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Starting load for a 20g trade gun?
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paulvallandigham
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A light load would be 2 drams( 55 grains) of FFg powder, an OP Wad( 1/8" thick), or 4 OS cards, 3/4 oz of shot, and 2 OS cards. Use the cards, because they will fall away from the shot quicker than any OP wad. Just punch an off-center hole in each of the cards to help air go through the cards and Separage them from each other. Then when the cards are loaded, align the card so that the holes do NOT align with each other.
To lube, run a greased cleaning patch down the barrel when you seat the 2 OS cards on top of the load. Or, if you have those pre-lubed felt wads, you can put one of them on top of 3 OS cards to help grease the barrel. I prefer to lube the barrel in front of the shot, and not behind it, so that the pellets slip or slide over the bore, and do not rub lead streaks on the inside of the barrel. Those streaks ruin future patterns, until they are cleaned out.
A medium load will be 61 grains, and 7/8 oz. of shot. A heavy load will be 69 grains and 7/8 oz. of shot. Don't try to make your 20 gauge into a 12 gauge magnum. For the short distance that you will be shooting clay targets, the light work will work fine. I used the old Hodgdon Reloading manual to locate these recommended load. Both Spenser, and V.M. Starr have good articles on Shotgun loads, and are well worth reading.
I am not a big fan of 1/2 inch thick cushion wads, whether loaded dry or after soaking in oil or water based lubes. The cushion wads are very heavy, and tend to follow the shot out of the barrel, bumping the shot, and destroying the patterns. The heavier the wad is, the further it travels with the shot, creating a " donut hole " pattern, eventually.
To lube, run a greased cleaning patch down the barrel when you seat the 2 OS cards on top of the load. Or, if you have those pre-lubed felt wads, you can put one of them on top of 3 OS cards to help grease the barrel. I prefer to lube the barrel in front of the shot, and not behind it, so that the pellets slip or slide over the bore, and do not rub lead streaks on the inside of the barrel. Those streaks ruin future patterns, until they are cleaned out.
A medium load will be 61 grains, and 7/8 oz. of shot. A heavy load will be 69 grains and 7/8 oz. of shot. Don't try to make your 20 gauge into a 12 gauge magnum. For the short distance that you will be shooting clay targets, the light work will work fine. I used the old Hodgdon Reloading manual to locate these recommended load. Both Spenser, and V.M. Starr have good articles on Shotgun loads, and are well worth reading.
I am not a big fan of 1/2 inch thick cushion wads, whether loaded dry or after soaking in oil or water based lubes. The cushion wads are very heavy, and tend to follow the shot out of the barrel, bumping the shot, and destroying the patterns. The heavier the wad is, the further it travels with the shot, creating a " donut hole " pattern, eventually.
A lot depends on what you plan to do with it...since I'm assuming hunting seasons are closed, skeet and trap targets may be your choice.
From my experiences with a GM .62cal/.20ga Flint smoothbores, my loads would be:
SKEET
60-70grns Goex 3F
1 Oxyoke prelubed over powder wad
1oz #7.5s
Circle Fly over shot card
TRAP
70-80grns Goex 3F
1 or 2 Oxyoke prelubed over powder wad(s)
1+1/8oz #7.5s
Circle Fly over shot card
From my experiences with a GM .62cal/.20ga Flint smoothbores, my loads would be:
SKEET
60-70grns Goex 3F
1 Oxyoke prelubed over powder wad
1oz #7.5s
Circle Fly over shot card
TRAP
70-80grns Goex 3F
1 or 2 Oxyoke prelubed over powder wad(s)
1+1/8oz #7.5s
Circle Fly over shot card
Since your loading 4 OS cards. Can't those be glued together to load faster? Couldn't you take a pre-lubed wad and cut it in half?
All this info is great! I'm doing a fowler kit and plan on using it primarily with shot.
Back in the 70's when you couldn't find another bp shooter if you had to I'd use plastic shot cups with the built-in cushion wad in my Navy Arms 12 gauge magnum. It shot great. Never any problems with plastic residue. Today, no plastic in my barrels.
All this info is great! I'm doing a fowler kit and plan on using it primarily with shot.
Back in the 70's when you couldn't find another bp shooter if you had to I'd use plastic shot cups with the built-in cushion wad in my Navy Arms 12 gauge magnum. It shot great. Never any problems with plastic residue. Today, no plastic in my barrels.
paulvallandigham
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Don:
Gluing them together would defeat the whole purpose of using them instead of heavier OP wads, and Cushion wads!
