The big ten!

[Britsmoothy]

Great stuff mate,

I do love that place over the pond, hunted Scotland last time I was there and missed a nice roe. Do you do a bit of deer hunting yourself? From memory BP isn't big game legal though?

I use to go up Scotland regularly to stalk red and roe deer but not now.
Yes sir. Hunting large game and small is seriously deterred with a muzzleloading rifle. Please don't ask why, I may start self harming again whilst trying to understand it myself!!

 

[Britsmoothy]

Not biting . In fact if it had been a photo of 30 birds instead of a single young rook I would have said well done . It seems you are on the right track
Feltwad

It is a crow, not rook.
I am sad I am not getting a well done from you feltwad, my life would of had so much more meaning

 

[SOLANCO]

Congratulations, Brits. I look forward to all your adventures with the new gun.

It looks like my Navy/Pietta 12 gauge which I bought in 1985. It fits me perfectly. The first day I hunted with it I kicked up 7 rabbits, shot at 5, killed 5. I also have a 12 gauge Pedersoli which I bought through Navy Arms, but it's not marked Navy. It fits me poorly, spends all its time hanging on the wall.

The Pietta:
View attachment 76363
View attachment 76364
View attachment 76365
Spence

There is a group of older gentlemen at the gun club who shoot skeet and trap with unmentionables. Each and every one of their guns has had some home done modification for fit. It is most often done with layers of moleskin. Not pretty, but I can't remember any of them missing his clays. They also prefer two inch cartridges.
One of them was a close size match to me and let me try his gun. I did not miss any clays either. The importance of fit.

 

[LAD]

Congratulations, Brits. I look forward to all your adventures with the new gun.

It looks like my Navy/Pietta 12 gauge which I bought in 1985. It fits me perfectly. The first day I hunted with it I kicked up 7 rabbits, shot at 5, killed 5. I also have a 12 gauge Pedersoli which I bought through Navy Arms, but it's not marked Navy. It fits me poorly, spends all its time hanging on the wall.

The Pietta:
View attachment 76363
View attachment 76364
View attachment 76365
Spence

 

[LAD]

Only had a 56 smooth bore myself. The big ones would really be interesting. All sorts of options.

 

[beardedhorse]

Britsmoothy, Are the air gun pellets that are .177 cal plated steel or lead? Is the 10 gauge Pedersoli chrome lined and safe to use steel or non lead substitute shot from migratory game birds? On Spence10's Pieta 12 gauge I noticed the low cap shields behind the hammer. Do you have any problems with exploding cap fragments hitting you in the face. John Baird's Buckskin Report did a review of some ML shotguns and got sued for pointing out the low shields behind the nipple. Britsmoothy - did you eat everything you shot?

 

[GoodRabbitPilgrim]

I use to go up Scotland regularly to stalk red and roe deer but not now.
Yes sir. Hunting large game and small is seriously deterred with a muzzleloading rifle. Please don't ask why, I may start self harming again whilst trying to understand it myself!!

Hopefully common sense prevails, although the way things have been in the UK recently who knows. A nice CWD, Roe and muntjac are high on my list to come back for, it is a beautiful place to visit and hunt.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Only had a 56 smooth bore myself. The big ones would really be interesting. All sorts of options.

Nothing wrong with small smoothbores, I use a 45 regularly.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Britsmoothy, Are the air gun pellets that are .177 cal plated steel or lead? Is the 10 gauge Pedersoli chrome lined and safe to use steel or non lead substitute shot from migratory game birds? On Spence10's Pieta 12 gauge I noticed the low cap shields behind the hammer. Do you have any problems with exploding cap fragments hitting you in the face. John Baird's Buckskin Report did a review of some ML shotguns and got sued for pointing out the low shields behind the nipple. Britsmoothy - did you eat everything you shot?

Lead diabolo pellets.
The Pedersoli 10g is chrome plated but it has nothing to do with steel proofing, an often mistaken belief.
It's function is purely to resist corrosion and aid cleaning.
The fences are low but no, I never got hit by debris, in 30 plus years!

I often eat my game. Rabbit, pheasant and wood pigeon but rarely squirrel and certainly not crow. Sometimes I post a photo of my culinary delights.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Hopefully common sense prevails, although the way things have been in the UK recently who knows. A nice CWD, Roe and muntjac are high on my list to come back for, it is a beautiful place to visit and hunt.

I doubt it, common sense was stopped decades ago here!
We were getting sightings of muntjac a few years ago and two roe have moved in ( I live in the only deer free part of britain). The roe doe will be having young any moment and fallow deer are moving closer too.
Common sense will prevail, maybe one day, in a tiny area. .

 

[Musketeer]

I often eat my game. Rabbit, pheasant and wood pigeon but rarely squirrel and certainly not crow. Sometimes I post a photo of my culinary delights.

I've eaten crow many times, usually with a slice of humble pie on the side... Great work with the Big 10. I always enjoy your hunting pics.

