Question for the black powder guys...

Steve McCullough

Steve McCullough

Active member
This summer, I was fortunate to pick up a Pedersoli 10 ga side by side kit. I plan to shoot the gun this winter ducks a few times, but I am having trouble determining a load.

I am completely green when it comes to muzzleloading shotguns; have never done it before.

I've done a fair amount of searching on the net and can't find exactly what I'm after.

I would like to shoot Bismuth shot.

Does anyone have suggestions on over powder wads, shotcups, powder type and amount?

Sorry for the questions, but I am not sure where else to look. Not much info for the 10 ga.

Thanks,
Steve
 
Steve,

It's not really that hard or complicated. But it can be if you want it to be:) Start with a "square" load, equal volume black powder:shot. Something around 100 grain by volume should be close for the 10ga. I have a 12 ga. percussion sxs and a 10ga black powder cartidge gun and shoot similiar loads in each. Black powder is very forgiving, you can laod up or down in the same gun. How you load as far as the wads will be up to you and the gun (pattern). I prefer not to use modern shot cups but there is no reason not to. If you are getting "doughnut" pattern you are probably pushing it a little to hard, reduce powder or increase shot.

Black powder is a lot of fun and is not hard to learn. Be safe and have fun!

Gene
 
Dave,
I did pick up some good info on that thread. Thanks for the link. I didn't find that one!

Gene,
I've read that FF powder is probably better for the 10 ga? As far as wads, if I order 10 ga wads used for lead that would be OK with Bismuth?? What about the cover wads over the powder and shot??

Again sorry for all the questions, but all I've ever tinkered with is black powder rifles.

Best,
Steve
 
Steve

Bill Perry shoots a vintage muzzleloading double, not sure if it is 12 or 10 gauge. Could shoot him a PM if he doesn't see this and post. Kirk Sherbine posted this pic a couple years back:

IMG_0524.jpg


Also, check with Rutgers, he and I were at the Edgerton show last winter, and there was a guy with a display of big bore guns, 4s and 8s...and I think he had some little itty bitty 10 gauges as well. He's done a lot of work on balistics of the old, big bores with black powder and cartrages, but could probably give you some good starting points on building your own loads. His name was Tom I believe, Paully took his card.

Hope this helps,

Chuck
 
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Steve,

I've only hunted upland and turkey with mine. I've not shot any Busmith. But, my understanding is that the standard wad or no wad cup would be fine with Bismuth. I use a 1/2" vegetable fiber wad under the shot and a card wad over the shot. I try to use the thinest overshot wad possible so as to not distort the pattern.

I've used both FFF and FF in both my guns. I lean toward FFF as it seems a little cleaner (better burn). If you find yourself leaning toward the heavy end for loads to make the most of the 10ga then I would use FF. My 10ga is a cartridge gun with 2 7/8" chambers so it's maxed out very near my top end 12ga loads.

Gene
 
Steve,

I have shot a lot of black powder shotgun. I have made a fair shre of black powder long guns to. My preference for the over shot cover is a cosmetic coton ball from the cosmetics counter. It is available, is cheap and holds the shot in. It disipates nicely out the barrel. Good luck. These guns are a lot of fun.

Mark F. Cheney
 
Hi Steve
I just got done with a very nice weekend with my Pedersoli sxs, mine is a 12 ga, which is the Cabela's version. Mine has screw in chokes ,which complicates things a little. Gene is right on about the square load, in fact I load mine with the exact same amount of powder, (Goex FFG), and shot (#4 Bismuth), both about 90 grains by volume.
The part that I mentioned about the screw in chokes being tricky , is that I run Mod, and Full, and the wads can be hard to start past the choke when loading. What I do is pour a measured load of about 90 grains of powder in, and then I seat a 12 ga nitro card on top of that, then a 14 gauge cushion wad, and then another 12 ga nitro card wad. I know that this is more than the required wad column , but I feel that the extra wad pressure that I get from this helps in combustion, and makes for a consistent shot to shot load. I can get away with using 12 ga nitro cards because you can tip them on end to start them, and then once through the choke, tip them back "flat", the cushion wad must be the smaller 14 ga ,because they can not be tipped. I use a 12 ga overshot card on top of the shot, because it too, can be tipped to be started past the chokes.
All of these wads are from the Circle Fly wad company, and can be bought directly from them (Google it) or from Track of the Wolf .
As stated , this load just plain works.
Stay away from BP substitutes, plastic wads, and gun oils and solvents that are petroleum based, and you will be successful. In my opinion. And keep your nipples perfectly clean and oil free, with nipple picks, pipe cleaners, and even drill bits for the cap end of the nipple.
Enjoy your muzzlestuffer, they truely are a hoot!

Kip
 
I have that exact same gun (Pedersoli 10). It's a blast. I've shot a ton of ducks and geese with it. I'd get the kit that comes with it from Cabela's, and some either ITX, Bismuth, or "Nice Shot". You don't need the plastic wads unless you're shooting steel or need the tight pattern for turkeys. I just use I think 1 1/4 oz (it's stamped on the side of the gun) powder and shot, a heavy card (about 1/8") over the powder, and a thin overshot card. Do that to start, and then in the off season you can play around with some different wads and see what works best.

Let me know if you have any other questions.

Good Luck!!
 
Steve,

Your tricky...How many times did you ask "Deb, do you love me?" Before you made the purchase...You know what happens when the 10 gauge goes in the layout...Buffies seem to have some type of magnetic attraction...Hee Hee...

Regards,

Kristan
 
Thought that I would post this link http://www.circlefly.com/html/muzzleloaders.html
to the Circle Fly site that talks about loading, and shooting muzzleloading shotguns.

Kip
 
hows this for BIG BORE black powder ? how much powder you need Steve ? i have access to about 5k lbs :) scary thought huh.......

[inline DSCF3902.jpg]

oh and Kristian , i found your hat.

View attachment DSCF3902.JPG
 
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