Author Topic: Anyone loading Black Powder? (Read 3401 times)

Baddwuf · « **on:** April 10, 2005, 12:13:46 AM »

Ia anyone reloaling 12ga with black powder?

jeager106 · « **Reply #1 on:** April 21, 2005, 02:32:22 PM »

TFHARPER · « **Reply #2 on:** April 23, 2005, 03:24:09 PM »

Sure am,

12 gauge Paper hull, traditional wads (non of that plastic stuff) roll crimp.
Good old (real) black powder.

Seth Hawkins · « **Reply #3 on:** May 15, 2005, 06:47:00 AM »

Yes. 12 gauge Win AA hulls, Win WAA12R red wads, Goex 2Fg Black Powder, #8 magnum lead shot, Winchester 209 primers. 1-1/8 oz (volume) shot, and equal amount (volume) of powder, measured with a Lee adjustable shot dipper. I use a MEC Sizemaster and put a regular 8-pt. star crimp on them.

ruger4570 · « **Reply #4 on:** June 10, 2005, 12:21:49 PM »

I load a few now and then.. They are fun to shoot too. Once in a while I will drop one secretly into one of my buddies shell bag and watch him when it goes off. I think he is getting wise to me because he puts his hand on his bag if I get too close to him..

Buckskin · « **Reply #5 on:** June 28, 2005, 08:18:04 AM »

As I was reading this post I was thinking to myself "why on earth would anyone want to load that corrosive junk into a nice shotgun" until I read the last post. Now I may have to get some for trap night.

R J Talley · « **Reply #6 on:** March 14, 2006, 05:36:02 PM »

I shoot them in ny brand spank'en new Ruger Gold Label all the time. A few wet patches (water and soap) a few dry patches, a bore snake with Ed's Red on it and it's done. Easy as pie. Tons of fun to shoot and very challenging for use on game in the field.

rvtrav · « **Reply #7 on:** April 16, 2006, 05:21:24 PM »

I'm a bit late to the party, but I load black because I have a couple of damascus barreled doubles and want to keep the pressures low.

equal volumes of shot to powder (70 gr vol ffg for 1 oz, 80 gr vol for 11/8 oz), a waxed 1/2" card wad and a traditional plastic wad in a federal paper hull with a traditional 8 point crimp.

I've also done some experimentation with 7/8 oz "pumpkin balls" with goex ffg as well.

Rvtrav

RPr · « **Reply #8 on:** May 16, 2006, 07:07:57 AM »

I shoot a round of black power skeet about once a month.
I use Gold Metal or AA hulls that I have culled from my smokeless re-loads with card and cushion wads. An 8 piont crimp is done on my Mec loader.
I use equal volumes of real black powder and shot in both 12 and 20 gauge shotguns.

There are three main reasons for doing this.
1. There is nothing that beat the smoke and stink of real black powder, paticularly under lights.
2. My old Damascus barreled guns were designed for black and early smokeless.
3. The younger shooters and some oldsters have never seen it.

Yes, clean up is a pain, your hands will get very dirty and the basement smells of sulfer. Be careful, such pleasures must be taken in moderation. :grin:

RPr

howdy doody · « **Reply #9 on:** June 05, 2006, 09:41:35 PM »

Clean up is a breeze in single and side by sides. Not too sure about a semi though. I tear a paper towel in half and stuff each half into the barrel. I use windex with vinigar and from the muzzle I give it some good sprays. I let it sit for a while and then push the towels out to the muzzle. cleans right up. I use plastic wads too. Lot's of folks use a fibre wad, but the pattern is too wide for me.
My load is AA hulls, a Lee 4.3 scoop (which is around 65gr by volume) and a red winchester wad followed by 1 oz of 7 1/2 shot. They crimp nice and shoot great. The powder is Goex 2 f.

Peddler Parsons · « **Reply #10 on:** July 13, 2006, 12:13:28 PM »

Is there any thing else I have been loading it in AA and STS hulls for 5 years, and now in Brass shells 2.5 drams of 2F powder and 1 1/8 oz shot in the plastic with a #12 AA red cup with a rolled crimp, but the brass is 2.5 drams of 2f powder 1/4" overshot card, 1/2" fiber wad, 1 1/8 oz of shot with a clear over shot card glued in.
I do this every 2 weeks shooting CAS
Peddler

slayer · « **Reply #11 on:** September 13, 2006, 08:33:09 AM »

Can anyone help me with loadaing Brass Hulls? I just got a box of 12 gauge Magtech hulls. I would rather do them 1 at a time by hand and also nead to do the primers also, using Real Blackpowder also.Going to shoot them in a single shot shotgun. Thanks-Jack.

