Greetings All,
I recently picked up a pretty unique shotgun and am wondering if anyone else out there shoots anything similar.
It is a Belgian double barrel 8 gauge. In most respects it is like many other common Belgian shotguns of the late 1800s - turn of the century with external hammers, underlever, twist barrels, etc, but it is a massive 8 gauge.
Barrels are very heavy and thick with great smooth and shiny bores. They are uncut at 34 inches and choked full x full. Locks up tight and solid.
It is in great shape and I am planning to shoot it and wondering if anyone out there has any favorite loads for the big 8's.
Im no stranger to black powder and antique weapons, having used them for the majority of my hunting and shooting for the past 30 years. Please refrain from any warnings about the horrors of shooting Damascus
My plan is to start out with very mild 10 gauge style loads of about 4 drams of 1f and an equal amount of shot with appropriate card and cushion wads and a roll crimp. According to my copy of The Gun and its Development by W.W. Greener (9th Ed.) the service load for an 8 bore is 6 drams (164 grains) of black and 2 1/4 oz shot. That seems much heavier a load than I will ever need, plus he is talking about shooting top quality British guns, which my Belgian export gun sure aint!
I also have an old Dixie Gun Works catalog, and in the back there is a chart of "1887 Muzzleloading Proof Loads" (I assume this is from the Birmingham proof house). There it states that the service charge is 4 15/16 drams (135 grains) and 1 15/16 oz shot. This sounds like a more reasonable general purpose load.
Anyway sorry for being long winded, just wondering if others out there enjoy the big bores.
Tried to post a few pictures but couldn't get them to upload.
Thanks!
Zach