???s about loading shot

[Nordnecker]

So my .54 smoothie is shooting pretty well with PRB's. But I really want to do some bird hunting, etc. with 71/2 shot. I would like a little guidance on how to load shot. I'm confused about cards, wads, overshot cups, paper cartridges et al. I've been serching through old threads, but I'm still in the dark about this.
Thanks in advance.

[Feltwad]

In the States it maybe different but here in the UK the method I have used for the past 65 years is has follows . First is the powder to suit the calibre next is a 1/8 card wad followed by a felt wad then a 1/8 card wad next is the shot followed by a 1/16 card wad .The felt wad is not essential two 1/8 cards over the powder is ideal ,if a felt wad is used always put a card wad on top if not when the shot is fired the shot embeds in the felt wad and leaves the barrel has a bullet it also blows the pattern .Never use plastic wads with black powder it leaves a plastic coating on the bore which then becomes an obstruction  which can bulge a barrel and after constant use will cause barrel ripple ,I have seen many shotguns, ruined   by using plastic wads.

Feltwad

[Dennis Glazener]

Feltwad gave good advice. I will add this. When I tried to shoot shot in my 54 smoothbore (very frustrating!) I bought a package of wads/cards etc that supposedly contained all I needed except the shot. The kit contained lubbed fiber wads that were 1/2 or 5/8 inches thick. When shooting at 25 yards I saw a 54 caliber holes right in the middle of my shot pattern. This was the fiber wad acting like a wadcutter bullet! Read somewhere to cut these in half (make a 1/4" long wad) and they would be light enough to fall out of the shot pattern quickly, this seemed to do the trick. Never was happy with the pattern/size of the 54 shot pattern. Wasted a lot of money fooling with a couple of 20 bores and finally settled on 16 and am FAR happier with it as an upland game gun. The 20's, when loaded heavy, kicked like mules! The same loads in my 16 seem to be about like modern 12 ga. Not sure why but that's my experience and I am sticking to it
Dennis

[SCLoyalist]

I doubt it adds much to what Feltwad said, but take a gander at:

http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/SmoothboreLoads.html

[B Staley]

On my 28 gauge I put the powder in cover with a Felt wad 1 ounce of shot and cover with another felt wad killed quit a few critters with it....

[WKevinD]

This probably goes against all that is right but I gave up on cards and wads. I use paper wasp nest as my over powder and over shot wads. Paper wasp nests are those football shaped hives . I gather them from the barn rafters in mid winter (hard frost) and cut them into  1-2" squares. They dont ignite or smolder
when they are shot, (don't like fires) and they compress nicely to form a good gas seal. In my larger smooth bores I pre-load my shot in paper tubes, especially for turkey, and use the paper wasp wadding as well.
Kevin

[jamesthomas]

 I'll have to book mark this, I plan buying a smoothbore barrel this winter and getting the parts over the spring for a squirrel an rabbit gun next year. I don't plan to ever putting a roundball through it, I have 2 rifles with a 3rd. planned for this fall-winter. Btw, I have heard about cutting that 1/2 inch felt wad in half many times when people get to talking about how they load up their smoothbore when  shooting shot.

[firelock-inc]

I shoot a 12 gauge trade gun wit 2FF power in pan and load.

1/8" card over powder & I split a 1/8" card over shot.

The cards are pre soaked in crisco.

I shoot No 5 shoot for geese.

It works well for me.

Rickp

[Jerry V Lape]

The clay shooters at the Winter National shoot in Phoenix almost universally shot equal by volume shot and powder (most used FFFg) with a card over powder, a thin fiber or felt lubed (usually a sloppy soap based lube0 card wad, shot and a thin hard card over shot.  Seemed to work well for them.  Some, having wiped the bore between shots, didn't use the fiber wad at all. 

