.54 smoothbore waterfowling loads

[Lonegun1894]

Does anyone have any idea on waterfowl loads for a .54/28ga? I just got off the phone with Texas Parks and Wildlife Dept. and also called U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to make sure I was legal so I wouldn't violate game laws or even spend too much on developing loads I can't use legally. Both departments said that the shotgun limitations are: non-toxic shot only, 10ga or smaller, and no more than 3 shot capacity. Well, I may be wrong, but the only smoothbores I remember seeing posts about here are either single or double barrel, so capacity isn't an issue for us here. The non-toxic shot issue I will have to fix as all I have right now is all lead, so need to get something else, but I have been reading other posts here regarding that side of the equation. As to the size, when they both said no larger than 10ga, I told them that I was specifically looking to make sure my 28ga/.54 FL was big enough, and both said that there is no minimum bore size, but that most people strongly recommend at least a 20ga due to shot size and payload capacity. They said I would have a very hard time finding non-toxic shells for a gauge that small, and warned me to not use steel shot due to damage to my gun. I dont know if the person I talked to is a MLer, but I was surprized and impressed that they knew that. So have to give a public thank you to both TPWD and USFWS.

Now as to the loads, I have found a lot of 28ga loads posted here, and several actually work very well in my gun, a 32" GM Smoothbore fitted to a Lyman GPR FL. I have only been waterfowl hunting one time, and that was years ago with a 12ga suppository gun, so have almost no experience waterfowling. Is there any reason turkey type loads wouldn't work for waterfowl at limited ranges? If they would, I will have to get some non-toxic shot and try my loads to see how they pattern and hopefully try them during the next season. This is the only idea I have come up with so far, but not having tried this form of hunting yet, I would appreciate any hints/loads/experiences any of y'all wouldn't mind sharing. Thank you all for any help with this.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

You don't say but I'm guessing that your 28gs is unchoked. The problem with some turkey loads for unchoked guns is that they have a very-heavy-for-bore shot charges at modest velocities, for maximum pattern density. These work for the essentially static target of a turkey's head but tend to have a long shot string and require exaggerated leads on moving targets. Since I don't know of any steel/hard-tungsten rated shotcups available for 28ga, you're likely looking at using a bore-safe non-toxic shot, and the only options I'm aware of are bismuth-tin, NiceShot/EcoTungsten, and ITX (I'm not yet convinced about ITX without some sort of protection, but some on these forums are happy with it). If geese are a possibility, your best bet for a single shot size is probably #4 in any of them, or possibly #5 in NiceShot (reported to work on lesser Canada's on the inventor's blog). If no geese, then you might consider #5 (also available in Bi/Sn) or #6 (available in all three) for pattern density. Get some hard magnum lead shot in the same size and use that for your load development, then use the same weight of your non-toxic (which may not be exactly the same volume) and fire a few patterns to verify the performance (it will likely pattern somewhat tighter, based on my experience and reports hereabouts).

My M/L waterfowling experience is limited, so I'm hoping those with more experience can give you more specific recommendations on shot size, charge, and range with your 28ga.

Good luck with all this,
Joel

 

[Lonegun1894]

Sorry. You're right, it is unchoked. But so is my 12ga, well, really 13ga. I know the 13 would be a better gun to use, but the 13 is a caplock double, while the 28 is a flinter, and there's some part of me that just seems to insist on trying to do this with a FL. Thank you for the weight vs volume reminder--I had forgotten about that.

 

[Joel/Calgary]

What loads work for you? If any are at-all close to equal-volume, say not less than 3:4 powder to shot, the velocity should likely be OK. Then it's a matter of the range limitations from pattern density and penetration for your game. What sorts of birds do you anticipate where you will be hunting - small ducks, large ducks, small geese (snows & Lesser Canadas), Giant Canadas? What kind of shooting - decoying, pass-shooting, jump shooting?

There has been some useful discussion concerning NiceShot in M/Ls on the inventor's blog. All three shot types have been discussed before on various of these forums.

Regards,
Joel

 

[Lonegun1894]

For the heavy turkey loads, best results so far have been with 80grs FFF, 2 os cards, a bit of cedar or tow, 2 OS cards, 120grs by volume #6s, 1 OS card. For small game, I use 60grs FFF, 3 OS cards, 80grs volume #6s, and 1 OS card. I wipe between shots with both loads. Per the chart here, I should be getting 1 5/8oz of shot into the heavy load, so I am getting some shot stringing, but it seems to work great on stationary targets and passed the "can test". I haven't stopped testing loads yet, but so far, these are my best ones.

As to the type of shooting, I will probably either use decoys, or maybe attempt to sneak close if possible. I dont think I would have much luck pass shooting, but may get more comfortable with it with more experience.

 

[asbrown]

:hmm: Heres a thought. Several guys here have posted pictures of pillow ticking shot cups that they make. Couldn't you make a rather long shot cup and fill it with steel shot? Theoretically the ticking should protect the bore from the steel shot while tightening up the pattern and allowing a larger powder charge for more speed. Steel naturally holds a tighter pattern than lead. Understand I've never done this myself, but on paper it seems to be a sound theory. Anyone out there tried it or are willing to? Plus you could use copper coated steel BB's for added protection from scratching the bore? :idunno:

 

[Lonegun1894]

Its funny you suggest that. I just finished making a wooden dowel into a double ended tool with both ends of different lenghts to allow me to seat the cloth patch/strip/cup into the bore and at the correct depths to hold the two charges I have been using. I have fired a few shots, but not enough to really be able to say weather this improves my patterns yet or not consistently. My only problem is I am not willing to risk my barrel by using steel, and wont since lead is legal for turkey and is safe. Another hold up I have is that steel actually gives me worse patterns with my suppository shotguns than lead with every choke I have tried it in. And then there is the whole lead is heavier than steel so maintains more velocity than steel at the same range if launched at the same starting velocity.

I appreciate the suggestion though, as it has me thinking that we are thinking along the same lines, so maybe I'm not too far off track with this whole idea.