Smoothie guage.

[George F.]

I recently just finished my Issac Berlin Smoothie . When I ordered the barrel I thought I was getting a .62 cal. barrel, and went ahead and ordered the apprioate  balls, jags,wads and cards. I never checked it. Now I checked it with a caliper and it reads  .687 Does anybody know what this is, and are there balls, cards and wads available for this. can any body help me?   ...Geo.

[Mike R]

that is something between a 14 and 15 guage.

[George F.]

The barrel was stamped "14" on the bottom. I guess that means I might have to have a mold and wad punches  made? ...Geo.

[Eric Laird]

George,
Sounds like you have a 14ga/.69 caliber. Components should be fairly easy to come by with all the French and US reproduction muskets out there. The .69 was the standard US musket caliber from the M1795 up through the M1842 (and earlier, if you want to count all the French help during the revolution). Track of the Wolf carries round balls from .662 up through .678 so there should be something in there that shoots well, and the 14 ga wads should work as well. I haven't looked at any molds lately, but expect they are also available. Good luck with your smoothbore.
Eric

[woodsrunner]

Circlefly makes every wad and card size you will need, and the prices are very reasonable.

http://www.circlefly.com

Ray Rapine will most likely have a mould in that size, or will cut you one. I have 8 of Ray's moulds. All excellent quality. His number is: 215-679-5413

[George F.]

Thanks for the help. I asked Don Getz, and he straightened me out.....Thanks All....Geo.

[Longknife]

Most  Charleville and model '85 musket owners prefer the .662 ball.....Ed

[northmn]

That should prove to be a very nice fowler, and very effective with RB.  Due to the heavier ball it will kick a little more but all in all I think you have a excellent combination.  In a pinch, you can use wasp nest for wads, or other materials.  ML's do not need to use cut wads.  In a dry area some wads such as toilet paper can start fires (A couple of guys I knew set a stubble field on fire sharptail hunting using toilet paper) but wasps nests do not. Cut wads are nice and I use them mostly but I am just mentioning that about any gauge can be used.  14 gauge doubles used to be popular in England as they made a finer gun in which hammers could be reached easier.

DP

[George F.]

Well I guess I'm almost a redneck I do usually have access to wasp nests, because I have a van that runs but has problems like it leaks transmission fluid like crazy and it is hardly moved. Anyway I use it mostly for extra storage since I live in a apt.  The wasps build nest in the door jambs. And NO I didn't find it when I was cutting the grass.
All in all The Berlin Smoothie turned out OK, actually I am pleased with it It was supposed to be 14 gauge, but for some reason I thought it was a 20 gauge It was my mistake. I guess when you buy a barrel 10 years ago, then you get off your __ss    and finaly finish your gun I guess you forget things.

[rich pierce]

Show us the gun!

[Daryl]

14 bore is actually something like .693".  There has alwasy been some leeway on sizing smoothbores. 15 bore is somewhere around .678".  Taylor's Manton is marked 15. It's bores run .675" and .677"

[George F.]

I'd like to post a few pictures, but since I am a terrible engraver, I send it down to Greg Dixon for his skills. It only needs the lock engraved and my signature on the barrel. After that's done I'll have my nephew post the pictures.   ...Geo.

[George F.]

I ordered .662 round balls from Track, Some wads and cards. Since I haven't tried anything in it yet, I might of ordered the wrong size wads and cards. I ordered 15 gauge wads and cards.The digital  caliper I used to check the bore, I'm not sure how accurately I did it. Plus I don't know how tight the wads and cards are suppose to fit in the bore. Should I of ordered the wads and cards for a 14 gauge?  I'm lost, being new to smoothies,,, can somebody give me some info.   ...Geo.

[R. Hare]

George,

Your wads might be a bit slack, for the 14-bore.

Sometimes you can find a piece of pipe the right size, and sharpen it for cutting wads.
Cushion wads don't matter too much in a M/L.
Back in England, if shooting pigeons over laid corn, (Wheat, or barley) I used ivy leaves as wads. (So's not to set crop on fire)
An old gunsmith told me about this, and it works just fine!
If you can't find ivy leaves, any tough old leaf will work. just roll them in a ball and ram them down on your powder. Only thing is, don't leave t loaded overnight, as powder might get damp.
Used these for September ducks too.
A bit of dry grass on top of shot is all that's needed, , or less leaf.

Richard.

[George F.]

I rechecked my order and I did order 14 gauge wads and cards with .662 balls. thanks for replying.  ...Geo.

[northmn]

Be careful of the Ivy leaves in the U.S.  The small plants with three leaves can itch. As there is no case length to worry about, you can use about anything for wads.

DP

[Dan]

Forward Chamber Diameters
Gauge   Inches   mm
410   0.463   11.76
28   0.614   15.60
20   0.685   17.40
16   0.732   18.59
12   0.798   20.27
10   0.841   21.36

Standard Bore Sizes
Lead = 709 lbs/ft³
Gauge   Inches   mm
.410   0.410   10.4
32   0.526   12.7
28   0.550   14.0
24   0.580   14.7
20   0.615   15.6
16   0.662   16.8
14   0.693   17.6
13   0.710   18.0
12   0.729   18.5
11   0.751   19.1
10   0.775   19.7
8   0.835   21.2
6   0.918   23.3
4   1.052   26.7

All from this link:  http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html

[Daryl]

Dan- I see you didn't mention 2 bore rifle. Steve Zihn of this site is making one for a fellow who already has a 4 bore rifle by him. I think the bore size for the '2' is 1.35".  Come to think of it, Hathet Jack has the round ball mould for that one.  It is the small ball for his 1.5" cannon. Sounds like fun! - NOT!

[Dan]

There are some places that shoulders and retinas where never meant to visit and I suspect the 2 and 4 bores fit that description.  I admire anyone that can do it but I never will try and that's a fact.

File this under lots of NOT!