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Odd 12 gauge slug/round ball questions

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Hunter bob

72 cal. Swamp hunter
Joined
Jun 14, 2022
Messages
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Location
Michigan
Hi, im getting into blackpowder guns and im in love with my navy arms 12 gauge SxS muzzleloader.
I want to develop a good slug load for deer and have a few questions about what kind of slugs can be shot safely form the gun such as flatbase conical slugs or even 72 caliber lead airgun pellets

also what is the heaviest lead load you know of safely being used in a 12 gauge muzzleloader im only asking because im finding some crazy heavy 72 caliber lead projectiles up to 4 ounces and if a 1000grain lead projectile can be sent with enough speed and without destroying the gun that would be cost convenient for me
 
For my old Belgium double, I have used 65gr FFF with Lee .690 patched round balls which chrono just over 950fps. I’m sure you could use some more powder with a modem remake but, mine is a very old shotgun. Accuracy was within 6-8” at 40yrds and close to 10” at 50yrds. I tried the same formula with Lee 1oz drive key and layman type slugs in a plastic wad but it shot low right at 40yrds from both barrels.
 
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I don’t have 12 gauge double experience but that’s a fairly light gun, not built for super magnum loads. Not sure if you’re pulling our legs with these questions. Are you going to be hunting wooly mammoths? Physics being real, you’d have awful recoil and trajectory with anything heavier than a round ball. In my 14 gauge smoothbore (.69) a 1.5 ounce shot load with 80 grains of FFG kicks plenty. A .662 round ball with 80 grains behind it is comfortable enough for a 20 shot woods walk and I’ve hit 100 yard gongs by guess and by golly.
 
There is nothing here in North America that would require a projectile other than a round ball or shot from a 12 gauge. As has been stated, the Navy Arms SxS is relatively light and a slug would be putting way too much stress on the stock, not to mention your shoulder. A 0.690 ball and 80 grains (volume) of powder should be sufficient when hunting deer. You may need to determine if using a patched ball or a wad is better.
 
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I will go with Rich Pierce on this one. Round ball with 80 grains would be about the maximum. That gun is not even close to being able deal with heavy conicals. If you want to shoot 1000 grain conicals you are best off going with a 8 bore rifle. If you want to shoot 4 ounce projectiles you are looking at a 4 or 6 bore rifle. These are custom made elephant guns and not even close to anything you would ever call cost convenient. The recoil from a 8 bore is well beyond anything being manufactured today. The recoil on a 4 bore is much more. You are looking at a whole different world than Navy Arms.
If you want to get into the really powerful muzzleloaders, they are out there. The old elephant guns were a lot more powerful than any of the modern hunting rifles. Start calling gun builders. And bankers.
 
Hi, im getting into blackpowder guns and im in love with my navy arms 12 gauge SxS muzzleloader.
I want to develop a good slug load for deer and have a few questions about what kind of slugs can be shot safely form the gun such as flatbase conical slugs or even 72 caliber lead airgun pellets

also what is the heaviest lead load you know of safely being used in a 12 gauge muzzleloader im only asking because im finding some crazy heavy 72 caliber lead projectiles up to 4 ounces and if a 1000grain lead projectile can be sent with enough speed and without destroying the gun that would be cost convenient for me

You don't seem to find them any more, but decades ago a lot of the old guys in rural parts of Maryland and Virginia would use "punkin ball" [pumpkin ball] shells for deer. I found out that this was a thing from The Great Depression where their dads or grandads would remove the shot from a shotshell and substitute a lead round ball. Apparently when they cast these round ball from very old molds the large ball with the sprue uncut to be cut off later, reminded them of a pumpkin. Hence the name. Their grandfathers and perhaps their fathers were old enough to have remembered using round ball in black powder shotguns for deer, and simply drew on that old knowledge when times got very hard and they couldn't afford rifle ammo, nor special deer slug shells.

So going further back, and using a caplock shotgun, is not much of a chore. Such projectiles are plenty effective for deer, and the old shotshell loads of 2½ to 3 "dram equivalent" in a shotshell were equal to the velocity given by 68.25 grains of black powder (round that up to 70 grains of black powder) to the velocity from 81.9 grains of black powder (round that down to 80 grains of black powder). So a .690 ball, which is right about 1ounces should do just fine with anywhere from 70-80 grains of black powder, and should be accurate enough out to about 50 yards.

LD
 
thankyou this has all been very helpful knowledge, foe those concerned i will not be exceeding the factory load limits on my gun and am trying to pick up as much third party experience as it seems the 12 gauge muzzleloader is a dead art in my area
 

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