The problem with ML shotguns, which generally are Cylinder Bored, is that the heavy wads " bump" the back of the shot charge in the air shortly after the shot leaves the muzzle, causing the "Cue Ball Effect", and creating " Donut Hole " patterns. The heavier the wads, the long the wads travel with the shot down range. Its not unusual to see a wad actually penetrate paper at 25 yards!
Jim Rackham, a member here, came up with his simplified loading system, using only OS cards. Instead of glueing them together, he puts an off-center hole through each OS card, then aligns the cards so that the hole are not lined up in a row. This let air go through the holes and separate the cards as soon as they leave the muzzle, so that they drop away from the line of the shot as quickly as possible.
Jim lubes his load by putting a dab of lube between the 3rd and 4th cards over the powder. That puts the lube in a traditional " Behind-the-shot " location, the same that occurs when you use a pre-lubed cushion wad, or soak a cusion wad in oil, or moose milk( my former technique) or rub grease on the cushion wad.
I changed what he is doing by greasing a cleaning patch and putting it in the front of my loading jag when I run the final 2 OS cards down onto the shot. I wanted the barrel to be greased to help the shot slide, or slip, over the bore as its leaving the barrel, rather than rubbing against the barrel and leaving lead streaks behind, to disrupt and ruin subsequent patterns.
I took the idea from something I saw shooters doing with hot loaded, long barreled, target guns, where they wanted to have more lube in the barrel in front of the patched round ball so that the heavy powder charges would not burn up all the lube in the middle of their patches, and then begin to burn the patch. With more lube entering the patch as the PRB travels down the barrel, the patch is somewhat resupplied.
I tried this over a chronograph, and noted both a slight increase in velocity( shooting RB), and a significant lowering of the SDV. That in itself made lubing the barrel this way worth while. I have not yet tried this with shot loads, over a chronograph, because I forgot to take my shot cup forming stuff with me to the range the last time I was out and set up the chronograph-- CRS disease :cursing: :grin: !
The lead streaking seems to be stopped, and the patterns are showing more pellets in them, so I believe lubing the barrel In Front of the Shot, is working for me. I also feel much better with my shotgun in the field knowing its not going to rust in the Fall morning dampness because I have left the bore bare!
While you are experimenting with this kind of wad and lube arrangement( use Newspaper at 25 yards if you don't have wrapping or butcher paper for this task), you might see how adding Jiffy Brand Corn Meal muffin mix to the shot, dribbing and vibrating the meal into the shot cup, or the shot, helps your pattern. A member recently showed a much improved pattern he has worked up for turkey hunting using the mix as a filler. He is loading No. 5 or No. 6 shot- I don't recall now-- and the larger shot allows the filler to get down between the pellets. Grex, if you have it, or even PufLon, commercial synthetic fillers, can also be used, if you don't want to mess with Corn meal that is finely ground.
With bare shot, just push the 4 OS cards down the barrel with a short starter made to leave them below the muzzle far enough to permit the load of shot to be poured into the muzzle, with a little more room for the filler. Then slowly pour in the filler, tapping the side of the barrel to help it settle down between the pellets. When no more mix can be put in the shot, run the SHOT and the 4 OS cards down on the powder. Then follow with 2 more OS cards, and lube the barrel before shooting.
Is it slow? Yes, of course. But since when is loading a ML shotgun suppose to be a speed event?
If you are hunting dove, or quail, where you are likely to get birds up quickly, or have more birds fly in, SKIP the filler. These are close range shooting opportunities, where you WANT a wide pattern to help hit these fast flyers.
For late season Pheasants, and turkey, use the fillers. If there is an advantage to using an ML shotgun for hunting, it is that you can custom load it in the field for the birds, and shooting conditions you find that day.
Jim Rackham posted some very impressive pictures of his patterns back in 2006 when he introduced his " system " here, and has subsequently shown us pictures of his successful bird hunts in Upstate New York. He is shooting a Fowler, made by Mike Brooks, and has been quite successful shooting grouse in the woods with it. It became very clear that he had discovered how to end the donut hole patterns that cursed all of us, while finding a simplified way of carrying " Stuff " when we are hunting. Carrying ONLY OS cards, instead of OP wads, Cushion wads, AND OS cards does create less baggage to deal with in the field.
