Took my 12 bore T/C New Englander shotgun out for a walk yesterday and I stopped to top-off my powder flask. In digging out a funnel I came across a half dozen 0.690" cast balls I'd forgotten I had. For shots-and-giggles I dropped three in my pocket along with a small roll of lubed 0.018" patch tick.
Last year I had CoyoteJoe put a jug choke in the barrel and I wondered if it was still possible for her to throw round balls. She was a kit I built back in '89 just before I dropped a wad on a custom Bess to see if I could live with a smoothbore. She did well enough with the choke bore - maybe 6" at 50 yards and slightly high as I remember.
Well, I wish I'd have tossed a few more in my pocket. I took a 7-1/2" X 11-1/2" piece of cardboard from my tractor gasket material pile (aka: Cheerios cereal box) and stopped by a piece of plywood I keep on a trail as a backstop. At 40 yards I lobbed the two shots to the left. I was amazed! She threw balls fair before (it's a 28" barrel with just a 1/8" brass bead) and this was by resting the bead just below the upper edge of the cardboard. I then backed up to 50 yards and . . . Zowie! Bead centered in the cardboard and trying this time. It's a scanned image so that's the whole 7" X 11" target. All shots while standing offhand. :thumbsup:
Needless to say this requires more than three balls to prove anything; but I am impressed so far. It's not like I'm going to adjust the sights much (though I did take some time on the stock to fit it to me when I built her). I'd forgotten how much fun "Ol Blunderpotz" was with 'punkin balls. And the 500 grain balls made an inpressive mess behind the target, too. :shocked2: I may have a "new" brush gun instead of just the .50 cal rifled barrel for the deer in the thick braishlot nearby.
PS - The little holes are #5 at 40 yards.
Last year I had CoyoteJoe put a jug choke in the barrel and I wondered if it was still possible for her to throw round balls. She was a kit I built back in '89 just before I dropped a wad on a custom Bess to see if I could live with a smoothbore. She did well enough with the choke bore - maybe 6" at 50 yards and slightly high as I remember.
Well, I wish I'd have tossed a few more in my pocket. I took a 7-1/2" X 11-1/2" piece of cardboard from my tractor gasket material pile (aka: Cheerios cereal box) and stopped by a piece of plywood I keep on a trail as a backstop. At 40 yards I lobbed the two shots to the left. I was amazed! She threw balls fair before (it's a 28" barrel with just a 1/8" brass bead) and this was by resting the bead just below the upper edge of the cardboard. I then backed up to 50 yards and . . . Zowie! Bead centered in the cardboard and trying this time. It's a scanned image so that's the whole 7" X 11" target. All shots while standing offhand. :thumbsup:
Needless to say this requires more than three balls to prove anything; but I am impressed so far. It's not like I'm going to adjust the sights much (though I did take some time on the stock to fit it to me when I built her). I'd forgotten how much fun "Ol Blunderpotz" was with 'punkin balls. And the 500 grain balls made an inpressive mess behind the target, too. :shocked2: I may have a "new" brush gun instead of just the .50 cal rifled barrel for the deer in the thick braishlot nearby.
PS - The little holes are #5 at 40 yards.
