Author Topic: Smooth bore accuracy  (Read 26352 times)

Offline Daryl

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #25 on: November 28, 2017, 09:13:52 AM »
Local chap, friend Norm, uses 85gr. 3F in his 20 bore smoothie, a Penn. fowler.  It cracks pretty well and Norm

can be hard to beat out to 75 yards, if you are shooting a rifle against him.  He rarely misses and as a matter

of fact, I don't think he missed anything yesterday, inside 75 yards.
Daryl

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Offline Jerry

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #26 on: November 28, 2017, 04:02:45 PM »
Always like to hear of smoothbore accuracy's. Especially when load combinations are included. Would like to know if anyone has ideas of traditional loads? Thanks, Jerry

Offline Mike Brooks

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #27 on: November 28, 2017, 05:56:57 PM »
Always like to hear of smoothbore accuracy's. Especially when load combinations are included. Would like to know if anyone has ideas of traditional loads? Thanks, Jerry
I've been lead to believe traditional loads weren't patched.
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Offline Daryl

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #28 on: November 29, 2017, 05:06:50 AM »
There were a lot of guys using X- military rifles - after all, those could be bought from forts for as little as $1.00

to $1.50 after they were declared obsolete.

That might have taken some time to acquire, but I doubt anyone went WEST without at least a Musket for protection.

 In those, I'd expect the normal load would be a military issue load, also procured at the forts.  Those would be single ball,

buck and ball and buckshot. Now, all of those for the .69 Muskets were of 165gr. musket powder, up until about 1820.

After that, the powder was improved and contained 135gr., still meant for prime and charge. The first cap-lock musket was 1842

in the US.

I guess the pilgrims be on their own for swan shot or other sizes, if small shot was even used. In some locals it was - #4 was used

in St. Louis by "Old Tom" with his 12 bore SxS with 48" barrels. Tom was a market hunter and had a contest against a visiting English

Sportsman who had a 26" barreled 14 bore Sxs, which Tom called a "Little Pistol". They used #4's and shot at a target at 75 yards

distance. The person shooting who put the highest # of pellets on the 4" X 7" piece of paper was the winner of the other guy's gun.

The little pistol won, as he used an Ely 1oz. wire basket concentrator designed for killing ducks at 80- 90yards. His little 14 bore put 28 pellets on his 4x7" paper.

Old Tom's gun made 7 hits, iirc. Both guns were non-choked.

As to RB's I assume the non-musket shooting handloader used wads with balls, not patches, same as was carried over into the 20th century, with punkin-ball loads.

In those, grossly undersized round balls were loaded between wads. The ball careened down the bores and shot very randomly.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline Pukka Bundook

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #29 on: November 29, 2017, 05:19:28 PM »
Mark just posted these photos on another forum, but said I was free to share them here;

 Original flintlock India pattern, shot off-hand at 55 yards.  13 shots, ten best for score.

First picture, Mark's target from the MLAGB Overseas team fundraiser competition,
Score 96,  7 x 10's   2 x 9  1 x 8  (discount 3 x 7's)



Second photo and Mark's personal best;

Shot at the end of season MLAGB OTC comp. 
Score 97,   7 x 10's,  & 3 x 9's.  Discount 1 x 9  & 2 x 8's



Must say, my cap is off to him!

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #30 on: December 08, 2017, 10:02:30 AM »
Bob, a Swedish airgun company, called "FX" is producing the barrel you describe and getting remarkable accuracy.

Offline hanshi

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #31 on: December 08, 2017, 09:47:07 PM »
Impressive, to say the least.
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Offline oldtravler61

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #32 on: December 08, 2017, 11:38:55 PM »
 Back in the 80s had a friend Wayne Sandy...Canadian fellow...his accuracy with his smooth bore was remarkable...to amazing...don't ever underestimate their accuracy potential...learned that shooting against him...yep the rifle shooters...picked up on that real well..as in getting our butts beat...

Offline Old Ford2

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #33 on: December 14, 2017, 04:13:24 PM »
3" at 50 yards is very good for a smoothbore. We've done this (1 of LB's 20 bores), with 3 different people shooting the gun, in testing, a 6 shot group of 3"- very round- almost perfectly so.

Mine won't do 3" at 50yards or doesn't seem to want to. I suspect I need more practice with it and maybe need to remove the choke, but it shoots shot so well, that isn't going to happen.

My flinter smoothbore will shoot reasonably well out to 28/30 yards, though.



Daryl,
With a little more practice you should be able to hit the bull's eye more frequently  :o .............you did it once.
Seriously, that is fine shooting at that distance.
I'd be happy to have all shots on paper.
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Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #34 on: December 14, 2017, 06:29:06 PM »
Oldtravler61 is right on the money when it comes to some smoothbore shooters being a threat to rifle shooters. Years ago I attended a Rendezvous up in Oregon called Frog Holler. It was a serious primitive event requiring participants to either walk in, or canoe in. The Canadians flocked down from up North to attend, and brought their smoothbores. Many laughed at them, but many, me included, got sent South with our tails between our legs. Those guys could make a smoothbore shoot like a rifle. Many of them carried one granulation of powder, round balls. And some little squares of old wool blanket, with a little bear grease on them to hold the ball in place on top of the powder. I had my first trade gun, and had a suitcase full of wads, cards, patches, and 4F powder. Those guys just laughed at me, and my buddies, and shot us into the dirt.

