Smoothbore Flintlock Pistols and Shot?

[flmason]

Hi All,
   Anyone ever tried a smoothbore flinter pistol with shot for small game? Better or worse than a bullet? I could see arguments either way.

Better range and accuracy with rifled. Wide shot patter with smoothbore. Etc. etc.

Thought a flinter pistol might be a neat way to get acquainted with flintlocks. Would like to have an idea what a useful for hunting selection might be.

[coyotejoe]

A fellow recently sent me a nice old percussion pistol of about .54 caliber to have the bore jug choked for shot. I pattern tested it both before and after jug choking. The choke made a worthwhile improvement, providing a shot pattern which would be effective on small game to maybe 20 yards. The problem was penetration. I test penetration by shooting an EMPTY Goex can at the intended distance and expect pellets to punch through both sides. Loading the pistol with 5/8 ounce of nickle plated #6 shot over two card wads and 40 grains of 3f Goex I fired at 20 yards.  Seven pellets hit the can but none even penetrated the front side. That same load in my 28 gauge flintlock with 30" barrel would penetrate both sides at 30 yards.
 A heavier powder charge may help but the recoil of that load in a light pistol was about like a Ruger Super Blackhawk .44 mag and since it was an old original gun I had no idea what it could hold.
 Going to a larger shot size may also have aided penetration but at the expense of pattern density which was barely adequate with the sixes.
 I have a cheap breech loading singleshot .410 pistol which with 3" shells and the choke tube is deadly on small game to 25 yards but it seems like blackpowder just can't match the velocity of the modern smokeless .410 from pistol length barrels.

[flmason]

Hmm... that was unexpected as even .410's are considered marginal by some folks. Guess a rifled pistol like a Kentucky style might be the best way to go then.