Bestboss · « **Reply #12 on:** October 27, 2006, 07:40:40 AM »

When I realized that the current generation of smokeless loads are quite a bit heavier, I decided to experiment and see what my Great Grandfather used in some of these guns. I still have his loading tools, along with his 10ga double. Chamber is the old 2 7/8" Some of the tools appear to be hand made.

I don't use his shotgun much anymore, as it is damascus and the barrels are worn paper thin at the ends. I do however, use some of his tools, especially for the roll crimp on paper hulls. Nothing on the market currently does as good a job.

I took a couple of his shells apart, to see what he used. They contained about 4 drams of FFg, a cardboard and thin felt wad. Then, they were filled full with a mix of shot. No kidding, there was everything from BB to #12? in each of those shells. My uncle, just laughed. He said that Grandad loaded so there was something for everyone in there!

In my current aspirations, I use Federal 12 ga paper hulls. I think I remember them being called Champion Target Loads. I shot tons of them as a teenager and still have a good supply. I sometimes use them to explain the differences between then and now. Oh yes, cleanup is easier with smokeless, but as with many rifles over the last 100 or so years, not that much has changed.
Regards
Bestboss

Sir Charles deMoutonBlack · « **Reply #13 on:** October 27, 2006, 06:17:59 PM »

Slayer; For Magtechs you need 11guage wads. You can buy them or punch out ones that will work with a 3/4" punch (mine is from Tandy) Large pistol primers, 2F black and whatever shot suits you. As set out in other posts above use equal volumes of Powder & shot. Strictly speaking, a square load has the shot/powder columns of equal height as diameter. This has been found to give very even patterns. You can go light on the powder to tighten patterns. For an ideal shot load, the rule is that the gun should be 96 times the shot weight, for reasonable recoil management. That is 6 pounds of gun for 1 oz. of shot, or 7.1/2lbs for 1 1/4 oz.

For tools I use a LEE primer punch from a Lee loader, and a steel plate on a wooden block as a base to reprime using a bit of copper pipe as a punch. Crude but it works. Use your favorite blackpowder measure, or make one, for powder, and drop it through a drop tube if you like. 1/8" over powder wad pressed in with a wooden dowel, as is a 1/2" cushion wad. "Circle fly" sells all these. Same measure for shot, and an over shot card. Seal the card with Elmers glue (traditionally it was "waterglass")

A load to start for 12 gauge is 75 gr 2F and 1 1/8 oz. shot

tlea · « **Reply #14 on:** October 28, 2006, 03:12:07 PM »

Well.... let me go here: How about Pyrodex (think that's how you spell it). I have tons of federal paper hulls, over shot and over powder cards,felt wads, and a roll crimper. How would you load this up?

Tom

Sir Charles deMoutonBlack · « **Reply #15 on:** October 29, 2006, 03:05:00 PM »

Tlea; You are lucky. I have federal paper hulls, but have never loaded them,. I need advice as well.

PlacitasSlim · « **Reply #16 on:** November 21, 2006, 07:50:00 AM »

I picked up an old RCBS 12 ga die set on ebay and it has made it very easy. RCBS sells a shell holder for 12's that makes priming easy as they use a large pistol primer. To deprime, I got the .30cal mill deprimer that Lee sells for around 4 bucks. My 11ga nitro cards and wads come from Circle Fly as does my 10ga overshot card. I use Ducco cement to glue it all in place.

Buckskin · « **Reply #17 on:** December 12, 2006, 08:52:11 AM »

Can I assume that you can pretty much use any wad that you want w/ BP since there is such low pressure. Just prime and pour some powder in the hull and run it through the MEC just as any other load??

Maritime Storm · « **Reply #18 on:** December 13, 2008, 07:27:16 AM »

I have in the past, my favorite wads for Black are the WAA12R. I saw one note that caught my attention, do not use black powder in a semi, your will never get it to shoot right again if it will fire after third shot. The best guns for using it are singles & doubles, youcan use it in a pump or a bolt action, but you meticulously afterwards.

coyotejoe · « **Reply #19 on:** December 17, 2008, 04:48:02 AM »

Here's something I've encountered on which no one has commented. Blackpowder seems to soften plastic hulls so that they won't hold a crimp after being fired once. For this reason I have made a trimmer to cut off the crimp and load with an overshot card as if loading brass hulls. That also solves the problem with short chambered guns such as some old doubles with 2 5/8" chambers.