Trade gun shot pattern

[bushytail]

Today I tried some 3f Goex instead of 2f Goex in my 58 cal/24 ga trade gun. With the 2f, I had to mix a little corn muffin mix with the shot to help tighten the pattern. (Seen it on u-tube) Yes, that does help with 2f ( in my gun). I tried the muffin mix with the 3f and it didn’t make a difference. At 20yrds I used 60 gr of 3f Goex, 1 over powder cardboard wad, 1 cushion wad with 1000 plus lube on the outer part of wad, 1 1/4 oz of no 5 & 6 shot mixed, 1thin over shot card. This is the best I got so far from trying different ways of loading. I think I got a good chance of getting one If I can get him within 20 yrds.

 

[ezekiel]

That should do the trick! Good luck.

 

[bushytail]

I had to go back out to the club to experiment some more. I tried corn starch this time. I got better results. The corn starch was easier to mix with the shot than the corn muffin mix. (It’s kinda messy) This time I used 60 gr of 3f Goex, 3 thin over shot cards, 1 1/4 oz of mix 5 & 6 shot with 1 thin over shot card. Much better! Corn starch on left helped to get a tighter pattern.

 

[bushytail]

I had to do another shot with same load to see if it was consistent and not a fluke. Looks better to me. I thought the corn muffin mix would help. I tried it 3 times with no improvement. But the corn starch helped.

 

[Loja man]

I think your definitely going to bring one down if you can call it close enough! Those are some good patterns!!

 

[waksupi]

Try it with two over powder wads, no cushion wad.

 

[bushytail]

I did try 3 over shot cards and no cushion wad. Got poor results. If I mix 1/2 to equal volume of corn starch as shot in with the shot, I get the best pattern.

 

[Celt5494]

Looks like you found what makes your gun happy. Just curious as to what made you settle on the three over shot cards vs 1? I have something of a fascination seeing what folks are doing. I'm still doing a lot of experimentation with my Fowler to really find that perfect match up. When I get bored with that, I send a few round balls or buck and ball combo just to remind myself that it's a whole lot of fun and the other that these smoothbores really are accurate out at some pretty decent ranges if you do your part.

 

[SciAggie]

How do you mix the cornstarch or muffin mix with the shot?

 

[deerstalkert]

i see a smoothbore in my near future!

 

[bushytail]

SciAggie and Celt5494, I got the idea from a u-tube video. “The backwoods institute”- “The trade gun-various hunting loads part 2”. He can explain it better than I can write down. If you can’t find the video, let me know. I’ll do my best to explain it.

 

[hanshi]

You have great patterns that will swat any turkey.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

That's great. Thanks for posting about the corn starch. For many years I have struggled to find a load that patterns well with my 20 ga. fowler. Often the patterns have been of the donut type and I have been reluctant to take it to the turkey woods. This year I did some further experimentation with a reduced powder charge and finally I have a recipe I feel confident with.

This is 80 grains 2F, 4 thin cards, a ball of tow, another card, a paper shot capsule rolled from craft paper, another thin OS card at 27 yards. I count 76 copper plated #5's on the paper and now feel a bit more confident. This pattern is more like my full choke 12 gage Navy Arms, Turkey and Trap. I'll try adding the corn starch next and see how that does.

Turkeys beware...

 

[SciAggie]

@Tom A Hawk Can you give a few specifics about the shot capsule? I assume you wrapped the paper around some kind of mandrel. How much smaller than bore diameter does the mandrel need to be? Are the shot cartridges a slip fit?
I need some help making one of my guns pattern so I’m curious about how y’all did this.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

@Tom A Hawk Can you give a few specifics about the shot capsule? I assume you wrapped the paper around some kind of mandrel. How much smaller than bore diameter does the mandrel need to be? Are the shot cartridges a slip fit?
I need some help making one of my guns pattern so I’m curious about how y’all did this.

My rolling mandrel measures .575" and the capsules slide down easily. I roll two thicknesses of paper around it, twist the base ( as in making paper patched Sharps bullets), fill with shot and simply fold over the top which is torn away at loading to expose the shot. The OS card goes directly on top of the now open capsule.

Initially, I tried applying stick glue to the lower third of the capsule thinking this would retard opening. I was correct. They didn't open at all and struck the target like a solid slug, leaving a big hole where the turkeys head was. Don't use any glue.

 

[SciAggie]

@Tom A Hawk Lol - ok - no glue. That’s why I asked. Thank you so much for responding.

 

[bushytail]

I put 60 gr of 3 f in, then 3 thin over shot cards down the bore, then push fiber wad down about 3”. Pour 1 1/4 oz of shot in. Then pour 1/2 to full 90 gr volume of corn starch in. Corn muffin mix might work for you. I tap the muzzle lightly till it mixes enough when you start to see shot coming to the surface. Then finish off with 1 over shot card and push that down. Prime the pan and shoot a turkey. I hope I didn’t leave anything out.

 

[bushytail]

Tom A Hawk- That looks like a good pattern. Looks like all you need is a gobbler that doesn’t “practice social distancing”.

 

[bushytail]

That’s part of the fun. Experimenting with different types of loads to see what works best.

 

[Tom A Hawk]

Tom A Hawk- That looks like a good pattern. Looks like all you need is a gobbler that doesn’t “practice social distancing”.

I was out on Thursday and it was a nice day but not a gobble was to be heard.

It will be difficult to top this one. One barrel from the 12 gage T+T brought both down.