Shot loads for a .45

[Atilliator]

I bought a kentucky rifle some time ago and i've been very interested in trying to shoot it using candleshot or just regular 7 1/2 shot, i generally shoot a 250 grain bullet with 70 grains of f2 but i dont know if its the same for shot, any help would be greatly appreciated.

 

[mooman76]

Shooting shot in a rifled bore just doesn't work out well. I've never tried it but always hear that it will have a lousy shot pattern and the rifling will get leaded up. You really need a smooth bore.

 

[Zonie]

Like Mooman said, usually, shooting shot out of a rifled barrel doesn't work very well.

I've never tried it but the folks who have say it produces a "donut" shape pattern with little shot in the center.
That makes sense to me. If the pile of shot begins to rotate as it travels down the bore, it would expand rapidly outward in all directions after it left the muzzle.

Going on with your idea, smoothbore shooters often use the same powder measure to measure out the powder and shot when they are loading.

This seems to work well for them but a volumetric powder measure that measures out 70 grains of powder will also measure out 1 ounce of shot (about 440 grains).

A 1 ounce shot load over 70 grains of powder is roughly what a 16 guage shotgun would use so obviously that won't work in your .45.

You might consider reducing your powder load to 40 grains. A measure set at that weight would throw about 5/8 oz (273 grains) of shot.

I don't think I would go up to a 50 grain powder load with an equal volume of shot.
A 50 grain measure will throw about 3/4 oz (328 grains) of shot.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I bought a kentucky rifle some time ago and i've been very interested in trying to shoot it using candleshot or just regular 7 1/2 shot, i generally shoot a 250 grain bullet with 70 grains of f2 but i dont know if its the same for shot, any help would be greatly appreciated.

Don't bother....it's a waste of time in a rifled barrel.....been there done that.

 

[azmntman]

+1

 

[coloradoclyde]

I bet you'll find better accuracy out of your gun if you switch to a round ball too....Especially at shotgun ranges....

 

[Semisane]

Aw, what the heck. So what if it doesn't work well as a general rule. If you've got the powder and got the shot go ahead and give it a go.

Drop some powder down the tube. Wad up a sheet of toilet paper and pack it down on the powder charge. Drop some shot on top of that followed by a 1/2 sheet wad of toilet paper and let it fly at a sheet of newspaper at 15 or 20 yards.

It won't hurt anything. You will have a bit of fun, and learn something along the way.

 

[coloradoclyde]

I tried that....Couldn't hit a squirrel at 10 yards... :cursing: A bow or slingshot would have been a better choice....

Tried .410 wads....leather wads...felt, cork, cardboard, cloth and even made fully contained paper cartridges........Oh and yes, candle cartridges....nothing I tried cane even close to the performance of a .410 muzzleloading shotgun....
Been fiddling with it on and off for almost 30 years.....every once in a while I think of something that might work and I try it....it doesn't work.....the next thing on my list is to remove the rifling....

 

[Atilliator]

Thanks for the replies ad tips guys, really helpfull, i really appreciate it :bow:
ps: this is a really cool forum.

 

[rdstrain49]

I use shot loads in one of them fancy new revolvers for pest and snake. Works up to about 15 - 20 feet (closer is better), beyond that, forget it.

 

[Semisane]

I tried that....Couldn't hit a squirrel at 10 yards... :cursing: A bow or slingshot would have been a better choice....

Tried .410 wads....leather wads...felt, cork, cardboard, cloth and even made fully contained paper cartridges........Oh and yes, candle cartridges....nothing I tried cane even close to the performance of a .410 muzzleloading shotgun....
Been fiddling with it on and off for almost 30 years.....every once in a while I think of something that might work and I try it....it doesn't work.....the next thing on my list is to remove the rifling....

Many of us have tried many of the same things Clyde, with pretty much the same results. But that doesn't mean Atilliator can't or shouldn't play around with it himself.

After all, contrary to your statement, it does "work" - i.e. the charge pushes the shot out of the bore at killing velocity. :wink: Whether you can get the shot to hit anything is another story.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

the next thing on my list is to remove the rifling....

Well if the barrel was "roached" it might make an interesting gun having it freshed smooth to say .490 or .500, making it sort of a 38 Bore. If it was jug choked, might make a nice kid's gun for squirrel, rabbit, and perhaps deer too.

LD

 

[coloradoclyde]

By all means, the OP is welcome and encouraged to repeat or pick up my experiments from where I left off....Just laying down a baseline for him.......Hope he has better success than I did...

I you way overload it you're bound to hit something....but that doesn't make it effective or efficient...A bore that size should have no more than 3/4 oz of shot...

 

[BrownBear]

Check in the smoothbore or hunting sections for posts by Britsmoothy. He's been using a smoothbore 45 and shot with very good results. I wouldn't expect his great patterns from a rifled bore, but his posts will provide you a verified reference for shot and powder in a 45 caliber.