• This community needs YOUR help today. We rely 100% on Supporting Memberships to fund our efforts. With the ever increasing fees of everything, we need help. We need more Supporting Members, today. Please invest back into this community. I will ship a few decals too in addition to all the account perks you get.



    Sign up here: https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/account/upgrades

Premade shot cups/cartridges, how to.

Muzzleloading Forum

Help Support Muzzleloading Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.
Status
Not open for further replies.
i'll have to load the only pic later
lubed the cut rope fibers with used cooking oil (olive/canola mix)
smelled like BP and fried chicken every time I pulled the trigger.
 
i'll have to load the only pic later
lubed the cut rope fibers with used cooking oil (olive/canola mix)
smelled like BP and fried chicken every time I pulled the trigger.

I use my beeswax/oliveoil lube for lubing sisal fibers. Roll the sisal into a ball in the palm of your hands, then drag it across the lube tin and roll between palms again.
 
Great info here. I’ll be coming back to this thread once I get my smoothbore finished.
 
A "sticky" is a thread that has been "pinned" to the top of the index page of a forum area like, "Smoothbore".
After reading thru this thread several times I think it does deserve to be a sticky so I just changed it to that status.

Because the thread is now a sticky I'm going to ask that all of the future posts here deal only with making pre made shot cups.
If you have questions or comments about things other than making shot cups, please put them in a different post.
 
What do you use to reliably measure the shot weight?

Do you do it by volume or with a scale?
It is a volume measure just like powder. In my case it is an adjustable plastic scoop when I am at home. The plastic one is more reliable for holding it's setting than the fancy brass one sold as being period correct.
 
Cool. So what volume of powder equals 1 oz and 1 1/4 oz?

I can use an extra powder measure or just make an antler one. Thanks.

brazos, This was published here on another thread. Not my personal testing but from a very reliable member. I hope this helps you.

50 grains setting equals 3/4 ounce of shot

60 grains setting equals 7/8 ounce shot

70 grains setting equals 1 ounce shot

80 grains setting equals 1 1/8 ounce shot

90 grains setting equals 1 1/4 ounce shot

100 grains setting equals 1 3/8 ounce shot
 
Last edited:
100 grains of #9 By volume I would think would weigh more than a 100 grains of # 4 by volume would it not?

I guess # 6 would give a person an over all average if you were making a non adjustable measure.
 
Cool. So what volume of powder equals 1 oz and 1 1/4 oz?

I can use an extra powder measure or just make an antler one. Thanks.
The answer to this, and many similar question can be found here, this question on page 2.
This is where the above information was taken from.

One can also find, how much a given size ball of pure lead should weigh, how many balls of a given size equal a pound, and what size measure one can make from certain brass cartridge cases.

The volume measure I am using is like a plastic scoop with a handle that comes off the top edge. The bottom of the scoop can be moved to make the scoop deeper or shallower and is marked for various measurements in ounces. The fancy brass ones are marked for ounces and drams.
 
BN, I should have not said “weigh >” My thinking was the larger shot would take up more room in the volume measure thus creating air space where as the smaller shot would pack closer together.

By weight they would be the same, not so sure about by volume.

Does 70 grns of fg by volume measure the same as 70 grns of ffffg?
The weights the same, but...
I’ll know tomorrow.. lol
 
BN, I should have not said “weigh >” My thinking was the larger shot would take up more room in the volume measure thus creating air space where as the smaller shot would pack closer together.

By weight they would be the same, not so sure about by volume.

Does 70 grns of fg by volume measure the same as 70 grns of ffffg?
The weights the same, but...
I’ll know tomorrow.. lol

The powders are close, but no, they don't weigh exactly the same when measured by volume then weighed on a scale.

Yes, you are correct about the density of the shot in a given number of ounces by volume. You will have far more pellets of #7 1/2 shot than #4 shot in an ounce. That is why those of us who are poor skeet shooters, but enjoy the game, use #8 shot (okay, I'm really bad, and if it isn't windy I'll use #9 for skeet) so we have more pellets hoping for that magic one.
 
  • Like
Reactions: smo
Back in 2001, I had some time on my hands and I decided to weigh some loads to see if my volume measures were accurate with respect to weight of black powder on my new balance beam scale.

So I measured 10 throws of powder with the load set to 100 grains...
GOEX 2fg 98.34 vs calculated weight 96.79 grains
GOEX 3fg 97.08
Elephant 3fg 106.93

Obviously the 3fg was processed to a different density with respect to the 2fg.
Elephant was … well Elephant.

The results with another measure with the same powder lots. My measure that was filled through a valve on a can of powder set to 100 grains...
GOEX 2fg 102.28 vs calculated weight of 100.05
GOEX 3fg 101.22
Elephant 3fg 111.17

Between the grades of GOEX there wasn't as much difference as I would have expected. It is obvious that different processes resulted in the Elephant powder being more dense than GOEX (before the move to Minden, LA).
 
Last edited:
D33-A0416-36-A0-4-C83-9-D2-F-A08-DDCEA923-A.jpg


This is 2 oz of #6 compared to 2 ozs of BB’s.

Lead vs Steel but shown for comparison..

DC91161-E-74-DA-44-A5-8-A92-C41-D2-D80-A45-C.jpg


I took these pics around 3 years ago when I was “experimenting” with paper shot cartridges.

My findings were they weren’t reliable due too “slugging”, this was using brown paper bags . Others mileage may vary.
 
Status
Not open for further replies.
Back
Top