.56 Smoothbore Shot Patterning and Bare Ball

[nhmoose]

Great post pab1. What is that bird? Here in NH you shoot 1 with a red eye you kick leaves over it.

 

[pab1]

Great post pab1. What is that bird? Here in NH you shoot 1 with a red eye you kick leaves over it.

That's a spruce grouse. Curious, why do people kick leaves over them? They're delicious.

 

[nhmoose]

They be endangered and protected here. Ate one years ago found that would be a good fine for shooting one it tasted BehLKKKK.

 

[Walkingeagle]

Spruce grouse are great table fare until the snows arrive. Then you must soak the meat in milk overnight in order to remove the spruce needle taste.
Walk

 

[smoothshooter]

Good information I never would have tried a half thickness wad but I will now THX

I stopped using the full thickness cushion wads years because they were giving me “doughnut” patterns.
Others here have had the same problem with full-thickness cushion wads.

 

[Ed Pilkington]

Pab1, you are a breath of carefully crafted fresh air. I reamed a .50 cal to 19 gauge smoothy andd have good results BUT the bore is not quite smooth enough for my type A personality.. any thoughts on this, like send to Hoyle to smooth it out?

 

[pab1]

Pab1, you are a breath of carefully crafted fresh air. I reamed a .50 cal to 19 gauge smoothy andd have good results BUT the bore is not quite smooth enough for my type A personality.. any thoughts on this, like send to Hoyle to smooth it out?

I'm no help since I've never tried smoothing a bore. Others here might be more help.

 

[Hermit Tim]

Pab1, you are a breath of carefully crafted fresh air. I reamed a .50 cal to 19 gauge smoothy andd have good results BUT the bore is not quite smooth enough for my type A personality.. any thoughts on this, like send to Hoyle to smooth it out?

What kind of rifle did you bore and did you do it yourself? Been playing with the idea of doing that with an old junker .50 rifle I've got. Just curious about how one would go about doing that. I wouldn't worry too much about the smoothness on mine as it will only be for shot loads if I do it.

 

[TC Tommy]

Have never shot my 56SB. Always shot the 12ga and the 62SB. Now correct me if I'm wrong.
The 62SB comes out to about a 20ga and the 56SB is about a 28ga. Am I close? Seems that
a 28ga would be an excellent bunny gun and being short it should swing nicely with less chance
of hitting a tree or branch. I have to dig it out now and play.

 

[Grenadier1758]

@Tommy TC, I do believe that you have a plan. Go for it. Look up other threads on the forums for further hints on howto load your 56SB.

 

[Cliffdweller]

The .56 Renegade can be a fun platform for experimenting. I have been playing with home made (Durafelt, bees wax and Crisco) wads under a bare .562 ball. Interestingly the balls fit right down the bore and shoot great.

Hey alright......I'm not the only one that stuffs a .562 ball down the muzzle and with a greased wad behind it too. It works great for me!

 

[Vtmountaindeerhunter]

I use 75 grn ffg goex 2 lubed wads , old stock tc 56 cal wads. 75 of number 6 with Party Ribbon paper which is fire resistant stuffed in to hold shot in place. I have shot many rabbits,, squirrel, one woodcock and a few ruffed grouse. I have killed a few doe with it as well. The previous owner had killed piles of deer with it, no joke. That was on Nantucket Island where you can make deer piles

 

[Rob M.]

Great range report . Very interesting. How long is that barrel on your T/C ?

 

[centershot]

Renegades are usually 26".

 

[Dale Allen Raby]

Just recently acquired one of these. I experienced the same result with a patched .550 round ball. Much better results so far with a .54 felt wad over a 50 grain charge of 3f BP and either another felt wad or a wad of Excelsior/tow over the ball.

The bore diameter is actually .550, so there is no room for a patch with a .550 ball. If you do the math you will find that a .530 round ball patched with a .010 patch effectively gives you a .550 diameter.

I've hit some soda cans at thirty yards with both loads off hand, but have not done any serious range work with either load.

Haven't tried making shot cups yet. Lubed .54 felt wad over the powder and a was of tow/Excelsior over the shot charge seems to work well. As I don't expect a second shot at any small game (though there was a cognitively challenged squirrel that sat and scolded me when I missed... he was delicious) so I don't see a real need. A measured shot charge seems adequate.

 

[Thingamajiggy]

Great write up on your range trip! Lots of good info for those of us who may be looking at the .56 smoothie. Thanks.

 

[Timber Wolf]

The .56 Renegade can be a fun platform for experimenting. I have been playing with home made (Durafelt, bees wax and Crisco) wads under a bare .562 ball. Interestingly the balls fit right down the bore and shoot great.

Glad this thread got bumped as it reminded me to post about a discovery. While the balls I posted about above did come from a “.562” mold, once I got around to measuring them they are actually a little smaller. Most are around .560 with some going as low as .558 and as large as .562 at the mold line.

In any event I am pleased as they shoot great bare out of the SB Renegade and patched in my .58 SB Kibler Colonial. One day I will get caught up and will try some shot out of my smooth bores.

 

[The Crisco Kid]

I have all the parts to put together a .58 caliber, 24 gauge, smooth rifle. Your report will help a lot in load development. Thanks a bunch for posting it.

Spruce grouse are great table fare until the snows arrive. Then you must soak the meat in milk overnight in order to remove the spruce needle taste.
Walk

I've eaten probably hundreds of spruce grouse from my time spent in Alaska and the Yukon and never noticed any spruce needle taste. Most of them were shot before the heavy snow set in so that may be why. They are excellent eating.