The Firing Line Forums - View Single Post - Video

DG45 · June 5, 2011, 02:07 AM

Very effective video to go with your old fashioned loading techniques.

I have an old Forehand Arms single barrel gun from circa 1900, and after 30 years of not firing it, started playing with the idea of loading my own black powder shotgun shells a year or two ago in memory of my grandfather, who lived from 1876-1960. (There were no videos on the subject then, so some nice folks on this forum walked me through the proccess of handloading them until I was reasonably proficient.) My grandad was a goose "market gunner" when he was a young man and a subsistence farmer and waterman. He used to "roll his own" black powder shotshells. He just did it with a couple of sizes of shot. He used paper shells for bird hunting, but he used brass shells for goose and duck hunting. He had a modern double barrel gun and bought smokeless powder buckshot by the time I came along, but he always loaded his own BP shells for bird hunting. He once told me that when when he was a young man he couldn't afford to buy buckshot shells nor buckshot for hand loading either (for no more use than he had for buckshot) so he said he used to cut a ring almost all the way around around a handloaded shell and it would hold the shot together and at close range would be almost as effective on wild hogs or deer as a pumpkin ball. I never tried it, or saw him do it, but wonder if you know of this technique?

Anyway I bought some primed 12 ga. Cheddite paper hulls and have been rolling my own recently on an English antique Dixon & Sons roll crimper - what the Brits call a "turnover" tool.

One thing not shown in the video is loading and shooting brass shells. Its no different that what you get with the unrolled or crimped shells you showed with the primitive nail method, except you're using a brass hull instead of paper or plastic. My grandad thought they were superior to paper for duck and geese, or just in the rain.

You can buy inexpensive drawn brass hulls from Magtech. They should last for many shootings The only problem is that with brass that thin, the components for, say, 12 guage don't fit perfectly and you need to go to a bastard size like 11 guage for cards, etc.

I elected to spend some dough and buy CNC lathed brass shotshells true to 12 guage for components. I bought 10 of them from Rocky Mountain Cartridge Co. (RMC)and they should last a lifetime. I use Duco cement to hold overshot cards in them and waterproof them since there's no roll and they can't be crimped.

I really enjoy hand loading both the paper and the brass. I'm surprised more people don't do it, especially folks who like blackpowder gunning, and cowboy events, etc.

June 5, 2011, 02:07 AM	#4
DG45 Senior Member Join Date: January 5, 2009 Posts: 904	Very effective video to go with your old fashioned loading techniques. I have an old Forehand Arms single barrel gun from circa 1900, and after 30 years of not firing it, started playing with the idea of loading my own black powder shotgun shells a year or two ago in memory of my grandfather, who lived from 1876-1960. (There were no videos on the subject then, so some nice folks on this forum walked me through the proccess of handloading them until I was reasonably proficient.) My grandad was a goose "market gunner" when he was a young man and a subsistence farmer and waterman. He used to "roll his own" black powder shotshells. He just did it with a couple of sizes of shot. He used paper shells for bird hunting, but he used brass shells for goose and duck hunting. He had a modern double barrel gun and bought smokeless powder buckshot by the time I came along, but he always loaded his own BP shells for bird hunting. He once told me that when when he was a young man he couldn't afford to buy buckshot shells nor buckshot for hand loading either (for no more use than he had for buckshot) so he said he used to cut a ring almost all the way around around a handloaded shell and it would hold the shot together and at close range would be almost as effective on wild hogs or deer as a pumpkin ball. I never tried it, or saw him do it, but wonder if you know of this technique? Anyway I bought some primed 12 ga. Cheddite paper hulls and have been rolling my own recently on an English antique Dixon & Sons roll crimper - what the Brits call a "turnover" tool. One thing not shown in the video is loading and shooting brass shells. Its no different that what you get with the unrolled or crimped shells you showed with the primitive nail method, except you're using a brass hull instead of paper or plastic. My grandad thought they were superior to paper for duck and geese, or just in the rain. You can buy inexpensive drawn brass hulls from Magtech. They should last for many shootings The only problem is that with brass that thin, the components for, say, 12 guage don't fit perfectly and you need to go to a bastard size like 11 guage for cards, etc. I elected to spend some dough and buy CNC lathed brass shotshells true to 12 guage for components. I bought 10 of them from Rocky Mountain Cartridge Co. (RMC)and they should last a lifetime. I use Duco cement to hold overshot cards in them and waterproof them since there's no roll and they can't be crimped. I really enjoy hand loading both the paper and the brass. I'm surprised more people don't do it, especially folks who like blackpowder gunning, and cowboy events, etc.