Author Topic: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop  (Read 7055 times)

Offline sonny

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28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« on: January 20, 2009, 04:24:06 AM »
hello.....My pet load so far with a 43" barrel smoothbore 28 gauge with 80grains 3f an .520 ball.I try to hit dead on at fifty yards but wonder how much drop is there at 60-70-80 yrds holding dead on??? thanks sonny

Offline Dphariss

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #1 on: January 20, 2009, 05:18:12 PM »
Depends on the velocity. Shoot it and find out.
With heavy loads, 100-120 grains or so, sighted dead on at 75 it will shoot within about 2" of line of sight to about 110 yards. But it will also be somewhat random in its shot placement past 50-60 yards.

Dan
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Offline sonny

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #2 on: January 20, 2009, 05:31:15 PM »
100-110 grains in a smoothbore????geez kinda lots.....its only a 54cal/28gauge..............if dead on at 50yds how much drop at 75-100 with 80 grains of 3f behind it????.......sonny

Daryl

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #3 on: January 20, 2009, 09:17:35 PM »
Like Dan noted, you'll have to shoot it on paper to find out.  Persevere and don't become discouraged with many fliers.  Most smoothie shooters pick a load and run with that, learning how to hold the gun for whatever range they're shooting. Testing different loads and different patch thicknesses is just as important with a smoothbore as with a rifle.

 With 80gr. 2F in a long barreled 28 bore smoothbore, your velocity will be about 1,430fps, depending on patch thickness.  The tighter it is, the faster is will be going to about 1,430fps max. That shows about 4" drop at 100 and about 1/2 that at 75yds from a 50 yard zero.  Now, being able to see that 4" of drop in the pattern your smoothbore shoots at that range, is the deal here, but that is the actual, given perfect conditions.  Shooting a paper target at 100 full yards will be MOST interesting. I've worked with smoothbores what would hold 8" at 100 yards, and others that held around 10"to 12".  I'd say that 15" to 20" is most common for guns that haven't been 'worked up' in the load.  Guys here know to use thick patches and a ball that gives compression in the grooves - an example would be .620" bore -  .595" ball + .020" denim patch.  That combo measures .635", with .0075" compression per side when loading.  A .54 smoothbore would use about a .515" ball and a .020" patch, giving the same compression and fit.  A slightly larger ball might use a thinner patch, but that would not hold as much lube.

What Dan meant about accuracy is correct.  Some smoothbore shooters do well out to 100 and even further - I've seen them and they are quite consistant.  Our Hefley Creek ML metallic silhouette competition has shown higher scores from 2 of the smoothbore shooters than any of the rifles and it runs to 100 yards in 25 yard increments.  It depends on their commitment to finding a load that works well - note that one load may not work well in all seasons - barrel harmonics are different in the winter, spring, summer and fall and many guns shoot different loads depending on 'the weather'.  For some reason, thin barreled .54 to 20bore smoothbores seem to shoot quite low in subfreezing weather - just an observation we've made as have the guys shooting them locally. They've learned to "hold more barrel".  Guys who try to hold over the target usually end up missing. You've got to see the target to hit it reliably.

Instead of holding the front sight over the target an estimated distance, the most effective shooters learn to raise their eye over the breech, giving the necessary elevation for longer ranges and hold the front blade or bead on the target.  This takes practise and commitment.  On our trail walk, we have some 90 yard targets and perhaps a full 100 yards on a couple.  The longer range targets are usually large enough, the smoothbore shooters hit them sometimes and sometimes hit them often.  They are or should be easy with a rifle - if you don't flinch.  It's generally the close targets that the smoothies hit easily, that I miss with the rifle -  ;D ;D

Offline sonny

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #4 on: January 21, 2009, 03:38:59 AM »
wow...........I shoot 520 rb with 20 thou oxyoke patch....I thought looser ball like 515 is too smal to stabilize with any patch....sonny