His discovery really is not much different than other shooters have made, except for his use of ONLY OS cards. I used to split my heavy, soaked cusion wads, and this also helped the wads fall away from the shot in the air faster, Other shooters have used styrofoam cushion wads. Others skip the cushion wads, and use only the thinner, and lighter OP wads. Others are using only Ox Yoke felt lubed wads, that are thin, and comparative lighter, as the lube has dried. Each has its merits and demerits.
A half inch thick styrofoam wad drops away from the shot quickly, and I see it used often in shotgun range match shooting, However, the damn stuff does not break down, and leaves a mess for years. The best you can say about the other techniques is that they are using up what we all bought , and have.( OP wads, and Cushion Wads) usually in quantities of 500 or 1,000! Even on a Trap range, it takes a long time to load and shoot 1,000 wads, not to mention the powder, and shot used! OS Cards are Cheaper! The wool felt wads, may or may not seal the bore as well as the OS cards. It still puts the lube behind the shot in the barrel, so the grease does nothing to prevent lead streaking in the barrel.
OH, I have had plastic residue build up in both my modern shotguns Including one gun that had chrome lined bores, and in my ML shotgun when I used the plastic shotcups in it. I was trying to get rid of the lead streaks that required me to spend time with lead solvents, and a bore brush after each session, by using the plastic cups, but got plastic to dig out instead. I did not consider it a fair exchange!( The chrome lined barrels make it easier to remove the plastic, but you still have to use a bore brush.) I tried using the plastic cups as is, and with an OP wad under them to protect the base of the cup from burning from the BP. I have NOT yet tried the plastic cups with lubing the barrel after seating the shot, and OS cards on top of the shot cup. Greasing the barrel MAY eliminate the plastic streaks, just as it seems to do the lead streaking.
Best wishes. :thumbsup:
Gluing them together would defeat the whole purpose of using them instead of heavier OP wads, and Cushion wads!
The problem with ML shotguns, which generally are Cylinder Bored, is that the heavy wads " bump" the back of the shot charge in the air shortly after the shot leaves the muzzle, causing the "Cue Ball Effect", and creating " Donut Hole " patterns. The heavier the wads, the long the wads travel with the shot down range. Its not unusual to see a wad actually penetrate paper at 25 yards!
Jim Rackham, a member here, came up with his simplified loading system, using only OS cards. Instead of glueing them together, he puts an off-center hole through each OS card, then aligns the cards so that the hole are not lined up in a row. This let air go through the holes and separate the cards as soon as they leave the muzzle, so that they drop away from the line of the shot as quickly as possible.
Jim lubes his load by putting a dab of lube between the 3rd and 4th cards over the powder. That puts the lube in a traditional " Behind-the-shot " location, the same that occurs when you use a pre-lubed cushion wad, or soak a cusion wad in oil, or moose milk( my former technique) or rub grease on the cushion wad.
I changed what he is doing by greasing a cleaning patch and putting it in the front of my loading jag when I run the final 2 OS cards down onto the shot. I wanted the barrel to be greased to help the shot slide, or slip, over the bore as its leaving the barrel, rather than rubbing against the barrel and leaving lead streaks behind, to disrupt and ruin subsequent patterns.
I took the idea from something I saw shooters doing with hot loaded, long barreled, target guns, where they wanted to have more lube in the barrel in front of the patched round ball so that the heavy powder charges would not burn up all the lube in the middle of their patches, and then begin to burn the patch. With more lube entering the patch as the PRB travels down the barrel, the patch is somewhat resupplied.
I tried this over a chronograph, and noted both a slight increase in velocity( shooting RB), and a significant lowering of the SDV. That in itself made lubing the barrel this way worth while. I have not yet tried this with shot loads, over a chronograph, because I forgot to take my shot cup forming stuff with me to the range the last time I was out and set up the chronograph-- CRS disease :cursing: :grin: !
The lead streaking seems to be stopped, and the patterns are showing more pellets in them, so I believe lubing the barrel In Front of the Shot, is working for me. I also feel much better with my shotgun in the field knowing its not going to rust in the Fall morning dampness because I have left the bore bare!
While you are experimenting with this kind of wad and lube arrangement( use Newspaper at 25 yards if you don't have wrapping or butcher paper for this task), you might see how adding Jiffy Brand Corn Meal muffin mix to the shot, dribbing and vibrating the meal into the shot cup, or the shot, helps your pattern. A member recently showed a much improved pattern he has worked up for turkey hunting using the mix as a filler. He is loading No. 5 or No. 6 shot- I don't recall now-- and the larger shot allows the filler to get down between the pellets. Grex, if you have it, or even PufLon, commercial synthetic fillers, can also be used, if you don't want to mess with Corn meal that is finely ground.
