Bare Balling today.....

[Nessmuck]

First time running a bare ball in the .62 cal Smoothbore Flinter. .610 bare ball ...85 grains....50 yards Offhand....3 inch orange dot.  Iam thinking this is my go to round. I know in need more trigger time ...but I was happy with the new rear homemade peep. Shooting is like a baseball pitcher....some days you have your stuff...and some days you don’t.




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[bob in the woods]

I would suggest upping the charge from 85 to 100 gr.  I experienced a noticeable increase in accuracy with the larger charge.  Perhaps something to try next time out.

[Nessmuck]

I would suggest upping the charge from 85 to 100 gr.  I experienced a noticeable increase in accuracy with the larger charge.  Perhaps something to try next time out.

Would 2F have any effect on accuracy @ 100 grains....or stick with the 3F ..?

[smylee grouch]

2f might give you less recoil which might mean more accuracy.

[Hungry Horse]

2F is better or even 1F if you can find it, and more of it. And lose the .610 balls and get some .595’s, no patch, no wads, no cards, just a chunk of old wool blanket with some kind of bullet grease on it to hold the ball in place.


 Hungry Horse

[Nessmuck]

2F is better or even 1F if you can find it, and more of it. And lose the .610 balls and get some .595’s, no patch, no wads, no cards, just a chunk of old wool blanket with some kind of bullet grease on it to hold the ball in place.


 Hungry Horse

I have .600 balls too.....shoot the .600 bare with a wad of Tow on top ?

[Nessmuck]

2F is better or even 1F if you can find it, and more of it. And lose the .610 balls and get some .595’s, no patch, no wads, no cards, just a chunk of old wool blanket with some kind of bullet grease on it to hold the ball in place.


 Hungry Horse

..

We have sheep at the house....would that shorn wool work to keep the ball in place...plus it’s full of lanolin ?

[alacran]

I experimented with the bare ball idea for a while. I tried tow over the powder and an A card over the ball. The over ball card was not necessary after a couple of shots due to the fowling. I have tried wool over the powder. I also tried a B card(i/8 inch hard card) over the powder again with the light card over the ball.
 I got the best results from the tow and the hard card over the powder. In all cases I had to increase my powder by twenty grains of 2f bare balling, as pressure really drops off. I have also tried ball directly on the powder and pressure really drops off and the fowling is as bad as shooting blank loads.  All those methods are more work than finding patch material that works with your ball size and barrel.

[Nessmuck]

I experimented with the bare ball idea for a while. I tried tow over the powder and an A card over the ball. The over ball card was not necessary after a couple of shots due to the fowling. I have tried wool over the powder. I also tried a B card(i/8 inch hard card) over the powder again with the light card over the ball.
 I got the best results from the tow and the hard card over the powder. In all cases I had to increase my powder by twenty grains of 2f bare balling, as pressure really drops off. I have also tried ball directly on the powder and pressure really drops off and the fowling is as bad as shooting blank loads.  All those methods are more work than finding patch material that works with your ball size and barrel.

So.... I have been running a 600 ball with a .010 patch that I can push in the muzzle with my thumb. Do you have to worry about patch damage ...as you do with the rifled barrels ? Never retrieved one of those patches. If running a patched ball....is the hard card needed ontop of the powder?  Just trying to keep it simple ...with best accurate results.  I did notice a bus load of fouling ...while bare balling.

[Daryl]

Any time you shoot without a lubricated patch, there will definitely be more fouling &
it builds up continually, shot to shot.  With a substantial patch, there is no buildup, shot
after shot. Many of us use a tight patch with round ball in our smoothbores.  I am currently
using a .021" patch in my choked 20 bore with a .595" round ball of pure lead. Actually, with
that gun, I won the December postal match & I think, Bobinthewoods won the January
smoothbore  postal match with his 20 bore.  I think he used paper ctg. loads in his guns
which are snug loading.
Taylor also uses snug denim patches in his smoothbore, with either a .595" ball or .608" ball.
Both of our recovered patches are reusable.

[hanshi]

It does have a rear sight and helps with any shooting.  All at 50 yards, different loads and results.  The top target is actually three groups with each using different powder charges of 60 grn, 75 grn & 80 grn.  It's a bare ball target with a .606" WW ball and all shots are in 5-1/4", tighter if the flyer is discounted.


Left is bare ball.  Right target is prb target.

[Joe Putnam]

In the same boat as Nessmuck, have sheep on the farm and am interested in others' experience of using wool in lieu of tow.
-Joe

[Craig Wilcox]

Welcome to the forum, Joe.  Always like guys that could probably make their own wool shirts.  I used to raise donkeys, no wool there, for sure.
I am following this great thread about 20-bore shooting.  I have two that have never been fired, but I am all ready with this discussion.  Plenty of .600 balls, various types of patch.  Hoping I can find a place within 20 miles to sight in one or both before deer season starts.