Duck hunting

[drago]

Wondering what choke and type of gun you prefer for a fowler

[Dan'l 1946]

  10 bore flintlock long fowler. No choke. I'm making the assumption that you are planning to hunt in a traditional manner using a birding piece that would have been common in period. If not, you could have your fowler jug choked.
                                                         Dan

[bob in the woods]

Ducks and geese, as well as turkeys, deer, and bears.  Chambers New England Fowling piece. !0 bore.
The most used gun I own.

[drago]

What size round ball and what does it weigh? Any recoil?

[Dan'l 1946]

   Recoil isn't an issue with a properly fitted fowler. If you use a .75" ball, weight will be about 630+ grains.
                             Dan

[drago]

Thanks for the info

[smallpatch]

That very fowler, with a jug choke is a killing machine.  I'm just putting the finishing touches on my third one.  Great design, great bore size.

[George Sutton]

Steel Shot is now required to hunt ducks. I would not use steel shot in a black powder rifle.

An alternative is bismuth but I don't know where to find it.

Centershot

[Kermit]

Here. Spendy.

http://www.precisionreloading.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_Code=BISMUTH_SHOT

[drago]

1.50 per shot for the shot, I guess that's better than not hunting with your favorite smoothbore. Which choke do you prefer?

[joelvca]

Yeah, wer'e kind of stuck for cost, but then again most of us don't fire anywhere near as many shots as many cartridge shooters do in a season.  All of the commercially available shot that claim to be safe for traditional loads and cartridge use in older thin-wall chokes (bismuth, NiceShot, and supposedly ITX) are expensive.  Some cartridge shooters make their own bismuth shot (using 3% or more often 5% tin alloy) in Littleton or similar shot makers.  I haven't heard of anyone trying to make Rupert shot with bismuth alloy.  Some hunters who don't fire many shots in a season will watch end-of-season and clearance sales on cartridges loaded with bore-safe shot (also including tungsten matrix/polymer and Classic Doubles) and just cut them open for the shot.  Everyone that I've seen seems to be happy using magnum/high-alloy lead shot for load development and practice.

Regards,
Joel

[bob in the woods]

I fired somewhere around  5 or 6 shots at ducks and geese this past year. I managed to get 2 ducks and 1 goose.
I made my own shot using my Ruperts Shot maker and a bar of food safe solder.  Basically, there were ducks and geese coming in to my pond, and I wanted a go at them. For all other use [ partridge, turkeys ] regular shot works great. If I were a real avid duck hunter I would buy the bismuth.  If you think it's expensive, just go and play a round of golf 

[Osprey]

I must be cheap.  I just use plastic shot cups from modern reloading and steel shot. 

[Bécassine]

I wish I'd joined this forum a little earlier, when this thread was current...nevertheless:  have any of you who are using Nice Shot as a lead replacement for waterfowl loads had concerns for increased pressure generated by Nice Shot?
   
I have a 20 ga. fusil de chasse, with a cylinder bore barrel by Ed Rayl. Precision Reloading's representative advised that in 20 ga. one should expect a 2000 psi. pressure increase in replacing lead with Nice Shot.  Frankly, I don't know what pressures are generated by my current lead loads (thus far, 60-75gr. FFg, with equal volumes no. 6 shot), thus I am looking for benchmarks to use in substituting Nice Shot. 

Are you able to advise, please?

[Steve-In]

Nice shot is heavier than lead shot.  So if you are using a shot dipper to measure out your shot the load of nice will weigh more.  You may be able to go down a size and still deliver the same punch per pellet.

[Bécassine]

Nice shot is heavier than lead shot.  So if you are using a shot dipper to measure out your shot the load of nice will weigh more.  You may be able to go down a size and still deliver the same punch per pellet.

Thank you, Steve.  Now, given that same slightly higher weight per dipper of Nice Shot relative to the same dipper of lead shot, as well as a slightly higher hardness than lead, should I be concerned for pressure increase? 

[Steve-In]

If you look at the chokes the modern turkey hunters are using they are extended away from the threads.  Same with steel.  That is because it comes through as a more solid mass.  If you are going through a choke there may be some concern.  If pressure is a concern reduce the amount of shot you are using.  Is Nice Shot just a polymer coated tungsten shot?

[Bécassine]

If you look at the chokes the modern turkey hunters are using they are extended away from the threads.  Same with steel.  That is because it comes through as a more solid mass.  If you are going through a choke there may be some concern.  If pressure is a concern reduce the amount of shot you are using.  Is Nice Shot just a polymer coated tungsten shot?

Lowering the shot load in order to lower pressure makes sense, as the mass of shot to be moved by a given powder charge would be lowered.  I am getting the idea that staying below the high end of the range of lead loads that my gun's builder recommended will probably keep Nice Shot loads in a safe range, also.  I'm just accustomed to seeking out hard data, thus my questions!  In any case, my barrel is cylinder bore, so I won't worry about choke constriction. 

Nice shot is a mixture of tungsten, iron and (I believe) tin, all of which are bonded together by the polymer.