying his patterns, so I got him to try 1 1/2 ounce of shot with 3 drams of powder. He then ran 27 straight from 16 yds.
There are 27.3 grains(weight) per dram.

 

[musketman]

When the powder charge is too high for the amount of shot you are using, it will blow holes in the pattern...

By reducing the powder charge (5 to 10 grains), you are (in theory) pushing too much lead for the amount of powder, so velocity is slower and the pattern in denser...

Now longer barrels will have higher velocity than a shorter barrel with the same powder charge...

 

[rayb]

Try 1 1/8 ounce in a 12 bore along with 75gr. 2F. that gives a 2 3/4 dram charge. That should increase density. Using the same measure for shot and powder will usually blow pattens a bit.

Thanks. I've been using 1 1/4 oz shot & 90 grains ffg in a 12 ga.

Based on what you said, my patterns are probably very well blown......

I started using that load based on what another shooter told me....But as I recall he was shooting a full/full choked Navy Arms "Turkey & Trap". :hmm: That makes sense; it worked for him because his gun was chocked, It didn't work for me because mine wasn't choked.

I will give it a try this weekend, weather permitting.

Thanks again for the reply

rayb

 

[riarcher]

1 or 2 of you guys may find this of interest;
http://members.aye.net/~bspen/index.html
Lots of info and some decent stories to go with it (and a lot of "Load" info part way down the list. :m2c:

 

Very good reading - thanks, riarcher.