 

[Feltwad]

I understand that a 10 is the largest bore size that can be used in the States. and referred to many times has a big ten but the basics of the 10 here in the UK is a glorified 12 with some reproes only 11 bore. I find that the original 10 shoots just has well with a 12 bore load mainly because most but not all originals have a 32 inch barrel or barrels . Here the 10 bore is just a pop gun compared to the single and double 8, 7.6.4 bores . For a 10 both single and double was one of my favoured guns for wildfowl both over flight ponds and barley stubbles there was nothing taste better than mallard duck that were feeding on a barley stubble , sadly with the ban on lead shot for wildfowl my originals have now been pensioned off for me it is a thing of the past..
Feltwad

 

[GoodRabbitPilgrim]

I doubt it, common sense was stopped decades ago here!
We were getting sightings of muntjac a few years ago and two roe have moved in ( I live in the only deer free part of britain). The roe doe will be having young any moment and fallow deer are moving closer too.
Common sense will prevail, maybe one day, in a tiny area. .

If you're ever over here drop a line, always happy to help out a fellow hunter, especially one keen on BP.

 

[Britsmoothy]

If you're ever over here drop a line, always happy to help out a fellow hunter, especially one keen on BP.

Thank you

 

[Feltwad]

You will find that the Roe deer have what is known has a delayed implantation this also occurs in badgers and stoats the rut begins in July and August the fertilised egg is delayed till December fawns are then borne end of May after a period of 5 months with a full develop period of 8 months
Feltwad

 

[kemart17]

Rain, rain, rain!
I couldn't wait any longer, I just had to try the 10g on loan.
No wads so balled up brown paper was it. 90gn measure of fine powder and 1&1/2 oz of course mixed shot I set off looking for a crow or two.
A little while later two come flying towards me as I hid behind some cover and down one came, I missed the second bird. Felt perfect for fit.
View attachment 76351

Now don't laugh but I loaded up again. Brown paper and wonderlube. Then 2oz of 177 air gun pellets!
View attachment 76352
Eventually a fast crow came over the trees so I flicked those big tubes through him after a quick range estimation, BOOM and down he came. Wow, 2oz let's you know something just happened!
It was only a small crow and 30yds up or a shade more so I was impressed. The second barrel of airgun pellets took a second flying crow so it is repeatable. Here was the first air gun pellet crow.
View attachment 76353
I went on to check POI on an old tin sheet. Just shouldering and shooting fast the pattern was where I was looking.
From then on I went and missed a squirrel but downed two pigeons.
By now I was getting damp from the rain so turned for home.
Jess and I had had some fun and I had a gun to clean and a dog to clean also.
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Just got to pay for the thing now

i have 1 of them on my wish list also....1 of these days ill make the plunge

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Do you have any problems with exploding cap fragments hitting you in the face.

Not in the face, but my Pedersolis sting my left forearm when I shoot the left barrel EVERY time. I wear a long sleeve shirt when I shoot them & would never shoot them without eye protection. Shirt sleeves do show the damage so I have "appointed" certain shirts for that duty.

 

[Spikebuck]

Brits...sounds like you had a great day.

Now I might be wrong, but of all the .177 pellet stories you have shared, is that the first consistent success you had with them? Seems that like the dreaded "coarse powder" stories, the .177's have never done too well for you. Now that you have them working with "fine" powder, perhaps you can ruin the load by using the coarse powder with the pellets!!!

Loved the short video of you and Jess. Even with my loss of hearing, the rain pelting the leaves was audible.

 

[Britsmoothy]

Brits...sounds like you had a great day.

Now I might be wrong, but of all the .177 pellet stories you have shared, is that the first consistent success you had with them? Seems that like the dreaded "coarse powder" stories, the .177's have never done too well for you. Now that you have them working with "fine" powder, perhaps you can ruin the load by using the coarse powder with the pellets!!!

Loved the short video of you and Jess. Even with my loss of hearing, the rain pelting the leaves was audible.

No no, the 177 pellets have taken rabbits and pheasants with ole' Bess.
It was the .25 airgun pellets and .36 conicals that were trash.
That useless course powder has been consumed, boy what a chore that was!

 

[TFoley]

I've mentioned this before, but here in UK we have very strict lower limitations on the muzzle energy and, in Scotland, mizzle energy AND velocity -

SPECIES	MIN BULLET WEIGHT	CALIBRE	MIN MUZZLE ENERGY
Red
Eng & Wales	–	Not less than .240 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Scotland	100 grains	–	1,750 foot pounds (min muzzle velocity 2,450 feet per second)
N Ireland	100 grains	Not less than .236 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Fallow
Eng & Wales	–	Not less than .240 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Scotland	100 grains	–	1,750 foot pounds (min muzzle velocity 2,450 feet per second)
N Ireland	100 grains	Not less than .236 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Sika
Eng & Wales	–	Not less than .240 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Scotland	100 grains	–	1,750 foot pounds (min muzzle velocity 2,450 feet per second)
N Ireland	100 grains	Not less than .236 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Roe
Eng & Wales	–	Not less than .240 inches	1,700 foot pounds
Scotland	50 grains	–	1,000 foot pounds (min muzzle velocity 2,450 feet per second)
Chinese water deer
Eng & Wales	50 grains	Not less than .220 inches	1,000 foot pounds
Muntjac
Eng & Wales	50 grains	Not less than .220 inches	1,000 foot pounds

Add to that that the chances of actually being ALLOWED to have a muzzle loader that meets any of those figures is to all intents and purposes nil.

BP c*r*r*d*g* firearms would just fit the bill, muzzle energy-wise, but not velocity, especially in Scotland, where so much deer shooting takes place anyhow.