12 or 13 gauge wads?

[frogwalking]

I bought a 12 gauge double barrel CVA kit for my grandson.  Before giving him the kit of "build", I wanted to be sure the parts fit and work well enough for it to be safely shot.  I am to the point of test firing it, and I measured the bores with my digital caliper.  It reads .710 for both barrels.  That looks more like a 13 gauge than a 12, but measuring this way may not be accurate.  So for those of you who have this kind of shotgun, what size wads do  you use?  Track says their wads for a 12 measure .740 .  That seems kind of large to me.  Thanks for the information.

[SCLoyalist]

I'd believe Track's description of card/wad diameters.   The shotgun fixings I got from Track have a Circle Fly logo on the bags, and I  bought both 11 and 12 ga components.   The 12 ga components measure .740 +/- .002, and the 11 ga come in at .760.

My shotgun barrel is a jug choked Caywood that measures .710 at the muzzle.   Both the 11 and 12 ga components will go down it without undue strain on the loading rod.   Since you're shooting a double I'd suggest going with 12 ga/.740 diameter components and check that recoil from firing the first barrel doesn't cause components in the second barrel to shift (creating an air gap or void).

I did find a picture on the 'net of a package of wads that CVA produced for their ML shotguns.   The package is labeled for 12 ga, but says the components are .718" in diameter.

[Hungry Horse]

  My first thought is, I hope your grandson is at least twenty-five. When you add another barrel on a muzzleloader, you more than double the dangers. Add to that thought, the fact that a CVA isn't exactly what I would call top of the line, in the quality department. Safety should always be the number one concern, which doesn't always happen with youth shooters.

                      Hungry Horse

[snrub47]

About 25 years ago I owned a CVA Double shotgun, it was way better quality than the CVA rifles that were being sold in most of the gun stores at that time.

[Daryl]

If those tubes were .710" (13 bore) all the way to the breeches, then I would probably use 13 bore wads from Track. They are probably .720" to .725" in diameter, maybe even a true 12 bore size, at .730" (.729" is true 12 bore if you were born prior to about 1960 or so).  If you already have Circle Fly (track)12 bore wads, use them.   Nowadays, many modern 12 bore shotguns have bore diameters of .735" to .740"- they call this back-boring.

[frogwalking]

I know what you are saying, Hungry Horse.  While not a high quality product, the price was right, and it looks as if everything will work with a little adjustment.  I do not have the funds, or inclination to give a youngster a Chamber's quality kit to cut his teeth on.  I bought the 12 gauge wads as they should be more difficult to dislodge than would the 13 gauge ones.  I will get the gun working, test fire it, clean everything up and put the parts back in the box.  He will have to fit the trigger guard and butt plate, screw on the thimbles and front sight, and finish wood and metal.  That is surely enough for a young beginner.  His dad is a good shot with a flintlock and I will ensure he knows about the special risks associated with the double barrel.

[moleeyes36]

I'm not familiar with the specs of the CVA double barreled shotgun you have, but is it possible that the barrels are choked rather than being cylinder bore?

Mole Eyes

[Hungry Horse]

What I am saying, is that as an experienced shooter I nearly fell vicim to my own double gun. You don't alway fire both barrels, so you end up reloading one barrel while the other is loaded, and pointed at you. The recoil from the first barrel, can loosen the load in the second, creating a dangerous air gap. A distraction can allow the double loading of one of the barrels, creating a stocked pipe bomb.  And thats just a few of the issues I have with turning a youth loose with a double gun.

                   Hungry Horse

[frogwalking]

I have been thinking about this, but had not put it down in writing.  If dad wants to let the boy hunt bushytails with the 12 double, we can turn a wood plug and plug the left barrel.  Later, a hole can be drilled in the plug, a large wood driven the hole, and pull the plug out.  I paid less for this kit than a  pistol kit (currently the least expensive on the market) costs.  What do you think?

When I was a kid, my best friend and I had a brace of old, original, rusty doubles.   We shot them for years.  We wadded our shoguns with newspaper.

[D. Buck Stopshere]

As mentioned before, the CVA shotguns are .710 bore (13 gauge) instead of standard cylinder bore .729 (12 gauge).

13 gauge wads should still be tight enough in a .710 bore. My double barrel flint 12 gauge has .729 bores ad I use Circle Fly 12 gauge wads, and have no problem with shifting loads after firing first barrel.

However, life is short, and prudence doesn't hurt to check the second barrel with a measured ramrod or a SS range rod marked on the rod with a "witness mark" scored around the diameter of the rod with a three-corner file.

CVA obviously figured they could sell their "manufacturing error"  better as a 12 gauge rather than as a 13 gauge.