Trail Boss in shotguns?

[Pappy Myles]

OK Cow Pokes,
Heres my situation, I'm on assignment away from home, but have some cowboy guns and some loading gear with me.
I'm out of shot shells but have plenty of 20 ga STS hulls and wads. I can by 20 ga at the local wally world, but the new STS kicks a lot harder than my loads.

I cant find any shotshell powder, or pistol powders that work. On the burn rate charts, I see Trail Boss right in there with AA Super handicap and international.    my normal load in 20 ga is 14 grains international, and 7/8 oz shot.   Works perfectly in my stoger coach gun.  Nice, mild, knocks down, and ejects.

Im thinking the burn rate are similar, but have no idea of the different pressure waves that may be created.

Is this a recipe for disaster?

[Pettifogger]

The fact that none of the reloading manuals/websites has Trail Boss shotgun loading data ought to tell you something.

[Johnny McCrae]

I remember asking IMR about using Trail Boss for shotgun loads. I forgot the reason but they did not recommend it.

[Litl Red]

Shotshells rely on the wads fitting the shell and the powder and shot fitting in the wads.   Trail Boss powder is way outside average volume density of the average shotgun powder.  Finding a wad that works might be the reason the mfg and IMR didn't spend the money to do the testing.   It might also be the way Trail Boss reacts in a shotshell's environment.  Wads cushion the pressure spikes, and that probably doesn't help some powders catch fire.  

Who knows for sure, other than maybe TBs inventors.  And they probably did try it in shotguns.  

[Delmonico]

Well for one, Trail Boss is a light fluffy power I heard basically you can't put enough of it in to make it work and that is why they didn't bother working up loads for it, way too bulky.   

But nothing like a good disaster tale, sometimes they make movies out of them.

Simple, if the maker of a powder don't have loads for them then don't even think about trying.


When the Marshall asked us moderators about starting this board, my suggestion was to use this little statement which the author agreed to, but it seems to have been wasted effort since few seem to read it. 

http://www.cascity.com/forumhall/index.php/topic,40688.0.html


Yes I can be blunt, yes it pays to pay attention when loading, read it a couple times please.

[Pappy Myles]

Thanks,
I actually called IMR-   and asked.  as a lot of you remembered, I was told you cant get enough powder in the shell along with an appropriate wad to work like its suppose to.  Loads were worked up, but due the the length required of the case, they'd be outside the specs established.  As such, not published and not recommended.

But thought I'd ask