I need smoke!

[5090SS]

My grandson has been after me to load a cartridge for him that produces lots of smoke on firing.

I decided a brass 12 gauge shell with a caseful of FFG topped with a card wad (no projectile) and just enough crimp to hold it together.

Does this sound reasonable or should I try to figure something else?

[Chill Wills]

Sure! And put a little flour in the payload.

[TNsailorman]

Shooting on a real damp day (right after a rain hopefully ) will do the trick or high humidity. Outside of that I have no experience. james

[Winger Ed.]

Oh yeah.
Shot shells used to be loaded with holy black.
When smokeless came along, they still had a 'dram equivalent' printed on the box that reffered to BP.
Before the internet came to be-- Nobody could tell you what it meant, but it was there.

If ya want an interesting thing to look up, and are not easily frustrated---- try to figure a 'dram' load for it.

[Froogal]

Black powder and confetti.

[Lead pot]

Oh yeah.
Shot shells used to be loaded with holy black.
When smokeless came along, they still had a 'dram equivalent' printed on the box that reffered to BP.
Before the internet came to be-- Nobody could tell you what it meant, but it was there.

If ya want an interesting thing to look up, and are not easily frustrated---- try to figure a 'dram' load for it.

I'm still from the old School
2 Drams is about 55 grains

[indian joe]

I'm still from the old School
2 Drams is about 55 grains

I was gonna say a 3 dram equivalent load (common) is about 80 grains ----close enough I guess ?

[BNE]

Try some Vaseline - It smokes pretty strongly.

[AK Islander]

A full 12 gauge brass shell would be a lot of BP. If it was me I’d use 70-80 grains with some wads over top and see how that worked. Since it’s a blank you could probably up the powder charge some but doubt you’d need a case full to get a healthy BANG and lots of smoke. Instead of crimping the brass shell, a hard card wad can be glued in with hot glue or DUCO cement. At least that’s how I seal my brass BP shotgun shells. Mine are loaded with around 80 grains FFG and equal volume of shot though - I’ve never had a need for blanks.

[draakken]

I've always found soft lube & unique could put up a reasonable smoke screen after a magazine or two.

[Winger Ed.]

I get a decent cloud with my home made lube made from Mrs. Wingers old fu-fu candles.
It does have a smell too.
I had one guy at the range ask me if I got my ammo from some place in San Francisco.

[John Wayne]

I get a decent cloud with my home made lube made from Mrs. Wingers old fu-fu candles.
It does have a smell too.
I had one guy at the range ask me if I got my ammo from some place in San Francisco.

That was funny!

[jednorris]

I guess I am just a worry wart, but I would be concerned with cleaning my shotgun after shooting a load.

[5090SS]

I guess I am just a worry wart, but I would be concerned with cleaning my shotgun after shooting a load.

I was going to use a H&R single shot 12 gauge Ought to clean pretty easy I think at least compared to a pump gun.

[Abert Rim]

I'd try 80-100 grains of black, with wads and corn meal. A 12-gauge case full of black would be a LOT of powder!

[dogrunner]

I load what amounts to a 3 dram load in my Grandpa's old single.....an 1890's Shattucks perfection.........and it'l make you wish you'd brought a gas mask on a damp spring morning..............really, you don't need much more than about 80 to do what you want........plus I like the flour suggestion. Cleanup's a breeze with a smoothbore.........just run some soapy water thru the tube and followup with hot to dry quickly.

Incidentally I'll mention that I have had an on and off problem with a garbage can raiding bear and I may have solved my issue with a perimeter alarm rigged on my can using a cut down .12 plastic/80 gr's of 3f topped by two hard card wads & roll crimped............loud as can be and one dose of that late last month and he hasn't been back........

[firefly1957]

Above flour was mentioned Flour under the acceleration of powder can compress and turn to cement sticking to case and barrel walls causing trouble possibly even damaging a gun .
I had this happen in a heavy seamless pipe (3/4" I.D.) I was trying to make a loud noise with the flour column was probably much higher then would be in any shell but it was not much black powder and the seamless pipe split.