Squirrels

[bronko220002]

I was just reading Britsmooty's thread on hunting squirrels with his .45. Someone mentioned that he uses shot! I would think that shot from a rifled barrel would spread faster than wild fire on a windy day. But that got me thinking. I bought a .36 Seneca just for this purpose and to plink with. would it be worth it to load powder, felt wad, a dozen or so #8 shot, another wad and a PRB or just try to use my 70 year old eagle eyes to harvest some tree rats for stew?

 

[recurvebill]

I was just reading Britsmooty's thread on hunting squirrels with his .45. Someone mentioned that he uses shot! I would think that shot from a rifled barrel would spread faster than wild fire on a windy day. But that got me thinking. I bought a .36 Seneca just for this purpose and to plink with. would it be worth it to load powder, felt wad, a dozen or so #8 shot, another wad and a PRB or just try to use my 70 year old eagle eyes to harvest some tree rats for stew?

Bronko , i am 77 and still shoot my .36tc,.45,and .50 tc to point of aim with no problem. My Opinion ; a rifled bore is for a bullet or patched round ball , a smooth bore is for loose shot or a patched round ball . Hence , i also shoot a tc 12 ga. smooth bore. Food for thought ; did anyone ask "BritSmoothy" what he shoots out of that .45 ???? No animosity intended , just my thoughts on you'r post. Good luck in you'r hunt.

 

[Grenadier1758]

I was just reading Britsmooty's thread on hunting squirrels with his .45. Someone mentioned that he uses shot! I would think that shot from a rifled barrel would spread faster than wild fire on a windy day. But that got me thinking. I bought a .36 Seneca just for this purpose and to plink with. would it be worth it to load powder, felt wad, a dozen or so #8 shot, another wad and a PRB or just try to use my 70 year old eagle eyes to harvest some tree rats for stew?

@Britsmoothy's has a 45 caliber gun bored smooth for using shot. He has demonstrated that it is very effective on squirrels.

 

[recurvebill]

@Britsmoothy's has a 45 caliber gun bored smooth for using shot. He has demonstrated that it is very effective on squirrels.

A hearty thanks , as i had not had a chance to read the Britsmoothy thread .

 

[bronko220002]

Thanks Grenadier. That's good to know. I know that trying to shoot a shot charge from a rifled barrel would spread you shot all over giving you a very sparse pattern. Brits smooth bored .45 is pretty much a .410 on steroids then.

 

[Britsmoothy]

My 45 is smoothbore yes.
Years ago I had a 45 rifle and did try shot in it. I didn't put enough shot in it when I think back but I remember that what I did do with it was only any good to 15yds so with more shot it may work to 20.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Thanks Grenadier. That's good to know. I know that trying to shoot a shot charge from a rifled barrel would spread you shot all over giving you a very sparse pattern. Brits smooth bored .45 is pretty much a .410 on steroids then.

On steroids kind of.
It does shoot 3/4 Oz very well.
Yes, I think you are right. It is slightly better than a 410 yes.

 

[Crow Choker]

FWIW I wouldn't shoot loose shot out of any rifled barrel unless I never planned on shooting lead balls or any other bullet forms down it in the future unless I had no concern of accuracy.

 

[bronko220002]

FWIW I wouldn't shoot loose shot out of any rifled barrel unless I never planned on shooting lead balls or any other bullet forms down it in the future unless I had no concern of accuracy.

And why not. Its still lead and wouldn't hurt the barrel at all. I'm not talking steel shot or tungsten shot. Yes Chilled shot is a bit harder but not enough to hurt a steel barrel or its rifling. This is exactly what I was saying and every link I looked at says the same thing. Won't hurt but not much in the way of a pattern.
https://www.quora.com/Is-it-bad-to-...two-barrels-and-use-the-rifled-only-for-slugshttps://www.defensivecarry.com/threads/buck-shot-in-a-rifled-barrel.234317/

 

[Crow Choker]

And why not. Its still lead and wouldn't hurt the barrel at all. I'm not talking steel shot or tungsten shot. Yes Chilled shot is a bit harder but not enough to hurt a steel barrel or its rifling.

