Mowry Shotgun Ball size

I bought a 12 guage Mowry Shotgun awhile back. Think I got my shot load figured out and can hit a clay bird about 1/2 the time so far. Bought some .69 cal. balls on a trade table cheap and tried some out. An easy load with .015 patch. Shot 70 and 80 grains 2f. and best it would print was about 8" low with me giving all the elevation on the sight plane I could without raising the bead above the bull. Will a tighter ball raise the POI? What size balls are you all using in a 12 guage.

At what range were you shooting the .690" balls at?

If your barrel isn't choked a .690" ball and .015" patches may be a bit loose. If a ball/patch combo is too loose it can hurt your velocity some. With a tighter ball/patch combo the ball impedes the expanding powder gases enough that they generate a little more pressure before the resistance of a tighter ball/patch combo is overcome. This basically means the powder will burn a little more efficiently and give you a little more velocity.

If it were my gun I'd use at least .020" patching around those .690" balls but you made need to try some .022" or thicker cotton duck or denim material.

I was shooting 25 yards. The bag only contained 20 balls and I shot up 8 of them. I figured not worth messing around alot with the .69 ball and different patch combos if I should really just be using a bigger ball anyway.

What HardBall said! Also, measure your bore diameter as best you can before you decide to purchase a mold which casts a bigger ball.

I think the other responses are coming from a rifle with rear sight mindset. No offense guys. :v
Your head angle, or anchor point as it is called, can/will change point of impact.
First try a double patch to eliminate a low velocity situation. I doubt that will change much but should be tried.
More practice with your head held higher might work. It will take practice. And/or attach a temporary rear sight until you develop the muscle memory for a correct hold.

Think Rifleman is onto the right thought process. One of the old group I was in had one and we got to play with it a lot. He thought of it as a 'musket' when using ball and loaded 80 grains Fg, his choice. He also used the card and wad set-up along with the patched ball. Checked an old ad and found it listed as a '12 gauge', which means about a .729" bore diameter...you need to measure yours to be sure. Don't recall having low hits but everyone is built different and sometimes it's a matter of finding the right place to lay your cheek. Good luck!

I tried the double patch and it didn't make any difference. I worked my way to holding as high a sight angle as possible with the front bead centered on the bull, my head/cheek no longer contacting the stock. That got me to within 1 1/2" below the black. If I set bead on the top of the target that would probably be just right. The mowry has quite a bit of drop to the stock, probably not greatly suited for a smoothbore. I am going to try the card and cushion wad under the patched ball next. After I shoot the rest of the .69 balls up I will move up a size.

Ghettogun said:

I tried the double patch and it didn't make any difference. I worked my way to holding as high a sight angle as possible with the front bead centered on the bull, my head/cheek no longer contacting the stock. That got me to within 1 1/2" below the black. If I set bead on the top of the target that would probably be just right. The mowry has quite a bit of drop to the stock, probably not greatly suited for a smoothbore. I am going to try the card and cushion wad under the patched ball next. After I shoot the rest of the .69 balls up I will move up a size.

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One of my pedersoli's will not shoot a patched ball unless there is a fiber wad under the patched .690!

Some of the old timers on here would say bend the barrel! I would contemplate filing the muzzle if it's not too thick!

B.

Just thought I'd report back on this. I shot it using an over-powder card and fiber wad under the patched .690 round ball, 70 grains 1f goex. In The black with a couple even close to the 10 ring!

my bess is a 729 bore. I shoot 715 rb and 15 th. 75 cal lubes wads with 85 grains 3f swiss. I could never get any accurate load with a 690 rb.
track of the wolf sells 715 cast balls and patches