TC 56 cal smooth bore loads

[Rat Trapper]

For those of you who have one, what loads do you use? I have the TC manual, but not sure where to get the TC wads. So what do you guys do?

Anyone try loads heavier than the listed 7/8 oz load TC listed?

 

[nkbj]

Could use a 9/16" gasket punch?

 

[FishDFly]

Track of the Wolf and no, book lists 7/8 and I see no reason to exceed that.

 

[cynthialee]

I use 28 gauge wads and cards I got from Track of the Wolf.
They work well enough. The cards could be a bit larger for my tastes so I use 2 of them when I load.

 

[cynthialee]

Forgot: I use an equal volume measure of powder and lead. Ussually 70 grains of 2F, a wad then shot and a couple over shot cards.

For ball I am using a .015 patch with a .535 ball and 80 grains of 2F GOEX. Oh and an over powder card.

 

[longfowler]

I make my own cushion wads from toilet paper, I jam wet TP in my loading block and let them dry. Pop them out the next day and put them in my shooting bag, they work great to tighten up the groups with PRB. But I have never tried them with shot.

 

[Rat Trapper]

Thanks for the info. anyone else got any ideas?

 

[jethro224]

Had one of those a few years ago. Never did see the T/C manual for it. I always used 1oz shot loads. Now, I am not recommending that you use anything over the manufacturers recommendations, just sayin' that I did...

With the 28ga cards from Track, mine would spill shot out the muzzle if I pointed it down. I used some of their 24ga cards with good results and also used some punched out of cereal boxes with a 9/16 arc punch.

If I recall, my best shot patterns were with 60 grains of 2F, 3 cards, 1oz shot in a post-it note cup, topped with one card, rammed down using a jag with a lubed patch on it.

Never did try shooting ball with that gun.

 

[SCATTERSHOT]

Never used mine for shot, but with a ball I used .530, a Wonder Wad (.58 cal) and a denim patch, over a charge of 60 grains of ffg. It was hard to load, but it shot like a rifle at 50 yards.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I made up some of the TP wads using a board that I had drilled 9/16 holes in. think I will lube them up with bore butter in hopes that they will not catch on fire when shot. Will be few days before I can try them to see if they work ok.

 

[pmwest]

I use a 15mm arch punch and 1/8” Durafelt or grey cardboard similar to legal pad backing. I’ve had good luck with ¾ oz. loads of #9 for clay targets and #5 for squirrel. I use an equal volume of FFg. 2 wads between powder and shot and 1 over.

 

[Rat Trapper]

I'm thinking now about shipping the barrel off and have it made into a 20 ga with a jug choke. Anyone ever done that with a one inch on the flats barrel?

 

[badpenny]

check with bob hoyt. had him bore and rifle one to .58. a .62 smoothbore seems doable.

 

[roundball]

I'm thinking now about shipping the barrel off and have it made into a 20 ga with a jug choke. Anyone ever done that with a one inch on the flats barrel?

Excellent decision...then you'll have a really versatile smoothbore...several members have posted here about having that done to T/C's .56 SB...posted that Hoyt charges around $65-75 bucks to bore one out to 20ga.
And a Jug Choke can run about the same or a little more.

 

[azmntman]

what is a jug choke? :idunno:

 

[Zonie]

A jug choke is a muzzleloaders delight. :grin:

The bore at the muzzle and below the choke is a full shotgun gauge in size but the jug choke makes the barrel shoot like the muzzle was actually choked.

To do this, an area starting around 1 inch down from the muzzle and extending from 3 to maybe 6 inches further down the bore is enlarged.
Both ends of the enlargement are tapered into the existing bore.

When the shot reaches the jug, the shot column starts to expand like it would if it was actually out of the barrel.
The expanding shot column reaches the outer "forcing cone" which forces the shot back together and this forcing cone does the same thing it does in a normal choke tightening up the pattern.

Doing this makes the gun shoot like a choked gun but it is as easy to load as a cylinder bored barrel.

 

[azmntman]

Can it be done on 20 ga side by side??

 

[roundball]

Yes, the only real issue would be if a barrel happened to oddly be abnormally thin, because the expansion chamber is actually an enlarged area, honed out .015-.020" inside the. existing bores

 

[Rat Trapper]

Roundball,

Thanks for the advice. Will try to call him today or tomorrow.

 

[roundball]

Roundball,
Thanks for the advice. Will try to call him today or tomorrow.

Let the phone ring as he may not hear it if something noisy is running in the machine shop.

PS: Jug Chokes


I don't know if he does Jug Chokes...may have to consider Danny Caywood at Caywood Guns (or Caywood Arms, etc).