green horn bought a side by side 12 gauge

[danny]

Been shooting it, lots of fun. Tried the skychief load and it works. Really surprised me. Watched a you tube video from a guy in Hungary. Said in Europe they are putting cornmeal directly on the powder then shot right on top the cornmeal then a card. Said the clay pigeon competition guys are doing this. Anybody tried this? I am a bit skeptical of you tube.

Looking forward to bird season here in KS. Not sure what my dog will think of reload time but dove season opens soon. Want to give it a go. Been experimenting with #8 shot and clay pigeons. Shooting some cardboard for patterns. Plan to move up to #6 when quail/pheasant season opens as either can be found on the same hunt.

I am a complete rookie with smoothbore. Any advice will be greatly appreciated.

[rich pierce]

Many side by sides have some choke with the left side tighter. There are more personal preferences with loading smoothbores because there are more variables. My practical test is to learn at what distance I can kill a soup can. The shot must pass through the can, not just dent it. This is where the shot size/pattern density come into play. Bigger shot carries more energy further downrange but patterns are sparser.

[stikshooter]

Been shooting it, lots of fun. Tried the skychief load and it works. Really surprised me. Watched a you tube video from a guy in Hungary. Said in Europe they are putting cornmeal directly on the powder then shot right on top the cornmeal then a card. Said the clay pigeon competition guys are doing this. Anybody tried this? I am a bit skeptical of you tube.

Looking forward to bird season here in KS. Not sure what my dog will think of reload time but dove season opens soon. Want to give it a go. Been experimenting with #8 shot and clay pigeons. Shooting some cardboard for patterns. Plan to move up to #6 when quail/pheasant season opens as either can be found on the same hunt.

I am a complete rookie with smoothbore. Any advice will be greatly appreciated. corn meal is your friend (doubt not ) it works better than anything I've tried and the guy with the Funny accent (Hungarian0 is a true expert on most anything gun related !/Ed

[Nessmuck]

Welcome to the club Danny

[Dave Marsh]

I am assuming its a percussion and would be extremely jealous it it's a flintlock.  Welcome and good luck.

[danny]

Went to town and bought some corn meal. Will give it a try tomorrow.

Yes the shotgun is a percussion model. CVA I bought from a  gun dealer who took it in on a trade. Looked new and unfired. Dealer said he didn't know if it had been fired or not. From what I have gathered CVA has not made them since the 80's.

[Prairie dog shooter]

I shoot pheasants with 90 grains 2-f and 1 1/4 ounce of #6 shot.  Works great!
I use Jiffy muffin mix as a shot buffer to tighten the pattern in my cylinder bore flintlock for a turkey load. Also works great.
I have in the past used cornmeal as a filler in light revolver loads, didn't really see any benefit from that.
Enjoy the shotgun, it's a lot of fun.

[Hungry Horse]

 Well, for heaven sakes be very careful with that scattergun. Double barreled muzzleloaders double the risk of accident. Short barrels, and loading a barrel while the other one is already loaded, are only a couple of things to think about every time you go shooting. Hunting with a double only adds to the degree of difficulty. Enjoy yourself but always think about safety.

Hungry Horse

[danny]

Thanks Hungry Horse. Will do. Shooting targets I shoot both barrels. Have been telling myself when hunting to remember to remove the cap to reload one barrel. To shoot the other barrel stead of the same one on the next shot.

[bob in the woods]

Thanks Hungry Horse. Will do. Shooting targets I shoot both barrels. Have been telling myself when hunting to remember to remove the cap to reload one barrel. To shoot the other barrel stead of the same one on the next shot.

Sometimes removing the cap isn't good enough. There can be enough residue from the cap compound on the nipple face to fire the gun if that hammer falls
If reloading one barrel only , with the other still loaded, we always removed the cap on the unfired barrel, and lowered the hammer onto a piece of leather placed over the nipple. The little piece of leather is form fitted to my friend's gun and he carries it tied to a wee piece of cord tied to his trigger guard

[danny]

thanks. do you put the leather on wet to get it form fitted? maybe oil the nipple good or something so it wont rust while the leather dries?

[danny]

I been thinking about that leather. Seems like just a flat piece of leather, held in place by the hammer would be plenty to prevent accidental discharge. Wouldnt need to be form fitted. This is the first I have heard of accidental discharge after the cap was removed.

[bob in the woods]

Yes, a flat piece of leather would work.  As mentioned, it's possible to have residual cap compound on the nipple. 

[Pukka Bundook]

One thing though;
Always Re-settle the unfired charge when you have re-loaded the other barrel.

[danny]

Thanks Pukka Bundook, will do.

[Leatherbark]

For a while I have used 70 grains of 2f and an equal amount of corn meal under an 80-grain equivalent volume of 7-1/2 chilled shot with a plain overshot card in my 12-gauge full choke percussion shotgun.  If I hold it right and yank the trigger at the right time the clay pigeons turn to dust.  Much easier than messing with wads and I can shoot at least a string of 10 shots without brushing.

Bob

[danny]

Bob, how do you carry/measure the corn  meal? I haven't shot any yet but tried a pistol flask to dispense it. Complete failure. It plugs up rather than flow.

[danny]

I have used cream of wheat cereal to buffer buckshot loads in smokeless reloads. Cheap and works pretty good. Had my wife pick me up a box. It flows just fine out of a pistol flask. Going to try that instead of cornmeal. If it tightens my patterns up some I will post it. Will be lots easier to use while hunting.

[danny]

Cream of wheat works. Real good. Tried all kinds of stuff. All kinds of cards and cushion wads and over shot cards.

77 grains of 2F Swiss in a home made measure. I weighed it on my reloading scale. Started out by weighing out an ounce and a eighth of #8 shot then making a measure, used the same measure for the powder.  Thats the powder charge I used today and dumped the cream of wheat right ontop the powder. No cards just the cereal. Bought a shot bag and set it for an ounce and a half. Dumped the shot ontop the cereal. No cards or wads right on the cream of wheat. I used an over shot card made from cork. Bought a roll at an auto parts store that my calipers show as .085 thick. Was cheap. Seven bucks. Can punch a lot of cards out of it.

That combo shoots patterns like a smokeless gun and the cream of wheat, unlike corn meal, pours right out of a flask so will be convenient for hunting.

I will keep trying new stuff but I doubt I can improve on it. Did I Mention cheap?

[danny]

Heres a clip of the Hungarian using corn meal. I would be real interested to hear from others who have done this and why/whynot they are or aren't still doing it.

https://www.youtube.com/shorts/MHS-mQt_Y_A