with paper patch .648, for bare ball 16 gauge shooting what size

[sonny]

I have shot my 16 gauge with .648 round ball an patch with good results. I tried the .648 round ball with paper patch.... very good results. I would like to try shooting bare ball with my getz 16 gauge smoothbore barrel an would like some advice on that "Hot @!*%" size for a fighting chance on accuracy...........any advice on the correct size ball I'm looking for........sonny

[Hungry Horse]

 I would dimple the .648 ball, load it bare (right on top of the powder) about a hundred grains of 2F, or even 1F, and hold it in place with some hornets nest, towe, or a piece of old wool blanket, with a little venison tallow, or bear grease.
 This shoots well, is fast to load, and rarely sets fires. It is pretty easy on the shoulder too. With no wads, cards, or cups, it doesn't run the pressure up very high either.

  Hungry Horse

[sonny]

HH, run the ball right down on top of the powder?............sonny

[Hungry Horse]

Yes, right down on top of the powder, no patch, no card, and no wad. Cover it with something that doesn't seal the bore, just holds the ball in place. And, plenty of powder, 1f, or 2F.

  Hungry Horse

[sonny]

never shot the smoothbore with 1 f...................would like to try it!.........thanks for the info, I will give it a go......cool.....sonny

[Hungry Horse]

Sonny;
  Don't skimp on the powder. What makes this work is the a part of the powder charge encircling the ball, and keeping it from caroming up the bore. The lack of compression wads, or cards, keep the recoil to a minimum with such a big charge. The  pressure exerted on the barrel, is pretty low for the size of the charge as well. The ball will travel straight until the velocity drops off, and the ball begins to wonder.

  Hungry Horse

[taco650]

Another option for wadding in smoothies is tow which is spun flax fiber.  Firelock (duelist1954 on youtube) uses this in his 62 cal smooth bores with good success out to 50 yards.

[Hungry Horse]

 Flax fiber wading is fine as long as you use it to simply hold the ball in place, and don't use an overly large amount of it. But, putting it between the powder, and the ball, will screw up the formula. Dimpling the ball seems to have a positive effect as well. A paint shaker, or a reciprocating saw, with a container attached to hold the balls works well. Small batches seems to give a more pronounced dimpling than larger batches.

  Hungry Horse