Score with the weird muzzle loader

[S.S.]

Upon serious cleaning, I found that the Muzzle loader I bought was not rifled,
it was some machining marks in the bore. Polished right out and makes a neat little
shotgun. loaded it with 30 grains 777 and about the same amount of shot as in a 410 -2 1/2 inch shell.
Took these squirrels pretty well. range on both was inside of 20 yards and I was using #2 shot. More fun
than using a rimfire and a whole lot more difficult. Had to get close.
already had folks wanting to buy it from me, Too much fun to sell and going after
some rabbits as soon as possible with it.

[Ironwood]

S.S. do you suppose it was a smoothbore to start with.  Do you know what the diameter of the bore is?  Sounds like you have a winner.  Patched ball or shot!  I missed out on a Green Mountain barrel in .54 caliber smoothbore for my Pennsylvania Hunter. 

[pastorp]

SS, sounds like a lot of fun. I've been wanting a smoothbore fowler myself. I think I'd use smaller shot though for squirrls like #6 maybe.

If you get the Backwoodsman magazine there is a great article in the may/june issue on a smooth bore 45 cal. caplock. Sounds about like the one you have.

Regards,

[S.S.]

it is a .45 caliber and shoots a patched roundball pretty well also.
all i have at the moment is #2 shot. good thing about it is that it
passes through to the farside hide and falls out when you skin them.

[Winter Hawk]

I've been toying with the idea of building a .45 barrel for my GPR, and boring out the .54 barrel to smooth bore.  You may have me convinced to try!

-WH-

[S.S.]

Just about took a poke at a Canadian Goose this evening as it came
in over the pond to land... Soooo tempting but not tempting enough.
Not quite enough lead for that big of a job I don't think. not to mention out of season.

[coyotejoe]

I've been toying with the idea of building a .45 barrel for my GPR, and boring out the .54 barrel to smooth bore.  You may have me convinced to try!

-WH-

Boring a rifled barrel smooth is not nearly so easy as it sounds, not to mention that a GPR would be about my last choice for a shotgun.