16 gauge BP questions Hunting load!

[okotoks]

16 gauge  BP questions

I spent Thanksgiving blazing away at wild Kansas pheasants with my 12 G coach gun, Brass shells and a healthy dose of BP, which has a nice pattern at 20 yards but not at 35.
I am thinking of buying a  16 gauge (a nice light, only 6#,  & relatively cheap French side by side) for pheasant hunting, and load Brass shells with the real gun powder.

All the published 16 gauge loads, for the heathen smokeless powder are for 1 ounce of shot,

The rangy wild pheasants in Kansas where I hunt need more shot that that, perhaps I need more shooting too, but I have killed a lot of birds with 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 ounce in both 20G 3' mags and 12 G.  Unfortunately I had my browning 20 G SxS stock cut down for my kids and now can't hit anything with it. And since coming over to the darkside hunting with my 12G autoloader is out of the question.

I think I need 2 1/2 to 3 drams and 1 1/8 ounce of #5 shot (a 12G "heavy field load" equivalent)

Have you loaded more than a ounce of shot in your 16 gauge(s)?

with and ounce of F swiss or goex and a nitro and fiber wad,  I know there will be lots of room for extra shot in a brass shell, should I be concerned about pressure problems?   In a 12 G brass shell I could probably add 1 3/8+ ounces of shot and still glue on an over shot card.
Thanks
okotoks

[Dick Dastardly]

The 16ga will do the trick.  Mine does.  The first thing you will want to know is if the forcing cone was made for plastic or natural wads.  If the gun is as old as mine, it will do fine with natural fiber wads from Circle Fly.  Check the Circle Fly web site for the best wad size for 16ga all brass shells.  It'll be larger than 16ga.

The load you want is near square.  You will have to pattern the gun to find out what it likes.  Then, if you want to shoot an ounce and an eighth of shot, put in that volume or slightly less of FFg Holy Black.  Build your powder/wad/shot column to fill the brass hull to within 1/4" of the top.  If you're shooting all natural wads, simply put in enough wad to bring the shot near that height and put an overshot card on top and glue it in place.  Any extra fiber cushion wad you can use here is a bonus in keeping the pattern nice and even.

If you are going to shoot those ugly plastic wads you may want to put some 20ga wadding in the plastic cup for column height adjustment.  Don't ask me what size plastic wad fits 16ga all brass hulls.  There may be a plastic wad made for the old style WWAA hulls that were tapered inside and that may be possibly be used in the all brass 16ga hulls.  Experiment and take notes.

Ok, next you would benefit from getting the shot velocity near the 1200 fps mark.  You would like as much of the shot that strikes the bird as possible to penetrate all the way to exit.  If you move 1-1/8 oz of shot near 1200 fps out of a 6 pound gun it will be lively enough.  If you use more and push it that fast you may soon find that you can clap with your shoulder blades.  I learned that trick and don't recommend the performance.

Finally, when you get the whole thing working just the way you want, switch to nickel plated #5 shot and buffer it.  Ballistic products has the stuff you need.  In the end you should end up with an absolute killer of a load that will not drag feathers into the meat.  The buffer will tend to tighten your patterns some because there will be less "flyers".  That's because the shot will stay round and won't beat each other to death going thru the forcing cone and choke.

Good luck and good eating.

DD-DLoS

[Sir Charles deMouton-Black]

Okotoks;  If your gun weighs six pounds, it may be a chore to handle with 1 1/8 oz loads.  The English gunmakers used the formula that the gun should weigh 96 times the weight of shot, for the best balance of handling and effectiveness.

96 times one ounce is six pounds.

This doesn't mean you shouldn't try it. 

As Dick says, you can load less than an equal volume of powder to shot and still achieve an effective load.  Less powder generally makes a tighter pattern.

[okotoks]

Thanks for the input,  Magtech brass and 15 G circle fly wads, 14G overshot cards should arrive today.

I don't intend to shoot the new fangled plastic wads unless I am absolutely forced to.

I have some "golden pheasant" factory ammo 1 1/8 shot & 3 1/4 drams equivalent to investigate the "recoil factor", 

However having shot boxes of Garret's +P 45-70 ammo, &r equivalent handloads,  in a marlin guides gun I can't believe the recoil should be much of a problem.



 

[Wills Point Pete]

 I shoot a gun with "modern" forcing cones and bores, it patterns a lot better with plastic wads. I have found that the same gauge plastic wad that fits in the newfangled plastic hulls work fine in the Mag Tech brass hulls IF I use the proper sized overpowder wad.

Your gun will, of course, tell you what wads it likes. I bought a thousand 11 gauge overpowder wads and a thousand 11 gauge fiber cushion wads for my 12 gauge, then found that my gun really likes the plastic wads. I keep a few loaded with the fiber cushion, though, my shotgun patterns one choke increment tighter with the plastic than the fiber, ie, my IC/Mod double shoots Skeet and Ic with fiber wads. And by using a lighter powder charge and a heavier shot charge it can go to Mod/ Imp Mod.
By messing with wads and charges it's almost like having a handfull of screw in choke tubes. I wish I'd discovered that a shotgun is more than a vehicle for throwing buckshot back when I was young.

[Dick Dastardly]

Pete's on to something here.  Simply changing shells is a LOT quicker and more versatile than screwing choke tubes in and out.  Also, you don't have to worry about loosing those dang choke tubes and tube wrenches.

For really tight and even patterns get your best pattern worked up and then load some with Ballistic Products buffer.  Your 16ga will do ducks with those.

DD-DLoS