With bare shot, just push the 4 OS cards down the barrel with a short starter made to leave them below the muzzle far enough to permit the load of shot to be poured into the muzzle, with a little more room for the filler. Then slowly pour in the filler, tapping the side of the barrel to help it settle down between the pellets. When no more mix can be put in the shot, run the SHOT and the 4 OS cards down on the powder. Then follow with 2 more OS cards, and lube the barrel before shooting.
Is it slow? Yes, of course. But since when is loading a ML shotgun suppose to be a speed event?
If you are hunting dove, or quail, where you are likely to get birds up quickly, or have more birds fly in, SKIP the filler. These are close range shooting opportunities, where you WANT a wide pattern to help hit these fast flyers.
For late season Pheasants, and turkey, use the fillers. If there is an advantage to using an ML shotgun for hunting, it is that you can custom load it in the field for the birds, and shooting conditions you find that day.
Jim Rackham posted some very impressive pictures of his patterns back in 2006 when he introduced his " system " here, and has subsequently shown us pictures of his successful bird hunts in Upstate New York. He is shooting a Fowler, made by Mike Brooks, and has been quite successful shooting grouse in the woods with it. It became very clear that he had discovered how to end the donut hole patterns that cursed all of us, while finding a simplified way of carrying " Stuff " when we are hunting. Carrying ONLY OS cards, instead of OP wads, Cushion wads, AND OS cards does create less baggage to deal with in the field.
His discovery really is not much different than other shooters have made, except for his use of ONLY OS cards. I used to split my heavy, soaked cusion wads, and this also helped the wads fall away from the shot in the air faster, Other shooters have used styrofoam cushion wads. Others skip the cushion wads, and use only the thinner, and lighter OP wads. Others are using only Ox Yoke felt lubed wads, that are thin, and comparative lighter, as the lube has dried. Each has its merits and demerits.
A half inch thick styrofoam wad drops away from the shot quickly, and I see it used often in shotgun range match shooting, However, the damn stuff does not break down, and leaves a mess for years. The best you can say about the other techniques is that they are using up what we all bought , and have.( OP wads, and Cushion Wads) usually in quantities of 500 or 1,000! Even on a Trap range, it takes a long time to load and shoot 1,000 wads, not to mention the powder, and shot used! OS Cards are Cheaper! The wool felt wads, may or may not seal the bore as well as the OS cards. It still puts the lube behind the shot in the barrel, so the grease does nothing to prevent lead streaking in the barrel.
OH, I have had plastic residue build up in both my modern shotguns Including one gun that had chrome lined bores, and in my ML shotgun when I used the plastic shotcups in it. I was trying to get rid of the lead streaks that required me to spend time with lead solvents, and a bore brush after each session, by using the plastic cups, but got plastic to dig out instead. I did not consider it a fair exchange!( The chrome lined barrels make it easier to remove the plastic, but you still have to use a bore brush.) I tried using the plastic cups as is, and with an OP wad under them to protect the base of the cup from burning from the BP. I have NOT yet tried the plastic cups with lubing the barrel after seating the shot, and OS cards on top of the shot cup. Greasing the barrel MAY eliminate the plastic streaks, just as it seems to do the lead streaking.
Best wishes. :thumbsup:
Christiaan
40 Cal.
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WoW!! Paul, You are a walking encyclopedia on loading of the shotgun. Thanks for sharing your knowledge and experience. It would have take me weeks to read through a few years of posts to get the info you gave in a nutshell.
Thanks, I've read a few of your posts over time and today the lights just went on. I must be a slow learner. :redface:
Thanks, I've read a few of your posts over time and today the lights just went on. I must be a slow learner. :redface:
paulvallandigham
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Christian: I found that turkey load pattern using Jiffy Brand Corn Meal Muffin Mix. Take a look at this topic here under Smoothbores.
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/221138/post/new/#NEW
http://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/fusionbb/showtopic.php?tid/221138/post/new/#NEW
Last edited by a moderator:
Don Powell said:Since your loading 4 OS cards. Can't those be glued together to load faster? Couldn't you take a pre-lubed wad and cut it in half?
Yes to both questions...although its not necessary to glue OS cards together...the 8,000-10,000 PSI pushing them upbore will keep them welded together as a single unit just fine.
