New (to me) Investarms Gallyon

[Nobade]

I just got one of these on Auctionarms. Also known as the Euroarms Cape Gun, which seems kind of silly since it's not rifled. Got to shoot it today, and it is quite nice. The bore mics at .720", so it is pretty tight for a 12 ga. I was going to try some .715 patched balls like I use in my other 12 ga. guns but they're a no go with a patch. So just for grins I tried them bare, with 2 cardboard wads between the ball and the powder and one above the ball to hold it in. Shooting offhand, it was no problem to hit a 8 inch wood cube at 50M once I figured out where to hold. The balls of course went from falling down the bore to needing to be rammed as the fouling built up, but the point of impact stayed the same. I had read that naked balls can be used in smoothbores, and now I am a believer myself.

So next I tried some #4 buckshot to see how it patterned with that, and it works quite well. Nice even patterns about 16 inches across at 25 yards. At that range it takes down the silhouette rams with authority.

Next up was #7 1/2 birdshot. Again, nice patterns with normal 3 dram loads. Clay birds out to 30 yards or so are toast. I tried 3 1/2 dram loads just to see how it worked, and patterns blew open. Kicked a lot more and less effective, so back to the normal loads.

Everything was shot with cardboard wads just like V.M. Starr describes in the sticky above, and it worked very well. And these Investarms shotguns seem to be quite stout and well made. Well worth having if you can find one.

-Nobade

[DIRT Farmer]

I understand the Starr system and it is a easy path to relative sucess but after many many tests of my own still use a lubed fiber wad or 1/2 wad depending on the gun.I would venture to guess that if you recovered a ball from a snow bank where it was not deformed by impact you would find a flat ring around the ball where set back swelled the ball out to bore diamater. The lubed wad will help with fouling controll.

[Nobade]

Yep, I hear ya. I was going to try using lubed cushion wads under the balls but there wasn't any way they were going to go down the bore of this one, and I don't have any 13ga. ones any more. I did order a .690" mould from TOW last night, when that comes I'll see what it does with patched balls. Not sure why, I have a rifled 12ga. that shoots lights out but it's fun to see what various loads will do in this smoothbore.

-Nobade