[smokinbuck]

I've got a 12 ga and a 20 ga that I gave up on using cushioned wads with a long time ago. I use equal parts, shot and powder, with FFg. Typical loads are 3 drams powder with +/- 1 1/8 ounce shot. Put one over powder card and two over shot cards and get really tight patterns from either gun. Even when I broke the cushioned wads in half they still seemed to blow the patterns.
Mark

[Kermit]

This should be required reading for anyone shooting a muzzleloading shotgun. Starr did a lot of "research" and pretty much concluded that the cushion wad is worse than useless. His conclusions, in a tiny nutshell, is to use equal volumes of powder and shot, with a column that is:

Powder--2 thin overshot cards--shot--1 thin overshot card. Period.

Read this. Really. I've followed this for decades, whether busting clays or feathers. Stop trying to replicate the column found in modern shotshells. Not what muzzleloading smoothbores want.

http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/starr.html.

[smylee grouch]

I went to a shoot that had a smooth bore match and one of the targets was a turkey at around 20-25 yds.  You got one shot with a shot load. One of the shooters was using those thick felt wads. About 5 min. after his shot the target and cardboard backer caught on fire and they had to call a cease fire to put the fire out. The shooter stoped using the felt wads and went to double card wads after that.

[Nordnecker]

Good info here. I enjoyed reading both of the linked articles. I actually had been collecting wasp and hornets' nest since last year, so I think I've got plenty of that to use. So, do these over powder/over shot cards lay flat, or do they crinkle up around the edges? I know,,,sounds ridiculous,,,I don't want to over think something as simple as a cardboard disk. I don't mind buying them but in the meantime I could cut a few to try. Are they the same size as the bore or a little bigger? And the wasp nest- do you just roll it up into a ball? Throw the dog a bone.

[JBJ]

Both overpowder and overshot should be enough oversize to actually turn up a bit on the edges. Will give a better seal to the gasses and, in the case of the overshot wad, provide enough friction to prevent the movement of the shot column when the gun is carried muzzle down. In my opinion, you won't be satisfied with the results obtain from the wasps nest paper. Lack of seal and a great opportunity to set the woods on fire! As I recall Starr cut his own wads from 1/8th inch poster board. A wide variety of punches, both arch and gasket punches, are available from http://bloomertool.com/. They are in metric sizes but you can find something close. Just my thoughts.
J.B.

[Hungry Horse]

 I shot trade gun for a lot of years, and found that felt wads were an ongoing problem. I finally went to cork wads, made from discarded wine corks. I sliced the corks into 1/4" pieces, spun them down in diameter if need be with a homemade fixture, and a sheet of course sandpaper stapled to aboard, and dabbed a little hot venison tallow on the back of each one. My load was  powder+ .125 nitro card+ cork wad+ 1 oz. shot+ overshot card with a small cut in the edge to keep it from compressing air. Never use Crisco, its like using maypom. Never soak any wads in lube, it turns them into a bullet. When I used wads I used a thin wad that I had just barely touched one side into a hot tallow mixture. The tallow wads worked in larger gauges but proved worthless in anything under .20 gauge.

                Hungry Horse

[JBJ]

I have not had any issues with felt wads cut from 3/16 inch dense felt. A good source is http://www.durofelt.com/.
I lube them lightly by quick dipping and placing on paper towels to blot up any "extra". If you soak them, Horse is right - they have the potential to act as a "bullet" and can go a long ways. And really don't do the cushioning job they are intended for.
J.B.

[bob in the woods]

I had a 28 bore , and loved it. It was one of the best partridge guns I had, working far better than it's smaller bore would seem to be capable of.   I used felt wads cut from an old hat, and lubed them with a bit of WD40  [ I buy it in the jug ]
Heavy wads just destroyed the pattern.  The lock was a late Ketland from Chambers . A light and quick handling gun.
Like the fool I sometimes can be, I sold it in a weak moment .          The list of guns I wish I had kept is far too long 

[WadePatton]

Looks like we cleared that up like chocolate milk in the Mississippi.


Glad I'm not loading shot.