From my range and field tests, 1/8" Oxyoke prelubed wads are excellent as thin cushion wads...or you can slice Circle Fly 1/2" prelubed cushion wads in half to make 1/4" wads...both are very light and work perfectly in my .54cal/.28ga and .62cal/.20ga Flint smoothbores.
Note:
Everyone has their own pet approaches and I feel they should certainly continue using them for themselves...but when they are posted on a public forum in a manner which suggests they're an across the board absolute, balance from others with actual hands on experience is a good thing.
For example, punching a little hole into each of 4 OS cards in the belief that wind will pass through each hole individually and separate each OS card individually begs a better understanding of what happens when the stack of 4 OS cards hits the several hundred MPH wind blast at muzzle exit...ie: that stack of OS cards is immediately flicked out of the way as a single unit with or without little pin pricks in them.
In addition, from my own hands on testing experience, lubing the bore after an entire load is seated downbore, including the use of an OS card over the shot, does not result in lube being left on bore walls so that shot can slide on the lube...a tight fitting OS card wipes the bore walls clean as it travels up bore ahead of the shot. IE: OS cards are so tight that air can't get around them...lube certainly won't get around them.
There is no single absolute Powder to Shot ratio for smoothbores...to think that is a lack of understanding of smoothbores and the varying composition and weight of various shot loads. The old saying: "little powder, more lead, shoots far, kills dead"
is based on fact, through a couple centuries of actual hands on use and continues to be borne out today...is not "magnumizing" as seen in the rare posted sarcastic comment.
Powder to shot ratios can, do, and should vary widely, such as ratios like 1:1, 1:1.3, 1:1.5, etc...and it's all based upon the firearms being used, the targets or game being sought, and the variations of powder & shot size needed for the various uses.
IE: A volumetric measure of #7.5 shot has a certain # of pellets, and due to their size, leave a certain amount of wasted air space between each pellet resulting in a certain weight of the payload and a ratio further up towards the higher end of the scale.
By contrast, the same volumetric measure of tiny densely packed #9 shot would have a much higher pellet count and much heavier payload, so the ratio might be more towards the lower end of the scale.
I'll never post speculation, guessing, or the results of plagerism without stating that's what it is...I only post things with certainty that I am personally certain of through actual hands on experiments at the range and in the successful pursuit of game such as turkey, squirrel, crows, doves, trap, skeet, etc, in the .12ha SxS double, .54cal/.28ga, and .62cal/.20ga.
Smoothbores are a lot of fun...enjoy!
paulvallandigham
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Actually, Roundball, the wad DOES NOT separate immediately on leaving the barrel. When the wad and shot exit the barrel, the shot acts as a blocker to air reaching the wad. Because lead Shot has more MASS( weight) than the cards, its gravity pulls the lighter wads behind it, IN a VACUUM that follows the shot, for at at least 9 feet, before the shot begins to spread. You can see this for yourself by simply spacing out targets or paper at 3 foot intervals, and firing shots through them. There is no apparent separation of the shot( as evidenced by a hole in the paper wider than the diameter of your shot column) until you get to 9 feet, regardless of choke or lack thereof. This has been show with both time-lapse photograph and with the mechanical testing I have described how to do.
This is why the .410 shotgun, while shooting only 1/2 oz of shot, is as lethal as a .44 magnum at short distance typified by in the house self defense shootings. The #6 or #7 1/2 shot used in the standard, commercial .410 cartridge would do little serious damage to a human out at 30 yards, but inside 7 yards, the assailant is going down. The pattern at 7 yards is about the size of a 12 inch soft ball, BTW.
In Stock Car racing, this same phenomena is seen as cars get right behind another, and into the vacuum or " Draft" of the first car. The second car has less air resistance to push against it, allowing its motor to deliver greater speed, while you actually feel that your car is being sucked into the car in front of it.
Drivers experience the same sensation driving close behind an 18-wheeler, and staying in its vacuum. They too feel like they are being pulled towards the truck, and that is the physical effect of the larger vehicles " gravity". ( They ARE being pulled towards the back of that semi!)
