shooting bird shot an round balls...accuracy hurt!!!

[sonny]

just wondering if shooting bird shot loads with a round ball gun,will accuracy get hurt?I was thinking that the lead from the shot would lead up the bore making accuracy more difficult with a round ball.What if you wanted to shoot both alternating from shot to ball......would accuracy fall off? thanks....sonny

[northmn]

As mentioned in another thread, leading is relatively easily removed by wrapping strands from a copper scrub pad around a wire brush.  I really doubt that a good smooth bore will lead that much as the amount of shooting done by a BP gun is less than that from a modern shooter.  I used to shoot trap with my smoothbores and round ball and saw no real difference.  Mostly accuracy from round ball is a matter of ball patch thickness and round ball quality.  Were you really worried about leading, paper sleeves can be made similar to the modern plastic that would protect the bore against shot scrubbing.

DP

[Daryl]

Ditto

[sonny]

northern...........do you mean to put shot in a small paper peanut bag ??..sonny

[volatpluvia]

Sonny,
I did it a lot and it never made any problems for me.
volatpluvia

[sonny]

hummmm.........i tried a dime wrapper peanut bag with shot in turkey season....my friend called in a gobbler last year an i was using my double 20 gauge percussion.I shot when turkey was about 40 yards away which when i fired,i missed him..........my friend was mad for missing so i told him when we got back to the cabin to shoot the other barrel at cardboard set at 35 yards an see if he could have done better.When we got back an he fired at the cardboard target,i learned why i missed!!!!!!!...the dime wrapper never opened up!!!!!!!.....the target made a huge one shot hole...MY friend told me to throw the shotgun in the lake!!!! ha ha ha.....sonny

[northmn]

The best method is to cut a strip out of a paper shopping bag so that it fits around the bore and wide enough to hold the shot weight you need.  The strip unfolds at the muzzle and will not stay with the charge.  Shopping bag paper or heavy brown wrapping paper should do.  I cannot remember the exact measurements but the strip should be maybe 1 1/4 inch wide by about 2 inches long.  Once you find a size that works make a template.  For steel I have a shortstarter that seats my plastic steel wad to a depth where I can add shot then an over shot wad and seat the whole works.  I really doubt that you would shoot so much that you would need anything, but if its a real worry buy plated shot.  Nickel plated is expensive but patterns pretty tight.

DP 

[omark]

if you use plastic wads, be sure to use card wads between powder and plastic wads. if you dont the powder burning will melt the plastic and leave it sticking to the barrel walls. give 3 guesses how i know this.     mark

[Gene Carrell]

We have had success using the method described by  Northmn. Note that it will tighten your pattern. As always, repattern your load after ANY changes are made.