Continued Shot Load Testing - .62cal Flint Smoothbore

[roundball]

08/30/08
Continued shot load testing in .62cal Flint smoothbore, Jug Choked Imp. Cyl. ââ,¬ËœPlusââ,¬â,,¢
Last trip I tested 1+3/8oz copper plated #6 and they patterned perfectly.
This trip I tested magnum 7.5ââ,¬â,,¢s, both 1+1/8oz  &  1.0oz loads, which also patterned perfectly.
With 7.5ââ,¬â,,¢s pellet count, I can easily use the 1oz load for Doves in this .62cal Flint smoothbore.
Pattern test chart shows averages of 1+1/8oz  and  1oz loads at 35yds.

[roundball]

PATTERN PAPER AT 35 YARDS

[Oldnamvet]

Keep it up RB.  I have a fowler on order and hope it will get here for the fall bird hunt.  So I may not get much time for load development.  Getting an idea of what makes a difference should cut down on my load development time and give me more time for actual hunting. Question: Have you ever used a cork overshot card to see if it affected the pattern vs. the hard overshot cards?

[roundball]

No, never tried cork...just the 1/8" Oxyoke prelubed wool wads, and Circle Fly 1/2" prelubed cushion wads...no reason I can think of that it wouldn't work...would you be using it dry or with lube on the outside edges?

[Oldnamvet]

Dry or lubed?  Not a clue.  I've never used it myself but an old guy I know (actually only has 10 years on me but I still think of myself as young) swears by them.  Says they just shatter as soon as the shot gets moving and is nothing but tiny fluffy bits by the time the shot leaves the barrel.

[DandJofAZ]

I really like the idea of cork overshot wad..nothing left to disrupt pattern once shot. I will give them a try in my .488 smooth bore. I have to make my own wads anyway so why not cork gasket material??

[Oldnamvet]

If you go to a craft store like Michaels, you can get sheets of cork that is about 1/16" to 1/8" thick to cut out wads.  Might be cheaper than gaskets.

[DandJofAZ]

Thanks for the tip on craft store cork..You're right, it's cheaper..Not quite perfect like gasket material, but we only cut little pieces of it for wads so little inperfections don't really matter.

[Ranger]

Now you need one of those Brian "Melsdad" wad cutters.