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.65 calibre - that alone should tell you they would be next to useless past a few feet's range - I would guess. A non-choked 12 bore if tight, can have a bore of around .725"- the tighest I've measured, not to say there were none tighter. Some run upwards of .740" nowadays. The norm is .729" - the ball of which weighs 583.3gr. in absolutely pure lead - 12 to the pound, a pound being 7,000gr. weight.(avourdupois - I believe it's spelled - my dictionary is missing)

I was able to get undersized .682" balls to shoot well in my .725" bored 12 DB, by cupping the ball in an inverted plastic gas check cut from a spent AA trap wad - perfectly hemispherical in shape, the cups are/were. The cup centred the ball in the bore and even though the ball was undersized, the ball didn't know it and that side by side would keep 6 offhand shots on a 12" plate square of steel, rights then lefts, at 100 meters. I was happy with that, considering they were moving over 1,500fps, same as the 7 dram black powder load that caused wood repairs to have to be made to my shotgun stock. The smokeless loads kicked less than 1/2 of the BP loads - in felt recoil.

How the .65 cal. ball in those factory loads will shoot from what is probably a .73 calibre gun, I do now know.

I have read that the post WW11, Pre 1960's "punkin-ball" round ball loads in 12 bore were grossly innacurate due to being only .65 calibre. They were said to bounce from side to side on their way out the bore. Incidently, .65 calibre was the size ball in the paper ctgs. issued to US soldiers for use in their .69 to .70 cal. flint and percussion muskets, post about 1824. Even though they had paper ctgs. for taking up some of the slack, they were still grossly innacurate - I don't suppose another .030" of bore size increase would make a postitive difference - but - I stand ready to be amazed if someone would actually try these and report their success or failure with actual targets shot.

I see they are listed as a self-defense mechanism only- probably for the best, but inside a dwelling, I'd prefer a shot that wouldn't kill someone walking down the street after passing though a wall or two and maybe a body as well.

I do not see them as being a good home defense mechanizm, nor accurate enough for defense from game. Loading larger round balls is easily accomlished by anyone with a Lee Loader in 12 bore.

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Daryl

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

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