doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Blackpowder shotshells in .12ga Colt SxS Double

So am I doing something extraordinarily dangerous by running equal volumes of shot up to 1oz with 3F instead of 2F in 12g?
I stick with 2F for the 1 1/8oz and 1 1/4oz loads...
RG

Cadet, you should be fine. You seem to have a good grip on the situation.

I agree with Mr Legg, 3F should be good for lighter loads, prolly heavier ones too...but why push it if 2F works for you and you still have all your fingers?.

If you would like to afford yourself an extra measure of peace of mind and using the 2F for the heavier loads and they work...keep doing it!

I have to say, that 20ga load at 1300 fps looks like one I would actually stay away from in favor of a smokeless load of 3/4oz and a few flakes of PB or such at 1100-1200fps.

Lowest pressure is not everything in big picture.....7/8oz at 1300fps is gunna smart you and your 5 1/2 LB 20ga, black powder and low pressure or not!

Best,
Mark

Mark,

I agree. I would not use most of those loads. I am quite happy not to use 100grn in a 12ga. I much prefer the recoil at the 75grn level.

Pete

The industry rule of thumb is that 3F black powder granulation can be and routinely is substituted for 2F granulation.

It's all made from the same manufacturing run at the same time...the resultant different size granulations are screened / separated out into different hoppers as their different sizes result in different burn rates, therefore different pressure curves.

Just reduce whatever the 2F load data is by 10-15% to keep the pressures in the same range...ie: if a load calls for 100grns 2F, just use 85-90grns 3F instead.

Pete: In the 1894-1902 era, a T Parker cost $11.40 and the average factory wage earner started at $0.10 per hour, ten hours a day, half day on Saturday. Foremen (known as "contractors") at Parker Bro's made $0.25 to $0.35 per hour. The superintendent (don't know about Cha's and Walter King then, but Mr. Hayes much later) had a signed employment contract at $1.00 per hour. The women who actually loaded these under-$2.00 per 100 shells made $0.06 per hour.

Suffice it to say that the average wage earners, at any wage level, could not afford to shoot factory loads at all, and even the Parker gun-works superintendent had to seriously consider giving up the earnings of two hour's work to shoot four rounds of trap. At the $0.10 to $0.35 per-hour wage level, a new Parker starting at $65.00 (P-grade till 1898), or $50.00 VH after 1898, was a real stretch. Even an $11.40 T Parker (sometimes marked T Barker) was a substantial investment. The "good ol' days" were only good for those who had coin of the realm.

To put this in context, consider the live bird pigeon ring today: Seven dollars for the "pull!" and four dollars for the "Bang, Bang" (serious live bird men use Hevi-shot). A 20 bird race costs $220.00 or more; about 7 hours of entry level wages at Burger King. Suffice it to say that the guy who is programed to ask whether you want to "Super-size it?" is not into live bird shooting. However, his $7.00 minimum wage would buy a 25-target round of trap until just recently. Back in the "good ol' days," minimum wage would have bought two or three loaded shells plus targets.

Things ain't what they used to was. EDM

Note to any one desiring to construct their own Black Powder measure standard volume is .345 CuIn for a 3 Dram measure (82 grains) thus a 100 grain measure would require a volume of .420 CuIn.