This is NOT speculation: Its actual science, and experience. In working on cases involving allegations of murder, vs. self defense, I have taken guns out to the range, and done testing to see how a particular length barrel and cartridge will send out a cone of burning powder, that contacts the flesh or clothing of the alleged victim. I have also tested shotguns from 1 foot out to 12 feet, one foot at a time, to document the beginning and spread of shot. After 12 feet, I have gone up by yards, which is why I know how wide a pattern should be expected to be at 7 yards.( spreader loads will widen the pattern even at this short distance)
I respect your observations from shooting 50 rounds every saturday, but there is correct practice, and then just practice. I have spent my legal career testing and challenging statements made in ballistic's reports from Law enforcement labs. Most of the time, they are correct. When they are wrong, its usually because the lab guys have not been given correct information by the detectives. I build my defense case on these errors, when they help raise a reasonable doubt. You might be surprised at how little detectives and police officers actually know about guns, and ballistics. When I find them trying to stick it to my client making up information, I go after them. I am usually fortunate enough to get a couple of people in the jury that know something about guns, and mostly know when someone is feeding them a line of B.S. Most of all, they appreciate my work in court when I question the ballistics claims of police officer witnesses. Once in awhile, I have to go after a crime lab " expert witness", and when I do, they don't like it, or the results.
This is why the .410 shotgun, while shooting only 1/2 oz of shot, is as lethal as a .44 magnum at short distance typified by in the house self defense shootings. The #6 or #7 1/2 shot used in the standard, commercial .410 cartridge would do little serious damage to a human out at 30 yards, but inside 7 yards, the assailant is going down. The pattern at 7 yards is about the size of a 12 inch soft ball, BTW.
In Stock Car racing, this same phenomena is seen as cars get right behind another, and into the vacuum or " Draft" of the first car. The second car has less air resistance to push against it, allowing its motor to deliver greater speed, while you actually feel that your car is being sucked into the car in front of it.
Drivers experience the same sensation driving close behind an 18-wheeler, and staying in its vacuum. They too feel like they are being pulled towards the truck, and that is the physical effect of the larger vehicles " gravity". ( They ARE being pulled towards the back of that semi!)
This is NOT speculation: Its actual science, and experience. In working on cases involving allegations of murder, vs. self defense, I have taken guns out to the range, and done testing to see how a particular length barrel and cartridge will send out a cone of burning powder, that contacts the flesh or clothing of the alleged victim. I have also tested shotguns from 1 foot out to 12 feet, one foot at a time, to document the beginning and spread of shot. After 12 feet, I have gone up by yards, which is why I know how wide a pattern should be expected to be at 7 yards.( spreader loads will widen the pattern even at this short distance)
I respect your observations from shooting 50 rounds every saturday, but there is correct practice, and then just practice. I have spent my legal career testing and challenging statements made in ballistic's reports from Law enforcement labs. Most of the time, they are correct. When they are wrong, its usually because the lab guys have not been given correct information by the detectives. I build my defense case on these errors, when they help raise a reasonable doubt. You might be surprised at how little detectives and police officers actually know about guns, and ballistics. When I find them trying to stick it to my client making up information, I go after them. I am usually fortunate enough to get a couple of people in the jury that know something about guns, and mostly know when someone is feeding them a line of B.S. Most of all, they appreciate my work in court when I question the ballistics claims of police officer witnesses. Once in awhile, I have to go after a crime lab " expert witness", and when I do, they don't like it, or the results.
Mike Brooks
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ill step in and promise not write a book.... :haha: about an ounce of shot and an equal volume of shot should be a good starting place. I prefer a 1/8" nitro card followed by 1/2" fiber cushion wad LIGHTLY lubed with solid Crisco, or a 1/2" felt wad lubed with Ballistol and squeezed out and then a single over shot card.
If your pattern is light in the center try adding 1/8oz more shot or cutting the fiber wad in 1/2 or switching to the 1/2" felt wad. I've never seen a blown pattern using a 1/2" felt wad.
I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay in a Country Inn Suite last week end.... :rotf:
If your pattern is light in the center try adding 1/8oz more shot or cutting the fiber wad in 1/2 or switching to the 1/2" felt wad. I've never seen a blown pattern using a 1/2" felt wad.
I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay in a Country Inn Suite last week end.... :rotf:
Mike Brooks said:I'm not a lawyer, but I did stay in a Country Inn Suite last week end.... :rotf:
:grin:
Mike Brooks
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Yes, I saw that. :rotf: Too late to edit I'm afraid. Let me just say that these things always work best when you put powder in FIRST! :wink:Harrod said:Mike brooks said"about an ounce of shot and an equal volume of shot should be a good starting place." Now I've never loaded a BP shotgun in my life but seems to me a little powder would make this load more effective.
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FOR SALE Johnson Wool Shirt
- Latest: OldMaineWoodsman
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