  Hungry Horse

Offline Frank

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #35 on: December 16, 2017, 12:09:32 AM »
Oldtravler61 is right on the money when it comes to some smoothbore shooters being a threat to rifle shooters. Years ago I attended a Rendezvous up in Oregon called Frog Holler. It was a serious primitive event requiring participants to either walk in, or canoe in. The Canadians flocked down from up North to attend, and brought their smoothbores. Many laughed at them, but many, me included, got sent South with our tails between our legs. Those guys could make a smoothbore shoot like a rifle. Many of them carried one granulation of powder, round balls. And some little squares of old wool blanket, with a little bear grease on them to hold the ball in place on top of the powder. I had my first trade gun, and had a suitcase full of wads, cards, patches, and 4F powder. Those guys just laughed at me, and my buddies, and shot us into the dirt.

  Hungry Horse


Going to try out bare ball load with a wool patch on top to hold everything in place. Having a heck of a time trying to find some 100% wool material at a reasonable price. Most everything out there is a wool blend. Don't want to deposit melted polyester in my barrel.

This stuff sounds usable. 65% new wool and 35% reprocessed wool.

 https://www.armysurplusworld.com/used-gi-wool-blanket

« Last Edit: December 16, 2017, 12:32:56 AM by Frank »

Offline smylee grouch

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #36 on: December 16, 2017, 12:57:58 AM »
Frank: I'm curious if you could burn a small patch of that wool blend and be able to tell if any poly is in the ashes.

Offline Frank

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #37 on: December 16, 2017, 01:14:42 AM »
I think if you burn it the poly leaves a hard residue, almost like plastic.

Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #38 on: December 16, 2017, 06:12:51 PM »
I use army surplus blankets, the old green woven ones. The modern grey ones that look like they are felted instead of woven, aren’t 100% wool.
 If you think about it, blankets probably got eaten up pretty quickly back in the day due to moths. Making the remnants fair game for gun wadding.

  Hungry Horse

Offline Frank

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #39 on: December 16, 2017, 08:34:36 PM »
I use army surplus blankets, the old green woven ones. The modern grey ones that look like they are felted instead of woven, aren’t 100% wool.
 If you think about it, blankets probably got eaten up pretty quickly back in the day due to moths. Making the remnants fair game for gun wadding.

  Hungry Horse

Ok, got my wool blanket. What size wad do you recommend for a 20 gauge?  One inch square or a little larger. Thanks

Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #40 on: December 16, 2017, 09:10:41 PM »
I cut them square, and big enough to hold the ball in place, without being so big that they come back up with the loading rod. The Canadians I shot against lightly dipped them in hot tallow, and strung them on a piece of light cording. Since it isn’t really a patch, having a small hole in the middle doesn’t matter.
 The ball being undersized, and the powder charge being pretty substantial are important. I find that dimpling the balls helps a little as well.

  Hungry Horse

Offline OldMtnMan

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #41 on: December 16, 2017, 10:26:29 PM »
Dimpling. Do they make a bore big enough to use golf balls? :)

Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #42 on: December 16, 2017, 11:03:44 PM »
The best dimpler is an old paint shaker, but a sawsall, or a sabersaw, with a bench made fixture to attach it to a paint can. A couple of dozen balls will beat each other up pretty good. You want them to look like a golf ball, which happens faster than you think, so don’t overdo it.

  Hungry Horse

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #43 on: December 17, 2017, 01:08:48 AM »
The best dimpler is an old paint shaker, but a sawsall, or a sabersaw, with a bench made fixture to attach it to a paint can. A couple of dozen balls will beat each other up pretty good. You want them to look like a golf ball, which happens faster than you think, so don’t overdo it.

  Hungry Horse
Put the cast balls in a paint can, toss them in your truck bed or car trunk and take a drive.

Offline oldtravler61

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #44 on: December 17, 2017, 01:37:44 AM »
 Just put ten or fifteen in a small soup can an shake them a little. Work's just fine...An those green army blankets work real well...

Offline Robby

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #45 on: December 17, 2017, 04:35:06 PM »
molon labe
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Offline Leatherbark

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #46 on: December 17, 2017, 06:29:17 PM »
This is my Pedersoli Bess accuacy at 50 yards with a .715 Lyman ball wrapped in a thin Walmart brown ticking patch lubed with TOWs Mink oil over 100 grains a Goex 2F powder.  This was my first outing and was shot from a makeshift rest. That long flash hole into the barrel was hangfiring terrible which I hope accounts for those two wild shots.

Bob


Offline Daryl

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #47 on: December 18, 2017, 04:01:12 AM »
Certainly shows promise, Bob.
Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a spaniel without ears" King George V

Offline Frank

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #48 on: December 18, 2017, 07:11:35 AM »
I cut them square, and big enough to hold the ball in place, without being so big that they come back up with the loading rod. The Canadians I shot against lightly dipped them in hot tallow, and strung them on a piece of light cording. Since it isn’t really a patch, having a small hole in the middle doesn’t matter.
 The ball being undersized, and the powder charge being pretty substantial are important. I find that dimpling the balls helps a little as well.

  Hungry Horse

The only tallow that I have found that is readily available is beef tallow. Never used tallow before so not sure if this is ok. Closest thing I have used is Tracks mink oil. Got plenty of Mink oil on hand and will use that if acceptable. Looking for your advice as a starting point instead of wasting time experimenting. Thanks
« Last Edit: December 18, 2017, 07:27:34 AM by Frank »

Black Hand

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Re: Smooth bore accuracy
« Reply #49 on: December 18, 2017, 04:13:44 PM »
You could also use some Tow or shorn Sheep's wool instead of a blanket wad.