|
Very interesting info Kevan. Thanks for posting it.
It is neat that the 20 ga. is very close to the 60 caliber trade guns that were prefered on the frontier for their economy with valuable powder and shot. I have been experimenting with a concept that I call "modern musket" seeking to duplicate with modern 20 ga. arms what the frontier trade guns accomplished but with any improvement possible with modern technology.
The trade guns often used undersized balls but sometimes patched. We can do much better with hard cast 58 cal. musket balls "patched" by modern plastic shot wad columns. Initial experiments were with these balls and published skeet charges of Unique powder. These give excellent accuracy at shotgun ranges. They are delightful to shoot with less recoil than skeet shot loads. My groups are about half the size of those with commercial foster slugs. It is also a joy to shoot slug loads that give no leading and allow easy bore cleanup.
For details on how I load these see the thread on Lady Defender and Round Ball Slug Loads.
Currently I am trying charges of Herco increased about 20% over skeet loads of Unique. These are very experimental, perhaps risky, but they shoot very well with a nice increase in power. Still very pleasant to shoot compared to comercial foster slug loads.
Eventually I will get some velocity data with my chronograph to report but probably not this fall as I am using my limited free time to hunt and hike in the Catskill forest.
Cheers!
|