Got a percussion shotgun at a gun show!

[Marplot]

I am very new at BP. Just bought this shotgun.

Seems to be a Belgian somewhere near 1810 plus. One of the nipples is badly damaged, but was able to remove it. Love the carving. Interested in shooting it, but never fired a BP gun. I think it was a good buy at $300. Some dents to the barrel, otherwise usable. One of the barrels was plugged by wadding got it out and clean. No charge in it. Apparently it is a 12 ga.

Learning about BP.

 

[Sam squanch]

$300?!?! You STOLE that shotgun! The same gun at a show here would be $5000 Friday morning, $2000 Saturday morning, Sunday it might drop to…..$999……you are extremely lucky.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

There are as many different ways to load a ML shotgun as there are shooters. It would behoove you to measure your bore diameter as ML shotgun bores that are called a particular gauge may actually be slightly larger or smaller. For example, I have a "20" gauge Pedersoli that actually measures as a 19 gauge, so I use 19 gauge cards & wads. My "12" gauge measures as a 12. I had a 10 gauge that measured as an 11 gauge. Track of the Wolf sells the different size cards & wads to match your bore requirements. Track has a chart giving the diameters for the different gauges. There are lots of threads here offering loading recipes &, like everything ML, it takes some experimenting. I recommend you KISS to get started & get familiar with the gun. Rule of thumb is to use the same amount, BY VOLUME, of powder & shot. Using one or two overSHOT cards over the powder & one overshot card over the shot is a simple, easy way to get started. You can progress to using overpowder wads, lubed fiber wads, felt wads, etc. & adjusting your powder/shot ratio to improve performance, if needed, as you see fit. You can make it as complicated or as simple as you want depending on your intended use. BTW, cool shotgun!! Good luck.

 

[Sam squanch]

Look up the Skychief loading method. It works for me.

 

[Marplot]

Old Hawkeye - how can I measure bore diameter? The muzzle might be different if a choke was involved?

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

If it passed an in-depth visual inspection, and the barrels pass the coin test, I would not be afraid to use it. I would probably fire the first few shots with a string, just to be sure. No one wants a face full of frags. GREAT find at that price. Beautiful piece, congrats.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Old Hawkeye - how can I measure bore diameter? The muzzle might be different if a choke was involved?

I highly highly doubt that has a choked bore.

The bore diameter is indicated by the numbers stamped on the bottom of the breeches.

18.4mm = .724" = 12 gauge

A set of 6" digital dial calipers from amazon go a long way in this hobby.

 

[Marplot]

Sam Squanch - looked up the Skychief loading method. Good Info!

 

[Marplot]

What is the coin test?

Did measure the muzzle. .0671

 

[The Crisco Kid]

Is the "e l g *" a Belgian proof mark?

 

[Marplot]

Is the "e l g *" a Belgian proof mark?

Yes, I think so.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

The coin tap test checks to see if laminated materials are still bound and sound.

let a coin bounce lightly on one of the barrels, starting from the breech end and heading to the muzzle. If you hear a "ring" this is good. It means the steel is still bonded. If you hear a "thunk" that doesn't resonate, it means the steel has delaminated and is not safe to shoot under any circumstance.

Do both barrels, along their lengths, in different places as you go.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Is the "e l g *" a Belgian proof mark?

Yes, I think so.

Yes.

 

[Dusty_Traveler]

Appears to be a French built gun, with Spanish stylings, proofed in Belgium?

@Feltwad what say ye?

Edit---I'm thinking wholly French now.

 

[Rifleman1776]

$300?!?! You STOLE that shotgun!

Absolutely! It is a beaut. You have been given good advice about loads. I will just say, if it is choked, loading can be an issue. You will need to experiment a lot to learn how you want to do this. Some will call me a heretic, but if it is choked and was mine I would have the chokes honed out to cylinder bore. That is based on previously owning a choked dbl perc. shotgun. My experience, my opinion.

 

[Grenadier1758]

The 18.4 stamping on the barrel should be the bore diameter in millimeters. Converted to inches it will be 0.724 as @Dusty_Traveler mentioned above.

Do measure the muzzle again in several places. A diameter of 0.671" is considerably more restriction than a full choke. Check to be sure the muzzles are perfectly round.

I would expect the muzzle of @Marplot's Belgian stamped side by side to be about 0.724" with a restriction to being more than 0.693" for full choke.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Old Hawkeye - how can I measure bore diameter? The muzzle might be different if a choke was involved?

If the barrels are not marked with the diameter, like Dusty_Traveler mentioned, just measure at the bore. That gun was more than likely made before the concept of the modern choked barrel. If you don't have a set of calipers, any gunsmith can measure for you & in the remote possibility, determine if it is choked. In fact, it wouldn't be a bad idea to have a smith look it over & give his opinion on it's structural integrity. I'm not good at analyzing any guns condition over the internet like some here are!! If any barrel is choked, the measurement at the muzzle can be misleading, as the choke constriction is relative to what the actual bore diameter is. So, if you have a 11 or 13 gauge bore & you use the constricted diameter of the choke for a "12 gauge" to determine what choke (full, mod, imp cyl) you have, it will not necessarily be correct.

 

[Grenadier1758]

Here is a link to a handy shotgun choke chart that has been posted on the forum before.

Choke sizes are the same regardless of shotgun.View attachment 59815

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

It's Belgian ca. 1840-70. it's had 8 or 10 inches cut off the barrels so it isn't going to be choked.

 

[Old Hawkeye]

Here is a link to a handy shotgun choke chart that has been posted on the forum before.

The modern 12 gauge has a bore diameter of .729". If the muzzle measures .710", that means it has the .019" constriction of a Modified choke. If I have an 11 gauge bore it has a bore diameter of .751". If it measures .711" at the muzzle it has a constriction of .40", which is what a 12 gauge has for an Extra-Full choke. Do I still call the 11 gauge a "modified" choke or is it an "extra-full choke"? Not trying to argue, just have been curious about that since I got my first ML shotgun. Is it the measured diameter at the muzzle that determines what choke you call it or is it the "amount" of constriction from the true bore diameter???