new to shooting fowler

[bob hertrich]

I have finished a fowler with a 20gauge Colerain barrel, no turkey choke. What should I get for components to shoot it. I have shot and powder just don't know how to get the gun to pattern. I am planning to go pheasant hunting with it and my English Setter friend, Buck.

[Daryl]

Without a choke, I would start off trying 2 or 3 thin "B" wads over about 75gr. 2F powder, then 1 1/8 oz. Shot then a single thin "B" wad over the shot.

[kudu]

I might add--- you may also want to get some fiber wads and/ or Felt wads for shot experimenting.

Now the subject of round ball is wide and diverse!!!

But I like a .020 thick patch and a slightly under "bore size" ball.
with a lube of 20:1 Ballistol and water, 0ver 60gr of fff in my 24 Ga.
In my opinion shooting and sighting in/building a load combination  at 50 yards without a rear sight is tough "and I have good eyes" Butt... 25 yards is too close,so I shoot 38 yards odd but that's what I do.

You can Stop reading hear or not ? just a little Rant I got to Get off my Mind!!!

Now I hate to even go this way in this post but what the heck.
When you start sighting in/"load development for groups"
Your "Might ??" post on hear that "it shoots groups But low.
Well you might have to bend the Barrel. yep that's right Bend the Barrel.

get a good start with it then check back and let us see your progress.


On a personal note I shoot on a smooth bore league and i win a lot against some good shooters.
I shot 12 sundays in a row this winter and near the end I was so far
ahead in points i could have skipped the last shoot and won anyway.

Now I Know I'm NOT the best around, because i shot a match on paper in NMLRA,Territorials.
 And took a distant 3rd. Not too sure how the guy that took first can shoot that good ? but he did I saw it ! and still is shooting scores offhand that are impressive.

The reason  I threw in all the "Braggin Stuff" is I want "YOU" to Get good results .
Im not going to tell you to," stuff this or that, I read about down the muzzle and hope for the best.
I just had a friend buy a smoothbore decided in 4 days it couldn't hit the bottom of a 5gal. pail at 30 yards and sold it.
They are a challenge But thats why Bought it.
Sorry about the Rant!!!

[Daryl]

For round ball loads in .20 bores (actual .620") many of us use a .595" ball. I think Lyman makes that size, as well as
Tanner moulds in England. Their blocks fit more regular handles but do not come with handles attached. The moulds
are roughly $60.00 cheaper than Lyman moulds.  I have 5 sets of these moulds - the smallest is .595".
https://www.ballmoulds.com/
Nice thing about the tanner moulds, is if you use wire strippers to cut and twist off the sprue, you end up with a perfectly
round ball, no sprue to orient to the top and thus, no spre to impart the spin you most certainly don't want.

[Brokennock]

Wondering how roundball loads will help hunt pheasants.

My normal pheasants and squirrel load is, in order of being loaded;
Between 60 and 65 grains of 3f Goes, a thin "overshot" card, a lubed felt wad or lubed ball of shredded sisal rope, one of my paper shot cup/cartridges containing 1 1/8oz #5 lead shot, topped with 1 thin overshot card.

[Prairie dog shooter]

Every gun is different, X 100 when it comes to smothbores and shot paterns. My 20 gauge patterns best with 80 grains of 2-f Goex, one nitro card, half of a lubed cushion wad, one thin over shot card, 1 & 1/8 ounce of shot, with a overshot card punched out of thin sheet cork. On clay targets I shoot #9 or 8 1/2 size shot.  I use #6 shot on pheasants.  I was shooting my Chief's gun for about five years always trying to improve patterns before I landed on that load combination.  It may or may not work in your gun.

I have shot the Star load of two thin cards over the powder and one over the shot.  That produced a very evenly distributed but very wide pattern.  As I would expect from a modern 20 gauge with cylinder bore. The load above shoots more like a modern modfied choke. 


If you have time to read it, here is a link to my smooth bore / shotgun article.

http://traditionalmuzzleloader.com/index.php/loading-the-smoothbore-gun