Black Powder for big birds?

Dick Dastardly · April 02, 2006, 11:40:57 AM

I'm thinkn' of workin' up some loads for my 10ga SxS. It's chambered for 3-1/2" hulls. I'd load a strong load of Holy Black under Hevi Shot. Hevi Shot is just slightly denser than lead and holds the all time tight pattern records. What I'm wonderin' is this. . . . Has anyone loaded this kind of load? Any input would be appreciated.

I have some nice nickel plated shot for turkeys. 2-1/2 oz of that tips Tom Turkey rite smart, but it ain't legal for web footed birds.

Thanks,

DD-DLoS

Delmonico · April 02, 2006, 02:04:45 PM

Dick, if I were to try this I would just use a square load, since it is a 3 1/2 inch chambered gun it is proofed for modern smokeless loads. I wouldn't think the slightly heavier load would bump the pressure up anywhere near max. Just MHO.

Dick Dastardly · April 02, 2006, 02:12:10 PM

Howdy Delmonico,

I think we'd be on the same page. I was thinkn' a square load separated by an over powder card, lubed fiber wad, shotcup and an overshot card followed by a roll crimp. I guess I was lookin' to see if anybody had done it yet. If not, I'll get it done and post the results after I shoot some paper.

Thanks,

DD-DLoS

Delmonico · April 02, 2006, 02:17:08 PM

To bad they won't let us use real shot, that nickel plated stuff is gread. I use 7/8 oz of #7's in a smokless load in a 28 ga Rmmy 870 Skeet gun for pheasants. Seldom feel the need for more.

Arcey · April 02, 2006, 03:16:25 PM

Just wish I knew where ta buy a license ta shoot Big Bird..........

Dick Dastardly · April 02, 2006, 04:32:13 PM

Ho Arcey,

For the real liberal "big bird" ya gotta go to hollow wood and they don't issue no license. Ya mite consider poachin' tho. . .

DD-DLoS

Cuts Crooked · April 02, 2006, 05:27:56 PM

1 3/4 Oz of # 6, over a half cushion wad, a card wad, and 70 grains of 3F in plain old 2 1/2" hulls is fantastic turkey medicine out to thirty yards. Don't need no more than that on accounta I call em in CLOSE!!!!!!

Dick Dastardly · April 02, 2006, 07:16:48 PM

Howdy Cuts,

I'm learning. Big guns don't mean nothin' without tight patterns and uniform pellet distribution. One other thing that I work for is a short shot string. I want the pellet cloud to arrive on target at near the same time. Not strung out like a machine gun. That way when I actually do center my target in the middle of the spread it's all there. That way the impact is maximised.

Just the way I kill.

DD-DLoS

Cuts Crooked · April 03, 2006, 08:35:51 AM

Howdy DD,

Ah the fun of finding wat werks!

I'm jist guessing here but I figger yer TEN was made sometime in the last fourty/fifty years? And if so what will work in it is anybodies guess, when it comes to BP. I imagine the forcing cones are cut to take maximum advantage of plastic wad technology and star crimp shells. It might even be slightly back bored! So it's gonna be a "cut & try" job to find the right combo fer it!

My Old Crescent on the other hand, was built sometime in the very early 1900s and the chambers & forcing cones were cut for the old card/cushion wad technology....and that's what it werks best with! In fact it doesn't like star crimps all that well either, because the forcing cones are so short! It tok me a while to figger this out because no one around here had ever used BP in scattergun shells and there's not much out there in the way of manuals about loading them either. $:-\$

Good luck Pard!

Silver Creek Slim · April 03, 2006, 12:23:52 PM

I haven't tried my "Mighty Ten" on game, yet. I haven't done any waterfowl hunting. The thought of lugging it on a pheasant hunt for a mile or more doesn't sound too fun for this aging/out of shape body.

Quote from: Dick Dastardly on April 02, 2006, 02:12:10 PM
Howdy Delmonico,

I think we'd be on the same page. I was thinkn' a square load separated by an over powder card, lubed fiber wad, shotcup and an overshot card followed by a roll crimp. I guess I was lookin' to see if anybody had done it yet. If not, I'll get it done and post the results after I shoot some paper.

Thanks,

DD-DLoS

DD,
I'm thinking by using the shotcup it should give ya tighter patterns in your modern gun. BTW, how tight of patterns are ya looking fer? Is yers choked F/F like mine?

Ya got me thinkin' now. If I can find a good BP load for my "Mighty Ten" I might have ta try it on pheasant just fer the fun factor.

Slim

Dick Dastardly · April 03, 2006, 05:33:48 PM

Ho Slim,

My Ten is very similar to yours, and yes, it's F&F. It's also heavy, but with a 3-1/2" 10ga that weight helps to manage recoil. I'll be shootn' it a lot this year.

FWIW, with about 43.5g of 4756 pushin 2.5oz of buffered nickel plated buffered #3 shot in a Remington SP-10 wad, it flat out kills yotes. I took one at 75 yards and it never even wiggled again. It was riddled.

DD-DLoS