shot load for a 45 caliber smoothbore?

[Kurt]

I have a smooth rifle in about 45 caliber, and I'm thinking of going after some rabbits when the PA deer season ends. I found a web page that says 35 grains for a 410 shell with 5/8 ounces of shot. I see a modern 3-inch 410 holds 11/16ths of shot so since my gun is a 45 I'm thinking 45 grains of 2F and 3/4 ounce of shot? If anyone does anything like this your recommendation would be valuable. Thank you, Kurt

[rich pierce]

I have no experience but suggest equal volumes of powder and shot as a starting point - sometimes referred to as a “square load”.

[alacran]

3/4 ounce of shot for a .45 is about 1/4 ounce more than what you need. On a .410 modern gun 1/2 ounce is the standard shot charge. Adding that extra 1/4 ounce would give you a very long shot string, not a better pattern. Modern shotshells have plastic wads that control patterns., you won't be using those. Even the 5/8th load isn't going to help your pattern much. If the rabbits are sitting still, you will be hard pressed to kill them past 15 yards.
Experiment on a piece of cardboard and see what kind of patterns that .45 caliber bore gives you.

[BJH]

In my youth sized trade gun I built I’ve used 50 gr. FFFg. Two 1/16 inch cork wads as a base wad 60 gr measure of #5 shot, and one 1/16 cork wad on top. Busts clay bird ok, gotta be close. Patched round ball shoots well also. BJH

[Hungry Horse]

 Thats interesting, because with the .410 gauge youth trade gun I built it was more effective at range than my 20 gauge trade gun. I loaded it with 50 grains of 2F half of a fiber wad 3/4 of an ounce of #6 shot, and an over shot card. My son Ian busted the first clay he shot at. The clay was just starting to head for the ground so I estimate it was at least 30 yards. That little trade gun could duplicate that shot at that range so regularly that I considered hunting up another old shotgun barrel and building myself a small gauge gun.

Hungry Horse

[Kurt]

Thanks for the replies and information. This has given me some things to think more about. I will do some testing before doing any hunting. I did shoot the gun with a 40-grains load and a shot charge but I can't remember how much I used. My memory says it didn't pattern too badly at the 25 yards I tested, but I could be remembering wrong and I didn't do any penetration tests. Thanks again.

[Daryl]

I had a .45 smoothbore some 4 or 5 decades ago. I would pour in 45gr 3F  GOEX, then seat a 1/10" card wad on the powder. I'd then shove a .410 3" wad into the bore even with the muzzle, then fill it with #7 1/2 shot, then another wad over the top and seat that onto the over shot wad.
With this load, I broke 10 straight to win the trap shoot at our local rendezvous, shooting against 12's and one 10 bore SxS's. It is important to put a wad between the powder and a plastic shot cup.
For bunnies with that gun, I used a .433" rb with .020" patch and the same powder charge. Head shots to 50 yards was the norm.

[alacran]

I had a .45 smoothbore some 4 or 5 decades ago. I would pour in 45gr 3F  GOEX, then seat a 1/10" card wad on the powder. I'd then shove a .410 3" wad into the bore even with the muzzle, then fill it with #7 1/2 shot, then another wad over the top and seat that onto the over shot wad.
With this load, I broke 10 straight to win the trap shoot at our local rendezvous, shooting against 12's and one 10 bore SxS's. It is important to put a wad between the powder and a plastic shot cup.

In other words, you were using a modern load other than the fact you used black powder.

[Daryl]

I used what worked. The only modern part, was the plastic wad between modern card wads
with modern powder and modern (hard) lead shot.
No idea what the shot 'charge' weighed, just filled the wad for a 3" shell. 11/16"s?
That would be 300.8gr. weight. 3/4oz. is 328 1/4 gr.