round ball and slugs in 24ga

[camerl2009]

ok so i just got a snider mk2 smoothbore it shoots a 2" 24ga shotshell made of magtech shotshells becuse the bore is a bit over sized and the magtech shells use 20ga wads

but i was thinking what if i took a .600 round ball and a 20ga 1/2" fiber wad and screwed the ball onto the wad with a wood screw

the screw though the wad first and into the ball

kind of like a brenneke slug

and i was thinking of using a lyman 20ga 345gr slug by it self

[longbow]

I have tried the wad screwed to round ball with very poor success. The wad tends to form around the ball from the pressure.

So far I have tried several different hard card wads up to 1/2" thick and stacked nitro card wads. All failed through distortion wrapping around the ball and/or separating into ragged edge uneven shapes resulting in poor accuracy.

A stiff, tough plastic disk might do better or a hard dense felt might work but I suspect it would need a good stiff backer against the ball too.

All my testing has been with 12 ga. but I get far better accuracy without the attached card wad.

What has worked reasonably well is a hot melt glue attached wad as it forms around the ball but of course the glue wad has to be paper patched or the right size to load into a shotcup or you will get hot melt glue smeared down your barrel. I have used this style mostly inside shotcups but again,consistency is the key and uneven bases, fringes, etc. result in poor accuracy.

To make these, I made up a jig to hold the ball or slug which also has a wood screw wound into it with about 1/4" or so sticking out for the glue to grab onto. Then a tube form coated with grease so the glue doesn't stick to it is put over the slug or ball and the form filled with hot melt glue. Once cooled and hard the whole works can be pushed out of the tube.

If done right they resemble AQ slugs and shoot reasonably well. I have had better success with flat based slugs than round ball though I think because the glue squeezes around the ball some under pressure of firing where that does nt occur on a flat based slug.

FWIW

Longbow

[camerl2009]

i dont have much room to work with in a 2" shell loaded with BP

i'll see about the roundball by it self

[mckutzy]

Is it possible to just shoot the ball without any sabot/cup/tail? This is with Black powder right?

[camerl2009]

Is it possible to just shoot the ball without any sabot/cup/tail? This is with Black powder right?

no it will not seal the bore and the normal load is with card wads
you dont use plastic wads in the magtech brass


and not loading the card wads will leave air space and that = pipe bomb

[longbow]

A bore size round ball may surprise you with reasonable accuracy to at least 50 yards. If bore size it should seal but you will still need some sort of lube.

You might try using a scoop of cornmeal under the ball and maybe a beeswax wad or grease cookie under that then a nitro card wad over the powder. The cornmeal will form a saddle to help support the wads and the beeswax or grease cookie will help keep fouling soft.

You could also try a short version of the hot melt glue attached wad to form a saddle and maybe extend back 1/4" or maybe 3/8" from the ball and paper patch that. It may help stabilize like a Brenneke but they are work to make.

You are right though 2" doesn't leave a lot of room for "stuff" under the ball.

Even just cornmeal (or COW) and a nitro card wad might help especially if the ball is just at or slightly under bore size.

Let us know how it goes anyway whatever you try.

Longbow

[camerl2009]

A bore size round ball may surprise you with reasonable accuracy to at least 50 yards. If bore size it should seal but you will still need some sort of lube.

You might try using a scoop of cornmeal under the ball and maybe a beeswax wad or grease cookie under that then a nitro card wad over the powder. The cornmeal will form a saddle to help support the wads and the beeswax or grease cookie will help keep fouling soft.

You could also try a short version of the hot melt glue attached wad to form a saddle and maybe extend back 1/4" or maybe 3/8" from the ball and paper patch that. It may help stabilize like a Brenneke but they are work to make.

You are right though 2" doesn't leave a lot of room for "stuff" under the ball.

Even just cornmeal (or COW) and a nitro card wad might help especially if the ball is just at or slightly under bore size.

Let us know how it goes anyway whatever you try.

Longbow

i need to use wads becuse its over bore a bit it was to a bit ago mostlikly 20's or 30's when you could buy them for $2