lets here some 50 cal smootbore loads

[adkmountainken]

i picked up and antique ( fully functioning ) 50 caliber smooth rifle recently and really want to kill a turkey with it.  i have been hunting turkeys for the last 5 years exclusively with flintlock fowlers in 75 cal so i am at ground zero in working up a pattern for a .50  I am thinking about starting at 60 grains FF, wonder wad, 1.25 ounces of #5's and either another wonder wad or nitro card.  i need to get some veg wads in near future.  anyone care to share their pet 50 cal load?

[Daryl]

Taylor has one, but hasn't built it - yet.
Your suggested loads look too large to me, powder AND shot.
I would think 50gr. might work with 3/4 to 1ounce of shot and even this might be too heavy for a .50.
Trying to remember what I used in my .45 smoothbore. I think maybe 35 to 40gr. powder and 3/4oz. shot.
Broke 10 birds in a row with that load using 7 1/2's. Beat all the 12 and 10 bores. That was way back when there were
not a gaggle of 20 bores being standard- maybe 1981?
My chart shows a measure that throws 50gr. powder, should throw 3/4oz. shot. I just checked, so maybe 45gr. powder and 3/4oz. show could be better
especially since this is an antique.
Remember, you are looking for 1,000fps to 1,100fps, not 1,500fps.
The use of smaller diameter tungsten shot (higher shot numbers) could be quite good, compared to limited # of shot in larger lead sizes.

[adkmountainken]

3/4 ounce is a bit light for turkeys which is what i will be hunting i have a lot of experience as i said with bigger fowlers but never went this light for turkeys. i keep ALL shots at 20 yards or under but feel i need atleast an ounce of shot. i do not like tungston or tss i like to keep it simple and do not want to use any plastic shot cups or things of that nature.  for the first few years i was using just hornets nest and keep all shots under 20 yards have switched to Sky Chief load but do not have all the components for 50 cal yet to try it.

[Hungry Horse]

 I haven’t shot a .50 caliber smooth bore, but I have done a lot of shooting, and hunting, with a twenty gauge tradegun, and my sons .410 tradegun. Stringing shot is the biggest problem you will have after you get rid of cut wads entirely. They  almost always leave holes in your pattern. I’ve had good success with wasp nest, tow, and even the cork matting they use to line tool boxes. 2F and even 1F is better than 3F, because of the nice gentle push it gives. My son’s little tradegun will break clays at thirty yards like clockwork. I also cut the edge of any overshot card I use, so they don’t “dish” and go through the pattern. I cast my shot from food safe pewter from the second hand store. It works out to be about #4 or #5 shot.

Hungry Horse

[adkmountainken]

i have a big supply of wasp nest will try it again it is what i started with years ago

[bob in the woods]

My .54 smoothbore was deadly with 55 gr of 2 F and 7/8ths oz of shot
I think Daryl's suggestion of 50 gr and 3/4 oz would be a good place to start.

[Daryl]

Of course, tungsten shot would need a heavy (thick) plastic steel shot wad and there are none available in that calibre.
If 3/4oz. to 1oz. is "too thin" a shot cloud for turkey, that simply means a .50- smoothbore is too small.
1 ounce would be a VERY heavy load for a smooth .50. That is 2 1/2 times the weight of a .490 ball.

[Hungry Horse]

 I’ve found that a small bore shoots a much tighter pattern than a large bore. This being said, stringing shot is not conductive to wing shooting without a lot of practice. I did know a couple of wing shots that were pretty good with small bores on clay pigeons, and quail, but they shot little else, and shot a lot of trap with their small bores.
 I think smaller bore muzzle loading smoothbores work fine on turkeys because they are rarely wing shot, and the primary target area is the head, whereas waterfowl are pretty much always on the wing, and some are incredibly hard to kill cleanly.
 I hope to build a couple small bore smoothbores, one in 24 gauge, and another in 28 gauge, I do have another new old stock barrel that measures about 47 caliber (whatever gauge that works out to, that I may also use.

Hungry Horse

[Daryl]

Been thinking on my statement about the .50 smoothy being too small. It isn't really, but might take some time and experimentation to "make" it work. That .45 smoothbore I had, would have been fine for turkey with its .410 shot-cup full of shot which was my method of loading it.