Offline Dphariss

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ou
« Reply #5 on: January 21, 2009, 04:13:31 AM »
100-110 grains in a smoothbore????geez kinda lots.....its only a 54cal/28gauge..............if dead on at 50yds how much drop at 75-100 with 80 grains of 3f behind it????.......sonny

When shooting solid shot all the rules for using it as a shotgun, equal volumes of powder and shot etc. go out the window since you are in the world of "ball guns".
I have a 50 caliber "smooth rifle" barrel that shoots best with 90 grains plus. FFFG or FFG. 100gr of FFG works pretty good so far.
The shooter does not determine the best load, the barrel does.
Shoot 5 shot groups minimum with various loads. You may find a marked difference in accuracy once the "right" charge, ball size, patch thickness and powder granulation is found.
You might be lucky and have a barrel that likes almost anything. Never know till you test.

Dan
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Daryl

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #6 on: January 21, 2009, 06:17:01 AM »
wow...........I shoot 520 rb with 20 thou oxyoke patch....I thought looser ball like 515 is too smal to stabilize with any patch....sonny

Well, I suspect the ball you are using is just fine, and the patch as well - considering I mic. those OxYoke patches somewhere around .015".  They are considerably thinner than what's stamped on the bags.  You combo sounds just fine.

A true .020" patch, will run .515" + .020" + .020" = .555", which is .015" compression overall, which is .0075" per side. It's probably lots, but the .520" ball with the thinner OxYoke patch will probably be just fine.  The .520" ball might get you to 200gr. weight.  Now allyou have to do is to try about 10 or so different charges with the combo you've got - I'd start at 85gr. 2F and go up in 5 gr. increments.  2F will ultimately allow higher velocities at lower pressure, which makes it easier on the patches and patch fit.

I take you to mean you thought the .515" ball would be too small for a .020" patch.  It probably is for the OxYoke .020" patch.  Stability has nothing to do with patch thickness, only the relationship between a projectile's length and balance and the rifling twist and/or velocity.  No smoothbore stabilizes a ball, patched or otherwise.
« Last Edit: January 21, 2009, 06:35:27 PM by Daryl »

Offline sonny

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #7 on: January 23, 2009, 03:27:55 AM »
daryl...start at 85 grs an go up????? in a 28 gauge??/is it supposed to be better accuracy higher end of powder amount??? 90-95-100.....???..sonny

Daryl

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #8 on: January 23, 2009, 06:33:36 PM »
Start with whatever you want, Sonny, 5gr. here or there doesn't matter much. Within the accuracy range of a smoothbore the gun will shoot very flat.  The only way to find where it shoots at longer ranges, or even if it will shoot at longer ranges, is to shoot it at those ranges - on paper.  From what I've seen of the very best smoothbore shooters here, you have to shoot, shoot, and shoot some more - at least every week and twice weekly to learn the gun and what it wants.  There is a 28 bore here and the guy who shoots it, Crispy, does well indeed. He's probably using 60gr. or so and probably 2F.  His speed is low and he has a lot of trouble when the range exceeds 50 yards - which makes sense. He is shooting what is a relatively inaccurate gun (no rifling) and shooting a charge probably insufficient to shoot the range he's demanding from the gun.  To shoot longer ranges with a smoothbore, should demand a heavier charge.

That said, we have guys at Hefley who push the limits of smoothbore accuracy - and often beat rifles in 100 yard shooting.   There ya go.  On paper they fall back, but shooting plates, they win. Go figure!  Shooting is also a mind game - and we don't become silent and hold our collective breath when someones shooting - you've got to be able to block out extraneous noise as well.

crispy

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Re: 28 gauge smoothbore accuracy/How much drop
« Reply #9 on: January 25, 2009, 09:32:39 PM »
actually Daryl its 65 gr 3f and yes I know I lose it on the long shots , If I go 75 gr 3f she tightens up a lot .I like the light load for the totally painless plinking it allows. Will do some bench shootin in spring and get some hard figures with stiffer loads..