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I needed to go to the farm today and wanted to shoot my new to me 14 bore.
I left my shotgun bag at a friend's, and had no 14 bore wads... but necessity is the Mother of invention.
Ok..I need powder, shot, wads, caps, and measurer.
Lucky I shoot 45-70. I grabbed an empty, 70 grains max loads please! Measurer, Check.
Lucky my first CVA horn was hanging by the door, with 3fffg. Powder, Check.
I was gifted 75 rounds of 16 gauge. Ready to load 1 1/16oz loads? Shot, Check.
Wads? Hmm. How about some paper napkins from Sonic? Check.
Get to the farm, I keep caps EVERYWHERE! Grab a tin from the Dad's old gun rack. Check!
Ok, first pop a few caps, done.
Now powder, I do fill the 45-70 case about 1/2" short of full. About 60-ish grains.
Now for over powder wads.
Tamp it down good.
Now for shot, I grab a paper JC Higgins 16 gauge shell, size unknown.
Cut the top off, looks like #6. Perfect.
Ok, shot down the tube. Another Sonic napkin down the chute, Tamp for good measure.
Now for a target. On the side of the house an old Samsonite suitcase sat, way beyond use. Perfect.
Hang it from a tree. Step off 20 paces, aim, fire.
A really tight group, although close range. No holes, about a foot square.
Is this how I usually operate? No way, did it work perfectly well? Absolutely.
I reloaded, slung my horn, dropped the tin in my back pocket, 4 shells in my front pocket, the 45-70 and a bunch of napkins in the other. Walked towards my stand and a crow crossed my path, full from eating my corn. The gun went to my shoulder as on hydraulics. The bird fell at the shot.
I recall a while back someone here listed all the new equipment needed to shoot a black powder gun. It ran into the hundreds of dollars.
Maybe this will show you don't NEED an expensive capper, which I use when shooting trap. You don't NEED an adjustable measure, an old cartridge or horn will do.
I NEVER shoot trap without wads, but I would have broke a bird, cause I broke one for real, with some free napkins.
I am always on the hustle for old shotgun shells; I cut them and cannibalize the shot. Today I used cartridges for ease of carrying the shot in the field.
But NEVER THINK you can use ANY SMOKELESS POWDER IN BLACK POWDER ARMS!! I ONLY use the shot, the powder gets dumped in the yard, hulls in a bucket of water, then the trash.
Ok, bring on the criticism.
I left my shotgun bag at a friend's, and had no 14 bore wads... but necessity is the Mother of invention.
Ok..I need powder, shot, wads, caps, and measurer.
Lucky I shoot 45-70. I grabbed an empty, 70 grains max loads please! Measurer, Check.
Lucky my first CVA horn was hanging by the door, with 3fffg. Powder, Check.
I was gifted 75 rounds of 16 gauge. Ready to load 1 1/16oz loads? Shot, Check.
Wads? Hmm. How about some paper napkins from Sonic? Check.
Get to the farm, I keep caps EVERYWHERE! Grab a tin from the Dad's old gun rack. Check!
Ok, first pop a few caps, done.
Now powder, I do fill the 45-70 case about 1/2" short of full. About 60-ish grains.
![20230315_161020.jpg 20230315_161020.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206350-20230315-161020.jpg)
Now for over powder wads.
![20230315_161030.jpg 20230315_161030.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206351-20230315-161030.jpg)
Tamp it down good.
Now for shot, I grab a paper JC Higgins 16 gauge shell, size unknown.
Cut the top off, looks like #6. Perfect.
![20230315_161227.jpg 20230315_161227.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206352-20230315-161227.jpg)
![20230315_161206.jpg 20230315_161206.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206353-20230315-161206.jpg)
![20230315_161301.jpg 20230315_161301.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206354-20230315-161301.jpg)
Ok, shot down the tube. Another Sonic napkin down the chute, Tamp for good measure.
Now for a target. On the side of the house an old Samsonite suitcase sat, way beyond use. Perfect.
Hang it from a tree. Step off 20 paces, aim, fire.
A really tight group, although close range. No holes, about a foot square.
![20230315_160630.jpg 20230315_160630.jpg](https://cdn2.imagearchive.com/muzzleloadingforum/data/attach/206/206356-20230315-160630.jpg)
Is this how I usually operate? No way, did it work perfectly well? Absolutely.
I reloaded, slung my horn, dropped the tin in my back pocket, 4 shells in my front pocket, the 45-70 and a bunch of napkins in the other. Walked towards my stand and a crow crossed my path, full from eating my corn. The gun went to my shoulder as on hydraulics. The bird fell at the shot.
I recall a while back someone here listed all the new equipment needed to shoot a black powder gun. It ran into the hundreds of dollars.
Maybe this will show you don't NEED an expensive capper, which I use when shooting trap. You don't NEED an adjustable measure, an old cartridge or horn will do.
I NEVER shoot trap without wads, but I would have broke a bird, cause I broke one for real, with some free napkins.
I am always on the hustle for old shotgun shells; I cut them and cannibalize the shot. Today I used cartridges for ease of carrying the shot in the field.
But NEVER THINK you can use ANY SMOKELESS POWDER IN BLACK POWDER ARMS!! I ONLY use the shot, the powder gets dumped in the yard, hulls in a bucket of water, then the trash.
Ok, bring on the criticism.