Black powder shotguns information

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2 Tollers

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I was given a BP shotgun (Pedersoli) as a gift to further fuel my BP passion so now comes the hard part --- loading of this device. The Pedersoli manual is very limited on information.

Can anyone point me in the direction for contact information on how to set one of these up. Wads -- will a cardboard cutout work, shotbags or cups required or not, etc

Thanks in advance


Hugh
 
If it is a 12 guage you want 80 grains (3 drahms) of 2F powder, then a cushion wad then a card wad, then 1 - 1 1/8 oz of lead shot and finally a card wad to keep the shot in. Card and Cushion wads should be (are locally) readily available from black powder equipment suppliers

cheers mooncoon
 
Thanks -- on one site they talk about using the std plastic shotgun wads for reloading and that this improves the pellet pattern density --- any experience with this?
 
I bought my 1st smooth bore black powder 16 ga. musket in 1960. I couldn't find wads anywhere so I just wadded up some newspaper to the thickness of some shotgun wads and used that as over-powder wadding. For over-shot wadding just a bit less paper. WARNING! Paper can sometimes catch fire! I found that putting a wad of hornet nest material over top of the powder will act as a flame buffer. Glossy magazine paper works well too.

I also have a Navy Arms (Pedersoli) 12 ga. double. These are my loads:
70 grs FFg (or Pyrodex etc.) + 1 oz shot (most comfortable upland load)
80 grs FFg " " + 1 1/8 oz shot
90 grs FFg " " + 1 1/4 oz shot
100 grs FFg " " + 1 3/8 oz shot
I have also shot 12 ga slugs and .690 dia. patched round balls with 80 - 100 grs of FFg

I have used shot cups and they work quite well but since I mostly hunt upland game I want as wide a spread as possible and so mostly just pour the shot into the bare barrel.

A load I want to try is a 12 ga. shot cup + 3 .454 dia round balls + 90 - 100 grs FFg as a buckshot load.

One of the best books I have on black powder shooting is "The Black Powder Loading Manual" by Sam Fadala (lots of shotgun data). The Dixie Gun Works catalog is good too.

Fadala recommends a .135" thick card wad over powder charge, one 1/4" thick felt wad and one thin over shot wad.

A friend gets his wads from Track of the Wolf.

That was a great gift! I hope you have a lot of fun with it.
 
2 Tollers said:
Thanks -- on one site they talk about using the std plastic shotgun wads for reloading and that this improves the pellet pattern density --- any experience with this?
Click to expand...

Black powder melts plastic which means that you stand to end up with a thin layer of plastic on your bore if you use shot cups. I am sure that you can use them in small doses but as a steady diet no. I load plastic shotgun shells with black powder for my cartridge guns and the exposed surfaces are noticeably burnt/melted. That is not a problem for the bore but the difference between them and shells loaded with smokeless is quite striking

cheers mooncoon
 
2 Tollers said:
I was given a BP shotgun (Pedersoli) as a gift to further fuel my BP passion so now comes the hard part --- loading of this device. The Pedersoli manual is very limited on information.

Can anyone point me in the direction for contact information on how to set one of these up. Wads -- will a cardboard cutout work, shotbags or cups required or not, etc
Click to expand...

The smoothbore board on the muzzleloading forum would be a great place to ask.

Regards,
Joel
 
black powder shotguns

you were given a very nice shotgun!! wish i had it,lol, anyhow, in my guns , which i have a few with modern barrels and many with damascus barrels
loading for muzzleloader with me usually goes like this, 90 grn of ff black or 80 grns of pyrodex rs, then a stiff overpowder wads, then the cushion wad, 1 1/4oz of shot, then an overshot card wad, , works wonders in the field, as far as plastic wads go, ive used them, and yes mooncoon is right they will"string" or coat the bore with melted plastic, which can cause pressures to rise in some cases, so to avoid the stringing as much as possible, i use a stiff1/8" card under the plastic wad, i find that this keeps the melting down to a minimum and they do increase shot patterns somewhat, but for most close range applications, its not necessary

hope it helps!!

have fun with that pedersoli
 
I would just like to say that I agree with the fellers that suggest you might give plastic wads/cups a miss. I've also shot lots of BP shotguns, ML and cartridge, and plastic and black powder or it's equivalents mean nothing but troubles. Big troubles in some cases.
 
Ps., if you have any around the place, hornet's nest material wadded up over the powder and a smaller amount over the shot works great, and was what was used on the frontier a lot.
 
Plastic Wads

Plastic wads can be used quite effectively in a BP gun without plastic fouling if done this way. Pour your powder in then use an over powder felt wad and then a cushion wad. Then take your plastic wad and cut just the cup off, discard the cushion/gas seal part of the wad. Pour your shot in and crimp as you please. This way the plastic is not subjected to the direct burn of the powder and will leave no plastic residue and you get the benefit of a shot cup.
 
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