Smoothbore 62

[WV-Rocklock]

Hi all, It's been a spell since I've been here. Have'nt had time to do much of anything but work. I'm still trying to get my 62 to pattern but not doing to well past 25 or 30 yards. I've tried all the great advice on the board but can't seem to get a good killing pattern at 40. But I'm having fun and shooting squirrels. I went out this evening and had a big grey in the top of a tall red oak. It took me two shots to bring him down. Kinda like hunting with a 410. I'll try to post a picture if I can figure out how to do it.

 

[roundball]

I struggled with all sorts of different things to try and coax a good pattern at distance out of a .62cal as well.....but 25yds was at best the max I could get a decent pattern at and then not a certainty for a small target like a turkey head, squirrel, etc.

Finally I had the barrel jug choked 'Full' a couple years ago...one of the best $65 I've spent in muzzleloading...now it's a long range turkey barrel, trap barrel, etc, and gets the job done...ie: your tree top squirrel would have been one shot, not two.

 

[WV-Rocklock]

Roundball
Who did the jug choke on your barrel? Mine is a swamped Rice. I built an Issac Haines from Jim Chambers in 54 cal. a couple years back and had a 62 smooth barrel made up for it also. I've used the smooth bore more. I would love to take a turkey with it but I'd have to get him in hand shaking distance the way I'm shootin now. Sounds like jug choking would get me there.
How did the choking effect your round ball shooting? Thanks for the help.
PS. Can't for the life of me see a way to post a picture. I know it's here but can't find it.

 

[roundball]

Roundball
Who did the jug choke on your barrel?

Lowell Tennyson
209 E Lotte St.
Blue Grass IA. 52726
563-381-3711
[email protected]

The 'FULL' Jug Choke in combination with the load info from Bob Spencer's excellent website[url] http://members.aye.net/~bspen/SmoothboreLoads.html[/url]
dropped a turkey in his tracks stone dead with a head shot at 40yds, the second one at 30yds.


Give Lowell a call and tell him which barrel you have, he'll want to know how much barrel wall thickness there is in the last 4" of the muzzle end.

 

[WV-Rocklock]

Thank you for the info Mr Roundball

 

[paulvallandigham]

WV-Rocklock: You are not going to get dense patterns out of a cylinder bore shotgun of any kind. 25 yds. is about it. I have gotten good killing patterns with my 12 gauge using 75 grains of FFg, and 1 1/4 oz. of #5 shot, to kill birds out to about 32-33 yards, but that is stretching it as far as I have any right to expect. If you lube your barrel after seating the shot and OS cards, the lube will allow the shot to slide over the barrel, rather than rub lead off against it, and that adds more pellets to the pattern and makes the patter more round. That is about all the tricks you can do with a cylinder bore.

Of course, Jim Rackham came on here months ago, and indicated he had improved patterns switching to using OS cards only , using 4 of them over the powder, then the shot, then 2 OS cards on top. Each of the cards has a pin size hole poked into it off center, and the cards are lined up so that none of the holes lines up with the one on either side of it. ( using a clock for a metaphor, put the holes in the cards at 12, 3, 6, and 9 o'clock. The 2 OS cards can have the holes at 12 and 6 o'clock. ) Cards are easy to insert through standard and screw in chokes. The jug choke that Roundball had done, of course, involves opening up a portion of the barrel as an expansion chamber, so that the shot and wads all come back together just before reaching the muzzle.

Roundball took a turkey at 40 yards with his new jug choked barrel with a full choke. He was kind enough to post a picture of his trophy under the Hunting topic. You may be able to find it there. i believe it was during the Spring Turkey season, wasn't it, Roundball?

For what it is worth, try using a 3:4 ratio by volume of powder to shot, and see if you don't get slightly better patterns. IN your 20, try 2 drams( 55 grains) and 2 3/4 oz.( 75 grains) of shot.

For longer range killing power, you have to look to heavier pellets, rather than velocity to get the job done. Roundball uses both #6 and #5 shot, while I stick to #5 shot. It all depends on what species you are likely to hunt more.

 

[Croppy Boy]

If you lube your barrel after seating the shot and OS cards, the lube will allow the shot to slide over the barrel, rather than rub lead off against it, and that adds more pellets to the pattern and makes the patter more round.

This is very true, I was out the other day patterning a 12 bore fowler and there was a marked improvement in the eveness of the pattern when the bore was lubed with a patch after loading.

 

[roundball]

If you lube your barrel after seating the shot and OS cards, the lube will allow the shot to slide over the barrel, rather than rub lead off against it, and that adds more pellets to the pattern and makes the patter more round.

This is very true, I was out the other day patterning a 12 bore fowler and there was a marked improvement in the eveness of the pattern when the bore was lubed with a patch after loading.

How does any lube stays on the bore walls as they're being scraped by a tight fitting OS card?

 

[WV-Rocklock]

Thanks for the replys fellows. I guess I'm expecting to much from my smoothie. I have tried different combos of wads, powder and shot. The OS cards over the powder charge didn't work well in mine. A cushion wad tears my pattern up also. 70 grns. of 3F, over powder wad, 1 1/8 ounce of 6s and one OS card does great to 25 or 30 yrds. I guess I'm doing as well as I should expect. I'll try lubing after loading. Thanks for your help.

 

[Croppy Boy]

You run the lubed patch down the barrel after you've loaded the shot and over shot cards. That way the barrel stays coated until fired.

