? Testing the SkyChief load....

Iron Jim Rackham said:

I suppose if someone is looking to take offense, they’ll always find a provocation. Never said I’ve “personally tested this load in every 12 gauge muzzleloader out there.”

I said “I've shot several hundred birds and clays over the past several decades and have found nothing performs better in any 12 gauge than 82 1/2 grains of 2FG, 4 pierced overshot wads,1 1/4 ounces of #6 shot, and 1 pierced overshot wad.”

Clearly, it’s a personal preference based on my experience. I’ve only been shooting muzzleloaders since the mid 60’s which would be insufficient time to shoot every 12 gauge out there.

I candidly don’t care what people like to shoot, nor am I attempting to, pardon the pun, muzzle anyone. I mistakenly believed the forum was intended to facilitate the exchange of ideas for the benefit of the readership. Perhaps I’m mistaken. My apologies if my contribution is unwelcome. The load cited works well in all the guns I’ve owned or used, whether choked or cylinder bored, but this naturally confines my experience to less than 100 guns, and is thus a rather small sample of all shotguns ever made.

As stated, I’m a wing shooter, and cited 12 and 20 gauge loads that work well for that purpose. It’s not copyrighted. It’s not an article of faith or matter of conscience. It’s simply proven a very effective load in any of the guns I’ve used it in. You may use it, discard it, or print my comments and burn them at the stake as heretical.

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Iron Jim Rackham said:

I don't use over powder or cushion wads. I only use 5 or 6 pierced overshot cards. In my experience the weight of over powder or cushion wads has a tendency to create donut patterns. On discharge, the heavy over powder and cushion wads tend to disrupt the shot column creating patterns that create a "circle of immunity" around the target. Since muzzleloaders take more time to reload than breechloaders, common courtesy suggests you don't want to bore your friends my slowing things down just to miss and make smoke. I need a load that is consistently reliable and allows me to break 10 birds for 10 shots.

I no longer have a dog, thus don't like to disappoint the canine host or irritate their owners by missing, for which reason I prefer the most reliable load possible. I enjoy teaching others to shoot, and it's easier to initiate a shooter into muzzle loading when they can see how effective the old arms can be. Before the end of the hunt, my host uses one of my fowlers to bag a bird. It's ensures a standing invitation when your host can bag a pheasant or partridge with an old fowler or artistic recreation of one.

Pierced overshot cards keep the muzzle loading components simple. You don't need to carry over powder or cushion wads. All you need are pierced overshot cards, powder, and shot and you're ready for the field of range. I pierce the cards with a small awl to allow air to escape while reloading and thus release pressure. The four cards I load on top of the powder effectively clean the bore. I top off with a single overshot card on top of the shot column, or use two overshot cards in the left barrel of flintlock doubles.

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Skychief said:

Smokinfeathers, that's great to hear. I've used the load in my New Englander too with great results. Really like those shotguns.....they handle beautifully.

Good luck with the squackers, Skychief.

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