Shot Chargers

[410-er]

Irish charger or English,which do you like and why?

 

[Stumpkiller]

I like the Irish as I can get it into the bore and I get a visual check to make sure it's full.

On the bad side - it's more prone to loss because it is loose. Haven't lost mine in 25+ years, though (knock stock-wood).

 

[BrownBear]

I built a couple with English spouts before ever trying them. After using them a couple of seasons, my next ones will be Irish without question for the reasons Stumpie cited. I really don't like them with shot larger than #6 due to the frequency of partial fills from bridging.

 

[Jason Lewis]

i'll give stumpy a third on that. i also have the irish and like it for the same reasons. i also think it's much handier in the field.

 

[hoochiepapa]

Newbie on fowlers,here! Can we have some pics? I have no idea what you fellers are talking about. :surrender:

 

[Twice boom]

Oh, they're just talking about chrgers like those at the end of my rig. :wink:
Twice.

 

[hoochiepapa]

But what's this about a difference between English and Irish? :idunno:

 

[George]

And a little closer view of Irish chargers:

Spence

 

[hoochiepapa]

Thanks, Spence, but I still don't know the difference between the two. :shake:

 

[Jason Lewis]

the english head works with two gates and usually only has two settings. some say it works better with the smaller shot sizes. the head is permenantly affixed to a flask. the irish head has a removable scoop which is adjustable most with three settings. it works by pulling up on a gate, which allows the shot to fall into the scoop. then close the gate and remove the scoop. both are pretty simple and each has their fans. personally i'm an irish man.

 

[CrackStock]

General Bob gave you a better picture of his Irish rig, but here are 2 examples from a supplier:

Irish
English

 

[Twice boom]

And a little closer view of Irish chargers:

Spence

Looks like you solved the problem. How did you tweak the charger to throw powder with out trickling .

Thanks.
Twice.

 

[George]

Thanks, Spence, but I still don't know the difference between the two. :shake:

Picky, picky, picky! :grin:

English.

Spence

 

[George]

Looks like you solved the problem. How did you tweak the charger to throw powder with out trickling.

Sorry, Twice, I'm not following.... trickling how, where?

Spence

 

[Congress Own Regiment]

I like the English less hands on in cold weather that is a plus. Nothing to lose as apposed to the Scottish or Irish model. Would not want to drop the charger in the under growth, snow, lake, stream, or mud. The plus to the Irish changer is the adjustments that allow more flexibility in load volume.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

Looks like you solved the problem. How did you tweak the charger to throw powder with out trickling.

Sorry, Twice, I'm not following.... trickling how, where?

Spence

Trickling out past the gate. I'm not Twice, but I'm curious too. I've never seen an Irish head with a gate that I'd consider tight enough to use with powder, at least not modern-made ones.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Twice boom]

That's what I'm talking about. Been couple years worth screwing with mine, either it don't trickle or I can't put the charge cup back in the housing. I wonder if the English type can be used as a powder measurer
Twice..

 

[Congress Own Regiment]

Not a big fan of putting powder in a leather pouch.
The English charger would leak powder and expose it to wetness from weather and humidity. Unless the gate was enclosed as in a powder flask.
I prefer to keep powder in a flask or horn.

 

[paulvallandigham]

I don't like the idea of putting powder in leather, so I don't do it! :shocked2: :grin:

As to losing the "cup", tying a string or thong to it, as shown in the pictures above cures that problem.

As to putting the cup back in, there is a spring "Keeper" for the cup, and if the leather pouch has TOO much shot, the weight WILL PRESS down on the Gate, making it hard to push aside.

I turn the Nose of the pouch upward, with my near hand, while lifting up on the gate with those near hand fingers. LIfting the nose of the pouch up takes the pressure off that GATE. With my off-hand, I push the scoop up into the mouth of the Irish measure, until I hear the "Click" of the spring Keeper locking it in place.

Holding that gate open as the nose of the pouch drops down again, will fill the scoop with your next shot load. Release the gate, and you are ready to continue shooting.

HINT: I used to load that leather pouch up with shot- sometimes more than 3-5 lbs. That is a LOT OF SHOT TO BE CARRYING AROUND on a shoulder, IMHO. I soon tired of that. It put too much pressure on the loading gate that I had real problems getting that scoop back into position. So, once the amount of shot reduced to a level where I stopped having that problem, I noted how many shot loads of lead I still had, and decided that was MORE THAN enough shot to be carrying.

Really, If you are dove hunting- the only game with large enough bag limits that you might have to have more shot--- Take a funnel, and some extra shot in a plastic jar, and refill the Irish pouch in the field, or at your vehicle. I generally leave these items at the truck- so they don't jinx my hunt with over-optimism! :nono: :blah:

It seems that " MURPHY" has a serious sense of humor, and loves to see me lug stuff into the field, so that day, HE can make sure that I won't see enough game to justify what I loaded in my gun, much less need ANY reloads! I would rather have to walk back to the truck to reload my pouch with shot, than lug all that weight out with me, and have to lug it back again. :shocked2: :rotf: :rotf: :surrender: :thumbsup: In all my years of shooting doves, I have only hunted one place where enough doves came in to limit out in one afternoon. I would surely like to experience that kind of dove hunting again just one more time.

 

[George]

Trickling out past the gate. I'm not Twice, but I'm curious too. I've never seen an Irish head with a gate that I'd consider tight enough to use with powder, at least not modern-made ones.

Never had that problem. These Irish chargers are about 35 years old, and the gates seem well made. I have had a bit of trouble with the charger for the powder snake not sliding in and out easily because of powder crushed in it. The problem is worse with 2F than 3F, maybe because the tolerences between the two barrels of the charger means 2F is crushed more. A nuisance, not a big deal.

greenmntmalitia, I've left powder in that snake for at least 15 years with no noticeable deterioration. However, it's only used in shotguns and I'm not that fussy about loads there, so I might have not noticed. It still went bang very quickly and rolled the bunny.

Spence