Unique request from a friend

[KrakenFan69]

So a friends father has passed away. I didn't know him but he apparently was an avid outdoorsman. I have been asked by his daughter to load some of his ashes into some shot shells and they plan to shoot some of them out across the lake at his cabin. Has anyone ever done this before? I'm looking for advice as I don't want there to be any issues at a very emotional time for the family. I was thinking light powder load and trap the ashes between a couple of fiber wads maybe? Planning to do some tests with some ashes from a fireplace to test.


Thanks,

Kraken Fan #69

[Pipefitter]

If you already have the fiber wads I would load 50-60 grains of black powder, a fiber wad or two and fill with ashes and crimp.
I believe that most smokeless powders in a shotshell need a set weight of shot to burn properly, black powder will push a couple fiber wads out of the barrel with no problem. Just remember to clean the shotgun afterwards.

[longbow]

While not a bad send off, I suspect the ashes will disperse in a cloud at the muzzle which could shower shooters and onlookers with the deceased's ashes.

Probably better to use unslit or partially slit shotcups so the shotcups get out a ways before the ashes escape.

I'll second Pipefitters recommendation for BP or a sub. You are basically shooting a blank so very little payload. One problem though is with BP smoke they may not see the ashes disperse.

I wonder if a light load of shot like 3/4 or 7/8 oz. in a 12 ga. with Bullseye might do it? BPI shows some light payload high velocity data using Bullseye. The ashes would be like buffer material and maybe use a deeper shotcup to accommodate more ashes? Just a thought.

Good idea to test with fireplace ashes first. It will be an emotional time and you don't want things going wrong.

Good luck!

Longbow

[Ginsing]

Human cremains are very chunky not a fine ash like from a fireplace. A fellow I know did the same thing as you are trying to do. They dispersed his ashes over his favorite hunting spots. I will see if I can get a hold of him and find out how they did it

[Omega]

Cremains are also heavier than your standard fireplace ash, maybe wrap in a layer of facial tissue before setting into the shotcup so they will disperse a bit further out?

[bdicki]

I read about someone who did the same thing only different, loaded ashes as a filler like a buffer and shot a round of trap. You know how trap guys are.

[bikerbeans]

A good friend of mine wanted his ashes scattered at his favorite deer hunting spot. One of his sons decided to use a large firework to launch his dad's ashes. The firework exploded about ten feet off the ground and covered his wife and kids with his ashes.

BB

[Jeffrey]

Omega is correct. From experience, (my in-laws') cremains are more the consistency of crushed oyster shells. The "meat" mostly burns away. What you are left with is burned bones. Crushed oyster shells can be obtained at feed and seed stores: they are fed to chickens as a calcium source. Pick up a box for a couple of dollars for a test medium.

[FullTang]

How about wax slugs? Just bind the cremains with melted wax, load into a standard wad which has already been loaded into a cut-down hull (just cut off the crimped part) with about 15 grains of e3 or some similar fast-burning powder. I've done this with wax alone when a friend was looking for "less lethal" shells, and they went about 500 fps; you'll probably get a little better burn with the heavy ashes added in, and you won't get any dust at all. Also, no need to clean out black powder residue. If you want to be sure they sink into the lake, add some steel shot; shouldn't take more than 1/4 oz or so to sink these and also give them a little more heft.

[woody1]

How about wax slugs? Just bind the cremains with melted wax, load into a standard wad which has already been loaded into a cut-down hull (just cut off the crimped part) with about 15 grains of e3 or some similar fast-burning powder. I've done this with wax alone when a friend was looking for "less lethal" shells, and they went about 500 fps; you'll probably get a little better burn with the heavy ashes added in, and you won't get any dust at all. Also, no need to clean out black powder residue. If you want to be sure they sink into the lake, add some steel shot; shouldn't take more than 1/4 oz or so to sink these and also give them a little more heft.

This was kinda my thoughts also, except in order to not leave the plastic behind I thought using regular cardboard over powder wads and wrapping the waxed cremains with a couple wraps of paper would be better. I wouldn't even cut off the crimp so as to get a larger payload. My $.02.

[skeettx]

http://myholysmoke.com/About.html

[hand101]

http://myholysmoke.com/About.html

this is what i have wanted for years. no funeral. just a party and anyone that wanted to could shoot my remains. going to call them and maybe set something up. just in case.

[GEOMETRIC]

In reference to what was said above, I would wait for a wind coming from behind or no wind. Black powder will surely work but I have shot the wads out of numerous scraped shotgun loads with no shot in them to salvage the hulls. They wouldn't kill anything but I bet they would put a nice red whelp on your butt at 30 to 40 feet. A normal charge of something like Red Dot should do it. I would test a few loads before the ceremony to make sure things will work as planned.