Some Bess help?

[elarges]

Hi all...
I have recently acquired a Pedersoli Bess from a friend of mine that was looking to pay bills instead of shoot. Soooo...We're both happy with the price.
I've never shot a Bess, staying mostly with rifles. Big question: Can anyone help me with load suggestions or any other items of interest? I probably won't shoot a LOT of roundball through it, but some. Ball diameter suggestions? Any thoughts for bird shot? Maybe a good turkey load, or rabbit? I might even think about shooting a round of trap here and there.
If any of you guys (and girls...not to be sexist, ya know!) have any words of wisdom, PLEASE feel free to fill me in!!! Tell me everything ya know!
Thanks a ton!
Eric

 

[J.D.]

A .715 ball with a .020 patch, pushed by 80 gr FFG works for me. I've won several smoothbore matches and killed a few deer with this load, over a 20, or so, year period.

Flint guns seem to like 1 1/2 more shot than powder, by volume, BTW. My shot load is 70 gr FFG, one .135 or .200 thick card wad, 110 gr measure of #5 shot, and an 1/8" slice off of a fiber wad, over shot.

God bless

 

[Wes/Tex]

J.D.'s suggestions are a good start. You'll probably find loads in the 75 to 90 grain range will give what you're looking for. Ball size is a bit touchy. I've used everything for .735 to .690 with varying results. Some guns are prone to shoot several sizes with good results while some are quite picky about which ball size they like. Most smoothbores can give adequate accuracy with a little tweeking. It'll be your choice whether to go with a patched ball or paper cartridge like the original military loads. I've tried linen, cloth and leather for patching and don't know if any is superior to another material save that leather is very traditional and won't smolder on the ground like a cloth patch can. Granted, they're more expensive than cloth and a bit more work to cut and lube but fun. Some guns will do very well with a bare ball over a wad and held in place with a card over them. You'll just have to play around to see which your Bess favors...not a bad problem, huh? "Sorry dear, I've got to shoot some more to find the right load." :thumbsup:

 

[BrownBear]

My Pedersoli Bess is perfectly happy with RB loads in the same neighborhood as the others.

I've been using 1 1/4 oz of #6 shot over 80 grains of 3f for snowshoe hare though. Lubed fiber 11 gauge base wad and single 11 gauge overshot card, nicked in 4 places around the edge for easier seating.

You'll hear lots of keyboard ballistics about whole fiber base wads blowing holes in your pattern, and recommendations for splitting them in half or using a stack of overshot cards instead. The old timer I learned from always said a donut pattern is a result of too much powder. Dropping the powder charge stopped the donuts, even as the full thickness base wad cushioned the shot better. Sure worked for me to follow his sage advice in my Bess and other smoothies.

 

[paulvallandigham]

Your old timer was not wrong. He was just seeing the process from a different angle. The "TOO MUCH POWDER" he talked about increases the velocity of both the SHOT LOAD and the CUSHION Wad. He probably didn't realize it. And I am sure he didn't understand "drafting", or the fact that compacted shot loads, for about 9 feet in front of the muzzle, create a vacuum immediately behind the shot, which " Sucks" the cushion wad, immediately behind the shot, forward into the shot.

The Cushion wad acts like a cue ball hitting a rack of balls, free of the cage. It bumps the load of shot, causing the pellets to begin to try to move out of the way. That means, Sideways. And, that is how the donut hole is created.

When you decrease the powder charge, you reduce the speed of that cushion wad, so that air can brake it down so it doesn't get sucked into the vacuum following the shot, and bump the shot.

Its easier to simply change the overall weight of the cushion wad by reducing its length. I have had the Worst Donut hole patterns when I mistakenly soaked my cushion wads in Moose milk, and did NOT squeeze the excess out. When I squeezed the wads, the patterns improved. When i cut the wad in half, it improved even more. When I went to 1/4 a wad, and then just lubed the edge, I got very nice, uniform patterns, with no evidence of any donut hole.

Now, when I tried Iron Jim Rackham's system of using only OS cards, 4 between the powder and shot, and 2 OS cards on top of the shot, I got even better patterns. You can seen the os cards fluttering to the ground through the smoke in front of the muzzle when the gun fires. As long as a off-center hole is punched into the cards, so that air can separate them, They work very well- the best I have found in my cylinder bore barrels.


I don't ask you, or anyone else to accept any of these ideas on "faith". Test them yourself, but give them a fair testing. Jim Rackham is correct on one thing: Its a lot easier going into the game fields with a pouch carrying only one kind of wad or card for reloading the gun. The KISS principle is preserved. It certainly cuts down the "scurrying-around-time" I always seem to do the night before a hunt, trying to make sure I have enough of everything ready to go the next morning.

Maybe I am just showing my age. I worry about what i am forgetting, because I know I am going to forget something. :blah: :idunno: :surrender: :hmm:

 

[Britsmoothy]

+1 on the cards only here :thumbsup:

If you are in a pinch and want to get out there shooting you can roll some 2-3" squares of news print into rough balls and stuff them between the powder and shot. Works ok :thumbsup:

Brits.

 

[BrownBear]

Consider the choir well lectured.