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Author Topic: How do you load a blunderbuss?  (Read 14848 times)

Offline David Rase

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How do you load a blunderbuss?
« on: April 06, 2015, 05:06:08 AM »
How do you load round ball and how do you load a blunderbuss with shot?  I have a small English style "coach gun" with a brass blunderbuss barrel sitting in my shop.  I have wanted to go out and shoot it but was never sure if there were any "tricks" to loading a barrel with a flared muzzle.
David 
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Offline Stormrider51

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #1 on: April 06, 2015, 09:16:58 AM »
My reading tells me that a blunderbuss was simply an early shotgun design intended to be quickly reloaded.  The flared muzzle made pouring in powder and shot easier while the shooter was in motion.  Think horseback, carriage, or aboard ship.  Try loading powder, a wad of tow or similar material, a ball or shot charge, and another wad of tow.  That's one of the ways I load my smoothbores.  Not much for long range accuracy but devastating at close range.

Storm
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Offline WKevinD

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #2 on: April 06, 2015, 03:07:09 PM »
I use "paper wasp nest" (those football shaped nests) that I gather in Jan/Feb when all is quiet inside nest.
Cut into 2" squares and kept in a zip lock. Used for an over powder and over shot they don't burn or leave junk in the barrel. I have used it for round ball, buck and ball and shot.
Shooting a blunderbuss is usually not for target accuracy so I haven't tried any other wads.
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Offline Hungry Horse

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #3 on: April 06, 2015, 08:12:42 PM »
 The very nature of a blunderbuss, tells you it doesn't matter. It is a short range weapon, designed to shoot shot, at big targets. Pour in some powder, pour in some shot, and put a little blanket wadding on top, and go for it.
 Don't try to make it do what it was never designed to do.

            Hungry Horse

           
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Offline T*O*F

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #4 on: April 06, 2015, 08:22:51 PM »
From the breech to the beginning of the flair, it is nothing more than a regular smooth bored barrel.  The trumpet is only there to facilitate fast loading.  Treat it as though it were a long barreled smoothbore pistol or short barreled canoe gun....using conventional loads for the caliber.

You can even use a patched round ball with some accuracy up to 25 yards, but you have to figure out how to overcome the trumpet, which gets in the way of sighting.  Once you figure out where to hold, you should be able to hit a coke bottle at 25 yards.

Consider the trumpet as an overly large, coned muzzle.
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Offline bob in the woods

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #5 on: April 06, 2015, 09:32:52 PM »
A friend of mine filed a  V in the top of trumpet to act as a rudimentary  sight.  It actually worked pretty well for him.
Like so many other short barrelled guns, a higher /taller front sight is required, therefore the v notch in the trumpet did not require holding off . 
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Offline davec2

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #6 on: April 06, 2015, 10:42:58 PM »
David,

I built a 4 gage with a modified Ed Rayl barrel several years ago.  I shoot it with a "handful" of powder, a wad of paper towel, a "handful" of shot (any size will do), and another paper towel over-shot wad.  I also shoot what I call an AP round (Armor Piercing...not really, but it does have a $#*! of a lot of mass in the projectile).  It is a 1 inch diameter zinc round ball, patched, and with about 200 grains of Fg behind it.  Packs a wallop....on both ends.  Powder, patched ball, prime, and done....and it also helps to bite down on a piece of leather belt to keep from jarring any teeth loose.
 
The gun is a "blast" to shoot, if you will pardon the pun.




« Last Edit: March 28, 2018, 09:04:44 AM by davec2 »
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Offline gunmaker

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #7 on: April 07, 2015, 04:28:43 AM »
It's obvious Dave  you have way tooo much time on your hands, back to the bench..... ;D...Tom
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Offline WadePatton

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #8 on: April 07, 2015, 04:43:05 AM »
You load a blunderbuss running

through a river shoals.

or at a full gallop. 

(keep your medicine bag on). ;D
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Offline bigsmoke

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #9 on: April 07, 2015, 07:17:00 PM »
If a person wanted to shoot PRB in one, I am thinking he would think about one of the "tricks" of the old elephant hunters of the 19th century.  Instead of fumbling with a loose patch and ball, they would sew the patch onto the ball, lubricate it with whatever, and keep it in a pouch on the front of their belt.
Time to load the rifle, grab up a handful of powder, drop it in the barrel, pull out a pre-patched ball, ram it home, cap and fire.
That would almost give you a firing cycle up there with an Uzi or a Mac10.  Well, almost.
Dave2C, love the blunderbus.  I would love to shoot that one.  Looks good.
John
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Offline SR James

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #10 on: April 08, 2015, 05:47:05 PM »
Mine is a .75 caliber and I load it essentially the same as my Bess, patched round ball.  it's also fun to shoot buck or buck and ball loads.  It patterns well within a human torso at 25 yards.

« Last Edit: April 08, 2015, 05:55:04 PM by SR James »
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Offline Daryl

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #11 on: April 08, 2015, 06:24:45 PM »
Buckshot and ball makes a very good alley cleaning load.
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Offline Standing Bear

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #12 on: April 10, 2015, 04:20:47 PM »
Powder first!
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Offline Gun_Nut_73

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #13 on: April 10, 2015, 10:52:39 PM »
Quote from: burnt on April 06, 2015, 03:07:09 PM
I use "paper wasp nest" (those football shaped nests) that I gather in Jan/Feb when all is quiet inside nest.
Cut into 2" squares and kept in a zip lock. Used for an over powder and over shot they don't burn or leave junk in the barrel. I have used it for round ball, buck and ball and shot.
Shooting a blunderbuss is usually not for target accuracy so I haven't tried any other wads.

Don't the wasps object?  Grin
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Offline David R. Pennington

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #14 on: April 11, 2015, 03:36:31 AM »
Put the powder in first, then anything you don't want anymore.
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Offline davec2

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #15 on: April 11, 2015, 07:41:36 PM »
David R.

Yes, I had someone call my blunderbuss "a high velocity garbage disposer"
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"No man will be a sailor who has contrivance enough to get himself into a jail; for being in a ship is being in a jail, with the chance of being drowned... a man in a jail has more room, better food, and commonly better company."
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Offline plastikosmd

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Re: How do you load a blunderbuss?
« Reply #16 on: April 13, 2015, 03:24:04 AM »
Guess I am the only one to benchrest mine! Uses a custom slug and has a screw on grenade sight for fun. Otherwise I just stand and hold on
First no sight

sight on

Storming the castle



set trigger is missing a part, plan to post here to see what is missing at some point. Fun the way it is tho
« Last Edit: April 13, 2015, 03:25:53 AM by Plastikosmd »
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