AmericanLongRifles Forums
General discussion => Black Powder Shooting => Topic started by: Dan1953 on January 08, 2026, 12:41:20 AM
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i am looking for speed loaders for my pedersoli replicas. i have some i got years ago which have separate compartments for shot, shot wads and powder (up to 1 1/2 oz) the only ones i can find today don't have the option for shot wads. i want to add some additional loaders.
i am hunting waterfowl with non toxic shot and i wanted to protect the barrels (i may well be too cautious but that is just me). i am sure this subject has come up and you all will have better ideas than i can come up with.
Dan1953
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Bismuth would probably be your best non toxic option from both a lethality standpoint at the low velocities muzzleloading shotguns generate, it will also not score the barrel like steel shot may. You can use steel, you just need to use steel wads, with a hard card under the wad to keep the plastic fouling out of the barrel. In terms of sppedloaders, you can make some out of copper or PVC pipe, using corks or some other stopper to seal the ends/keep the shot and powder separate. Although if you load everything in the speedloader together, you can just keep it as a whole unit.
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With Bismuth, you don't have to protect the bore. With iron or tungsten shot, you will have to "likely" use steel shot wads. That is what I would do.
Steel shot wads are thicker than lead shot wads, as the thicker material is needed to protect the bore from the hard shot.
Powder, then over-powder 1/8" hard card wad, then shot-cup, then the shot, then the thin overshot wad.
I suppose you could make up a ctg. but steel shot wads might be too large in diameter to be encased in a paper wrap.
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When I was hunting ducks with a ML I found shot snakes and flask worked best for for me. The teeter toder shot valves are easy and fun to make. Since I carried them under my coat it all stayed dry. I made a near bore diameter rod to seat the steel shot wads. My experience with steels shot was terrible. It did not carry sufficient velocity with black powder to be effective. If I had the itch to do it again I'd be using bismuth and loading it like lead, maybe even with paper cartridges. Plastic speed loaders would need to be separated full from empty and packed out.
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The tungsten shot carries penetration to the extreme, even with BP loads. It's use on turkey's shows this.
On top of that, smaller shot sizes can be used with the benefit of more pellets in the pattern.
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Any chance this is what you are talking about ?
We just called them speed loaders. Partition in the middle separates
the powder from ball or shot.
(https://i.ibb.co/5xtnmy2G/Load-tubes.jpg) (https://ibb.co/Z1tY5PNG)
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i have those and use them for the rifles but the ones i got years ago had a compartment for wads, etc. Can't find them anymore.
i had an idea that i could get a tube with the same ID as the barrel and load it with a cap on the bottom and a overshot card on top. tip it up onto the barrel and push the whole shebang in. it seems too simple and i am sure others have tried it but i can't find any information.
i agree that you need steel/tungsten wads to protect your barrels. i use Hevi Shot or Bismuth depending. the Hevi Shot will kill cleanly with BP. in fact it patterns better (tighter) so you have to let the birds get out or you end up with a dishrag instead of a duck.
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I worked on the chokes of a 10bore SxS before the lead shot ban. I put up a mallard silhouette at 40yards. There were 180 holes in the duck, with 2 ounces of #5 shot, but it patterened 94%right, 96% left with #2's.
THAT was a long range goose gun. It was made in Spain.
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Dan, I know what you're talking about. The ones I have are green with three compartments; I use them for turkey hunting (along with a small flat horn for priming). I'll try to track down where I got them.
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Found 'em! The product name is "Pellet Packer" out of Owensboro, KY. If you do a Google search, you'll find their website. Most practical means of carrying loads for ML shotgun hunting that I've found.
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Here's a link.
https://pelletpacker.com/pelletpacker.htm (https://pelletpacker.com/pelletpacker.htm)
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thanks to all. after much internet sleuthing and midnight skull sweat i did what all men do - i looked at the product i had as a last resort. the replies above are correct - Pellet Packers is what i was looking for. i am a certified idiot so sorry for sending everyone off. thanks for the responses.
i was shooting hevi shot #6 in a muzzleloader in North Dakota (where God makes ducks) and i had a mallard decoy about 40 yards out. i touched off just as his feet touched down and i walked the pattern across him. i counted him towards my bag limit but he had more holes than a dishrag. taught me that i don't need as much volume of shot - obviously.