 

[roundball]

You run the lubed patch down the barrel after you've loaded the shot and over shot cards. That way the barrel stays coated until fired.

I understand that...I was referring to the OS card coming back up the bore and scraping the lube right back off before the shot ever got a chance to touch it.

 

[paulvallandigham]

The lube is liquified, and fills the pores in the steel wall of the barrel, under heat. Its not the same as " Seasoning " but the process is similar.

The main benefits are that the lead ( or plastic shotcups) slide over the barrel rather than scrape off material on the barrel, there is less drag, so you get slightly more velocity, any excess lube is pushed ahead and to the sides of the barrel by the OS card or PRB, and in the case of shooting a PRB, the excess lube is soaked up by the edges of the cloth patch, like a candle wick. YOu also don't have to mess with putting lube on OP wads, or cushion wads. Just use a pre-lubed cleaning patch( you can carry them in the field in ziplock bags) in front of the jag before you eat the OS cards. Nothing could be speedier.

 

[flintlock75]

I hunt with a short 24" barreled .62 trade gun.
I have found i can get a good pattern at 30yrds by using heavy aluminum foil tubes and placing the shot in it.Not traditional but it holds the shot together longer than just using a wad.
My standard load is 70gr 3F and 1 1/4 oz of #7 1/2 shot. I place a 1/2' fiber wad over the powder and a card wad on top of the shot.I use this on grouse and rabbits.I have found that 4 layers of foil work the best.

 

[roundball]

Aluminum foil...very creative...I assume you roll/wrap the foil around a mandrel like a dowel, etc...:thumbsup:

I had some frustration when experimenting with paper shot cups a couple years ago where I couldn't ever seem to completely eliminate the occasional "slug effect" of the entire shot load going to & though the target.

Do you get those occasionally with your foil cup and and if not, do you specifically know why not...what dimension or technique leads to or prevents the slug effect?

I assume more folks than just myself would be interested in knowing...

 

[Cutfingers]

Just some thoughts from an old fart. The romance of the flintlock is replicating what our forefathers were able to do. Paper cups meet that criteria, however, foil and plastic do not. Lets stick with authentic materials of that time period such as the before mentioned paper shot cups.

 

[Bearbait2]

Mr. Cutfingers,
Personally, I disagree regarding knowledge/ability to use foil. If it will avoid the "slug" effect and is productive, I would a least like to know how; whether I ever use the information or not. Just my opinion and no flame intended.
Best Wishes

 

[roundball]

Just some thoughts from an old fart. The romance of the flintlock is replicating what our forefathers were able to do. Paper cups meet that criteria, however, foil and plastic do not. Lets stick with authentic materials of that time period such as the before mentioned paper shot cups.

You're preachin to the choir...my past efforts were with paper and I finally had the .62cal Jug Choked...would not use plastic for the same reasons you mentioned, but I stop short of telling other people what they should use.

My interest in his efforts was not an interest in foil...if it was I'd already be making foil cups right now. My interest was to learn if he had encountered / avoided the slug effect by employing some particular different method than what I had used in rolling the foil around a mandrel or just how he made the cups, dimensions, etc.

I have a .54ca/(.28ga) Flint smoothbore that would make an excellent squirrel gun in tall tree tops if I could get a little longer range tighter pattern out of it...bore is to small for my gunsmith to Jug Choke it, and I'm not interested in wasting more lead experimenting with paper cups again until I've had a chance to learn some more information from others.

But for the record, it's not up to you and I to dictate what others should use...I personally don't care what others use in their smoothbores...they can use paper, plastic, foil, modern shotgun wads, etc, etc...none of my business.

 

[chuckpa]

I would really like to know how the foil shot cups work. I tried the paper cups with the same result as other had, that is a slug effect of the cup staying together. In my .62 smooth bore English trade gun I built from a Northstar West kit I have been using 80 grns of ffg and 70 grns of # 6 shot. I use an over the powder wad half a cushion wad and an os card. I punch holes in all of the wads. I get very good patterns out to 20 or so yds.

 

[flintlock75]

Like I said not traditional but it works.
I have not encountered any problems with the "slug Effect". I have tried many methods to produce an effective pattern for my short barrel.
I have used paper,cardboard and plastic shot cups with the cushion cut off. I finnaly tried aluminum foil and it worked the best. At very close range 20'or less I have found that some of the shot has stayed together and punched a finger sized hole in a target, there was still enough shot spread to be effective.past 20' i have not had any problem. I use a wooded dowl just under bore size to wrap the foil on. I then slide it off and pinch and twist the end and pour in the shot, pinch off and twist the other end. done deal.I think this method works better in my short barreled gun. I have tried this in my Brown Bess and it is not as effective, the foil seperates within 3 feet of the muzzle upon firing and i have found no diference in the patterning.
A friend of mine tried them in his fusil and saw no difference in range over those wraped in paper.
As with most muzzleloaders each gun has a favorite load combination, I think in my case the short barrel and lower velocity contribute to this method working, the higher velocity of a longer barrel seems to cause separation faster.
Experiment with several options and use what works best. I hope this info is helfull.

 

[tg]

" Lets stick with authentic materials of that time period such as the before mentioned paper shot cups"

We certainly would not want to be accused of "keeping the tradition alive" we must march foreward with the banner of modern technology held high...fiber optics, modern peeps, modern bullets, whu on earth would one want to shoot a ML useing the old ways?