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450 366 - That would be a good test for her, for sure.

There was some discussion prior in this thread, to the usefullness of patched round balls. What they provide is a great fit for a bore even though the ball might be undersized, just by varrying the patch thickness. Ball size becomes less critical and the size required becomes more easy to find. The boys here have used my .684" balls in their 12 bore duck guns for moose, using a thin enough patch so the ball clears the choke. I figured they'd work fine in the .703" groove diameter of my double's right tube and they did - obviously. I was surprised at the accuracy tho - due to the no-twist feature in that barrel.

Although 82gr. of 2f won't put the ball into high speed flight, it should be plenty for close shots at most big game. I suspect they run about 1,200fps, whereas from a muzzleloading rifle, the speed would be down around 1,000fps due to the pressure loss at the breech - flint or percussion.

The brass case will hold up to around 156gr. of 2F which would be great as long as accuracy held up, but the recoil might start to get a bit bothersome in this light gun. I MUST polish the chamber of that tube as the brass cases are a bit sticky coming out - it's a bit rough, as-are the bores of both barrels from corrosive priming in the past, mostly.

I am experimenting with 15 bore balls (Tanner mould) .675" in my .69 ML rifle, with both pure and WW metal alloys. I also just picked up another Tanner mould in .710" for cloth patching balls for my 12 bore, actually closer to a 12 1/2 bore Mossberg rifled tube. The bore is .714" with the grooves at .724" - right hand twist and is a bit fast at 36", however the .684's (480gr.) held centred with a cup-wad, shoot hole for hole at 25 yards - 1,700fps. Shucks, it's got modern sights. I can't figure why anyone would shoot an undersized pistol bullet in a 12 bore when full sized balls are so much better for hunting, hit harder and are cheaper to shoot.

Ahh, tinkering with guns - a never-ending source of enjoyment!

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Daryl

"a gun without hammers is like a Spaniel without ears" King George V

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