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Another quirky load for dense patterns

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My theory after much thinking on it is that a thin light over shot card stops real quick on leaving the bore. The shot does not like it doing that, in fact I believe it does not like it anymore than going through grass or leaves!
Now the heavier wad does not slow up so quick on leaving the barrel, especially wet with lubricant.
I can see possibly the deaccellerating forces of a wad having less effect on the shot column than the more rapidly deaccellerating forces of a light card, possibly. :hmm:
 
You could be right. The heavier wad won't lose speed as fast and by the time it does, the pattern has already started to spread out fairly uniformly.

I still wouldn't be surprised to see one of the big cartridge companies come out with a new "Long Distance Load" with a heavy wad over the end of the shot charge.

Their marketing department will probably name it something like "Tight Wad". :grin:
 
I find your hypothesis intriguing......But will fall back upon the principals of fluid dynamics and Bernoulli's theory .....

Only testing will answer the questions
....
 
You guys are taking all teh fun out of this! :wink: :haha: I've tried it all including cutting pieces out of an old saddle and jamming them with tow, moss and even clover! It all seems to work to some degree and a few better than others. My "hunting uncle" taught me deer stalking by giving me a pine come and telling me to move like "molasses in winter" till I was close enough to toss the pine cone. It actually works if you have the patience! This does not work, however, on wild turkeys! :rotf:
 
colorado clyde said:
I find your hypothesis intriguing......But will fall back upon the principals of fluid dynamics and Bernoulli's theory .....

Only testing will answer the questions
....
A heavy wad probably knocks demons out of the way so that they can't sabotage the shot column.
 
I took a moment today to try one of these "quirky" loads with my 16 gauge fowler.
It worked quite nicely. Imagine that.
I loaded 75 grains of FFg, two nitro cards, 1 1/8ths oz. of #6 shot and a lubed 1/2" wad atop.
The distance was between 25 and 30 yards. I had 174 holes in a 24" X 24" area....a 68% pattern from a cylinder bored gun.
The paper was only 24" wide. I am thinking that the percentage in a 30" circle would be higher. There were nine holes which I did not count in the few inches above the pattern ....the paper was about 40 inches long.
 
Pete D. said:
I took a moment today to try one of these "quirky" loads with my 16 gauge fowler.
It worked quite nicely. Imagine that.
I loaded 75 grains of FFg, two nitro cards, 1 1/8ths oz. of #6 shot and a lubed 1/2" wad atop.
The distance was between 25 and 30 yards. I had 174 holes in a 24" X 24" area....a 68% pattern from a cylinder bored gun.
The paper was only 24" wide. I am thinking that the percentage in a 30" circle would be higher. There were nine holes which I did not count in the few inches above the pattern ....the paper was about 40 inches long.
Ahhr but are you a convert? :thumbsup:
 
Pete D. said:
I will definitely try this load next time I am out in the Uplands (next week).
Pete

Was there ever a doubt britsmoothy? :idunno:

The "Skychief Special" is taking the nation by storm! :haha:

A convert across the pond would be fine too. :applause:

Best regards, Skychief
 
You guys are killing me here. My wife keeps asking me why im laughing. I really need to take the time to do some more pattern testing but these squirrels have been keeping me busy.I have done a bit of testing with buckshot and that seems to be going well though.My brown paper grocery store bag shot cup with another shot cup slid over the top of that one filled with number 4 buck.It devistates my life size deer targets at 40 yards. I guess the paper cup over the other cup with the shot, holds it together for a bit after it leaves the muzzle. Now to try some 00. My number 6 shot loads for squirrels is 65gr of fff black with a card wad,then a leather wad,a paper cup with an once of shot followed with a lubed 1/4 inch lubed felt wad then another card wad to hold it all in firmly. It is a 14ga dbl so i dont want the load to shift in the other barrel.Think i may need to use one of those thick fiber wads instead of the felt and card over the top?
 
Brit, what do you have doubts about? My load? I am open to sugestions as i dont know a lot about it. I know my loads are light but it is a old gun. Also, so far i have good luck with the bird shot loads like this on clay pigeons and squirrels and crows.The buckshot,,may not be good enough for deer but i was planning on useing it mostly for coyote calling.When i am able to get a pedersoli dbl, that will be a different ballgame.I was not trying to say i know what i am doing at all,lol.I do have a blast with it though. I am not real sure how far i can go with this gun. The thickness at the muzzle is good and it is not pitted bad inside at all.On the rib in gold filled letters it says STEEL BARREL. It for sure is not damascus or twist.I think i could saftly go 80 grs but not real sure.The paper shot cups helped my patterns a lot and if the fiber wad on top helps more that will be great.
 
The only thing about your #6 shot load that seems odd is the placement of the felt wad. I would lube it and place it between the leather wad and the shot cup, then place the thick lubed fiber wad on top of it all to seal the deal.
 
Hi Guys and Gals,

I wanted to share my most recent patterning tests.

I am shooting a 12 ga, double barrel, flintlock that I built last summer. The barrels are oldish (I am a guessing early 1900's) and they are choked modified and full. When I worked on (machining and engraving) them they felt like they are made of a fairly soft alloy.

I use the gun to hunt wood ducks out of a kayak. I hunt small creeks so most of the shots are close - 20 to 30 yards max.

I am shooting original ITX #4 shot. Since I am using the ITX, I wanted to try using some shot cups to see what would happen to my patterns.

My pellet counts are the number of pellets hitting in a 14 inch diameter circle drawn on a 18 X 24 inch square piece of paper with a dark center point marked. I am using the circle to see how many pellets would actually hit a wood duck if it was perfectly centered in the pattern.

Here are my results from today. I shot 4 shots per barrel and averaged the pellet counts in the circle. All shots were taken from 25 yards.

1st load tested was:
100 grains of FF
2 thin overshot cards above the powder
1 slit plastic cup
110 grains (volume) of #4 shot
2 thin overshot cards.
This load gave an average of 26 hits with the modified barrel and 37 hits with the full barrel in the 14 inch circle.


2nd load tested was the same as above but with a lubed 1/2 inch wad BELOW the shot cup.
This averaged 15 hits with the modified and 18 hits with the full barrel. This pattern was VERY uneven with lots of holes and clumps of shot.

3rd load tested was same as above but with a lubed 1/2 inch lubed wad ABOVE the shot cup.
This averaged 11 hits with the modified and 10 hits with the full barrel in the circle. This pattern was VERY uneven with lots of holes and clumps of shot.

Here are my thoughts - The 1/2 inch wad/plastic cup combo really changes the dynamic of what the 1/2 inch wad does to the pattern. Whether it is above or below the cup, it really blew the pattern open.

When I tested the wad OVER the shot cup, the cups hit the target hard and one even went through the 3/4 inch foam board that the paper is stapled to. I believe that the wad is sliding back into the cup, maybe even trapping some shot in the bottom of the cup.

I also tested for penetration from 28 yards and used a regular tin can screwed to a tree. The pellets easily penetrated both side of the can and obviously went through with plenty of power. The holes were significantly over sized with metal peeled all the way back against the can on the backs of the holes.

In my previous patterning using the skychief approach, (done without shot cups) this gun shoots very well with slightly larger patterns and slightly lower pellet counts, but still plenty of hits in the circle. I recall getting around 18 to 20 hits with the modified barrel and in the mid 20's with the full. Still plenty of hits if I do my part.

So in my experience with this particular set of barrels - if you decide to try shot cups, then consider getting rid of the 1/2 inch wads altogether.

Hope this helps!
 
That's really thorough testing, with informative and useful results Fred! We should all look to your example.

Thanks! :thumbsup:
 

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