Grease loads
I have a friend who claims he gets good patterns by stacking 3 layers of 3 pellets in a mold then filling the mold with melted grease. In use he loads powder and cushion wad then one of these pre molded packets. I haven't tried patterning this method yet but it can't be any worse than buckshot loaded conventionally.
cheers mooncoon
OK so here's how I do it.
First, the bigger the buckshot the better as far as down range energy and penetration is concerned. If you use some fairly thick plywood and start at say 25 yards and then move back 5 yards at a time you will see what I mean. Also of course, the powder charge is going to have an effect on this too. I have found that the felt wads are superior to cardboard wads in keeping pattern density.
Now as to my grease loads. First I use a grease made up of crisco and beeswax. You want to have it at a consistancy that is fairly soft but more solid than a standard grease would be like. If it is too hard the pellets will come out in a solid mass so a little trial and error has to be done. I do this in a double boiler and would like to mention that any other way is a good way to burn your house down as this stuff is very flamable so be careful!
If you have a 12 gauge then you can use a piece of 3/4" pipe to form your grease loads. First cap one end. Then make up a tube or cartridge from paper cut out of a brown paper bag. Using a pattern similiar to that used for paper cartidges to cut it out. Roll the cartidge into a tube (I found using a dowel that is slightly undersize helps) and then crimp one end by twisting it tight. Push the cartidge into your pipe. Now stack your pellets. I found that if you can get the pellets side by side then the patterns are much tighter so in 12 gauge 00 should work but the grease is going to help anyway. Stack the quantity of pellets you require (in BC you have to have a minimum of 8) into the cartridge. You will need to find a way to hold the pipe straight up while you are pouring. I use a wood block for this.
Now you pour your melted grease (remember! Double Boiler!) into the cartridge. Let it cool (I take it outside) until the grease is solid. I then remove the cap fron the end of the pipe and push it out using the dowel used to help roll the paper cartridge.
The end result will be a buckshot load that has given me 100% density up to 50 yards. Thats all pellets in a 30" circle! I have made up loads that use up to 12 pellets. I use a felt wonder wad between the powder and the cartridge but no over shot wad as the grease holds everything together. You will need to use about 85 grains of 2F powder otherwise the grease will hold the pellets together but that is my findings so I suggest you start low and work your way up.
While the patterns may be tight at closer ranges they are still usefull if you can pick a head/neck shot.
Cheers! Steve
