Rolland

www.trackoftheowlf.com sells balls up to about .760" in little bags of 25.

Yes - they are BP loads and are 2.4" Magtec cases in 16 bore for my Husky. The shot loads are 1 ounce of 7 1/2's with 2 1/4 drams of 2F.

The patched, undersized .662" balls were more accurate than the larger .690" balls that engraved 1/2 way the straight rifling. The bore diameter is a slightly tight 15 bore at .675". The rifled bore is 13 gauge, ie: .705" groove to groove. Both chambers are identical, however the left is for paper cases and the right meant for BP and round ball - that's the way the gun was built. Usually the left bore is rifled, straight or spiral and only up to 20 bore, even if the other is a 16. Mine is an odd ball.

Track can fix you up with any ball size you want. Since the 7/8ounce slugs regulated the best, I'd be trying a 15 or 14 bore ball in a cup wad with about 150gr. 2F to start. A fold crimp will do on such a light load in a 2 3/4" hull, with card wad hard on the powder and whatever wad is needed between that and the cup wad with ball. The full sized cup wad will hold the ball in the middle of the bore and 'take' the rifling just fine.

John - in the States with shotgun-only seasons, I've been told rifled shotguns shooting sabots with 250gr. to 400gr. .45 and .50 cal. bullets are the norm for shooting deer.

The season that was designed around farmer safety, ie: using smoothbores and buck shot or Foster hollow based slugs, then on the market, that have a max range of less than 800yards, are now being hunted by people (motivated by the desire of companies for producing merchandise to make more money) shooting virtually .45/90 and .50/110 Winchester loads (up to 350gr. in .50 cal sabots in rifled barrels, running upwards of 1,600fps) having a 'danger' range in excess of 2 miles.

Such is progress & the way greed for the almighty dollar ruins seasons. Seasons have already been cancelled here and in the States due to the 'modernization' of firearms and loads. Up here, we lost our 'Primitive Weapons' moose hunt because of scope sighted, bolt action muzzleloading rifles- 2 years after the first "Knight" rifles showed up.

In whatever sport, there are always "Rule Pushers". People who just cannot abide by the rules or flavor of the contest, but must push the limits of the rule to try to gain an advantage, however slight. In a free market society, there is always someone who will make a product for that clientel, perceived or imagined if there is a dollar in it.

Sometimes it helps man achieve great things, sometimes it just f-cks up a good thing.