Not in my estimation, thoughts, and 60 years of what I've come to learn. That's why fowlers are for sale or smoothbore barrels for rifle models. Ifin I wanted to shoot shot by the burning of black powder in a firearm I'll get a smoothbore flint or percussion smoothbore firearm or load up some 12 gu hulls with black and shoot em in my double or pump shotguns.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

lol ok then

 

[bronko220002]

Not in my estimation, thoughts, and 60 years of what I've come to learn. That's why fowlers are for sale or smoothbore barrels for rifle models. Ifin I wanted to shoot shot by the burning of black powder in a firearm I'll get a smoothbore flint or percussion smoothbore firearm or load up some 12 gu hulls with black and shoot em in my double or pump shotguns.

lol ok then

OK then...have at it there big guy. I'm just saying that shooting shot out of a rifled barrel will NOT hurt the barrel regardless what your experience is. But your pattern would be horrible. A smooth bore is definitely the way to go.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Oh I totally agree with you OP. My reply was all I could come up with after trying to decipher #10.

I made some “rat shot” cartridges for a Smith carbine one time. They worked well for what they were, and the bore and riflings are still pristine.

 

[Crow Choker]

Final thought: Do what ya wanna do, it's yer gun.

 

[Hermit Tim]

Occasionally a .45 smoothie shows up for sale. I'd never heard of such until about 2020. That's when I started getting active here on the forum. Was reading Brit's exploits with his and thought I really want one of those. Bounced over to GunBroker and there was one listed. Maple half stock with a 35 inch smooth barrel and rifle sights. She is now in my safe and is very good at what she does. Thanks for the tip, Britsmoothie

 

[longcruise]

I tried shot in a rifled 50 and a rifled 45 pistol. The pistol shot a 2 foot pattern at ten feet the 50 just a little better.

No damage to either barrel.

 

[SDSmlf]

FWIW I wouldn't shoot loose shot out of any rifled barrel unless I never planned on shooting lead balls or any other bullet forms down it in the future unless I had no concern of accuracy.

What kind of damage or lose of accuracy have you experienced? I remember rat loads for a handgun revolver caliber that a guy named Keith was fond of that worked quite well in revolvers, with zero problems with subsequent accuracy. Used a couple of gas checks, one over the powder, the other over the shot, held in place with the case crimp. Believe I still have some laying around.

How and what were you loading that caused accuracy problems with future roundball loads?

 

[bronko220002]

Final thought: Do what ya wanna do, it's yer gun.

Always have and always will Crow. But check the validity of your info before posting. Misinformation can get someone killed when messing with black powder.

 

[Red Owl]

If I recall that barrel has a 1:48" twist. The ideal for a patched round ball is a little less, maybe 1:40 (for 36 caliber) so you theoretically ought to lower the powder charge a bit for best accuracy but that fortunately makes it better for a squirrel. I'd fool around with some little powder loads and maybe a felt wad between the powder and a patched round ball.

 

[oldwood]

I'm no expert on .45 cal smooth bore m/l guns. However , I can testify on the effectiveness of .410 bore ctg. shotguns. In the late 1980's , we were buying military surplus #1 MK 3 Enfield smooth bore bolt action shotguns bored out from European 2 " ammo , to use American 3 " ammo. These were not choked , but were still very effective on squirrels. So , why wouldn't any .40 cal. m/l , or better , be excellent on small game using a potent black powder load.??? I'm currently building a .555 smooth bore long rifle , to try and first hand experiment , on the question of fine shot effectiveness , in a small caliber smoothbore. Also , will try and see how far patch round ball accuracy , is maintained with an 18th century repro smooth long rifle........oldwood