Tried the Skychief load today

In my 20 ga. Northwest trade musket. For those not familiar with this, it's the most counter-intuitive thing I can think of to do with a load. 55gr of powder, cardboard wad, 1 1/4 oz shot, and a felt wad dripping wet soaked in olive oil. I was dubious, but had heard so many people having good results loaded like this I had to try it. Amazingly enough, it works! I was seeing tight, even full choke patterns out to 35 yards (furthest I tried it) every time. I was using 7 1/2 shot, so would work for birds and small game. I need to get some bigger shot when it's available and see what it does with that but if it shoots as tight I'll have my turkey load. Anybody else tried this?

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Originally Posted by Nobade

In my 20 ga. Northwest trade musket. For those not familiar with this, it's the most counter-intuitive thing I can think of to do with a load. 55gr of powder, cardboard wad, 1 1/4 oz shot, and a felt wad dripping wet soaked in olive oil. I was dubious, but had heard so many people having good results loaded like this I had to try it. Amazingly enough, it works! I was seeing tight, even full choke patterns out to 35 yards (furthest I tried it) every time. I was using 7 1/2 shot, so would work for birds and small game. I need to get some bigger shot when it's available and see what it does with that but if it shoots as tight I'll have my turkey load. Anybody else tried this?

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Nope never
But I know a bloke that will
So the wet felt wad is the overshot wad ?

Makes a lot of sense when you think about whats going on in the barrel - pellets are going down a freshly lubed bore, they half wet with lube theirselves, = less drag = less deformation = tighter pattern ...............................

I bet the olive oil also keeps the fouling soft.

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Originally Posted by indian joe

Nope never
But I know a bloke that will
So the wet felt wad is the overshot wad ?

Makes a lot of sense when you think about whats going on in the barrel - pellets are going down a freshly lubed bore, they half wet with lube theirselves, = less drag = less deformation = tighter pattern ...............................

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Exactly, the big soaking cushion wad goes in last over the shot. And I suspect you're right about what is happening. Less friction on the bore and less deformation of the pellets.

The soaked heavy fiber wad is usually what blows your pattern with a "conventional" load. The heavy fiber wad goes faster than the shot and blows a hole. Putting the heavy fiber wad in front of the shot keeps the wad out front so it never passes through the shot. I have never tried it but everybody I have heard talk about it says it works. I solved the problem by using lubed 3/8" blanket felt wads in the "conventional" position. I usually jug choke all my bird guns and you can use the old lubed heavy fiber wad in the conventional position with a jug.

Wanting to try out the idea with punched out soaked felt wads over powder.

Lots of materials and combos work. You just have to get out on the pattern board and try them.

I've tried the Skychief load in a Knight TK2000, Pedersoli 10 gauge both with a soaked 1/2" fiber wad, and now a vintage 9 gauge with a soaked 1/4" felt wad. In all cases I was left with a "meh" opinion. The lubed wad seems better over the shot than under it. I'd say the difference is mostly with the fiber wads. Felt wads seem to work fine under the shot too. In my case, it has not provided the super tight patterns that many get. Instead, in all guns, they pattern tighter with nothing but hard card wads. Both the Knight and Pedersoli I used two nitro cards under the shot, and one nitro card over it. The 9 gauge, I'm using four .050" cards under the shot, and one card over it. I have not seen the overshot wadding make a huge difference in my testing. Instead, it is the over powder wads that matter much more. I would also not trust a felt wad alone as an overshot for a SXS. In a single barrel, go ahead.

Also, if friction on the bore was a factor, wouldn't plastic wads pattern tighter? I've tested the 12 gauge Knight with a number of 12 gauge plastic wads, and the 10 gauge Pedersoli, which due to a tight bore I tried with only one 10 gauge wad, and one 12 gauge wad. In all cases the plastic wads provided mediocre patterns at best. The sad thing is I shot every turkey with the Knight, using a BPI turkey ranger wad, as that was what I started with, and they do the job. Since getting more into muzzleloaders, I've found nitro cards pattern even tighter in that gun, and I've not taken it out for turkey since.

My standard load in my 29 gauge Fusil-de-Chasse (Colrain barrel) was 60 grains of 2F Goes, a Circle Fly Nitro card followed by a Circle Fly 1/2" fiber war lightly soaked with vegetable oil - a load of shot equal in volume to the powder load with an over the shot card made by splitting a Nitro card in half. I had excellent results on ducks, pheasants as well as tree rats and bunnies - the 42 inch barrel did a good job of "reaching out" and it patterned well.

Every gun is different but with a little work you can find a good performing load. A lot of guys with trade guns never shoot anything but RB and they are missing out on a lot of fun.

The Skychief load has always worked great for me. I use an unchoked barrel and the shot pattern really tightened up when I used his method of loading.