Question for you smooth bore guys?

[Fly]

This is most likely a dumb question, but not my first or last.I have never
had a smooth bore rifle & know nothing about them.Now when shooting
a patched round ball how much smaller should the ball be & how thick
of pillow ticking should be used.

I guess what Im asking does the ball dia & pillow ticking work about
the same as a rifled barrel.Say like in my .50 cal rifle I use .490 ball
& .015 pillow ticking.

Fly:roll:

[Maven]

Fly, First, welcome to the wonderful, but slightly wacky world of smoothbores! Second, as you've surmised, RB diameter + patch thickness have a significant effect on how accurately a smoothbore shoots, but so does the powder charge, and whether you place your cheek in the same place on the buttstock every time. Odd thing though is that ball dia. and patch thickness, although important, aren't as critical as in a rifle. For example, I've tried 3 different RB dia's. in my 20ga. smoothie: .607" (Rapine), .600" (Dixie), and .597" (J. Tanner). Btw, as near as I can tell, the bore is ~.615" at the muzzle. The .607" RB wasn't accurate no matter which patch thicknesss I tried, given the same powder charge. The other two dia.'s were equally accurate with the same patch thicknesses and powder charges, but the .600" RB was a PITA to remove from the mould, and the mould was later sold (ditto the Rapine).

As for the .597" RB, I find that I can use either .014" or .018" pillow ticking* patches and get the same accuracy, the only difference being ease of loading (pushing the patch ball down the bbl.). Also, many smoothie shooters get excellent accuracy using over powder and over shot wads with a RB, dispensing with the patch entirely. I've tried it several times and find the PRB is more accurate in my gun. In short, you want a patch & ball combination that isn't so tight that you have difficulty seating it, but tight enough to stay seated.


*Since you don't have the pressure or even a sharp land or two to contribute to patch disintegration (blown patches), you don't necessarily have to use the thickest material available. In my .56" T/C Renegade smoothie (has rear sights too), I use a .550" RB, but only a .010" patch and haven't blown one yet even with 80gr. FFg charges. Btw, unlike my 20ga. smoothie, this one shoots better with a greased felt OP wad under the ball.

[waksupi]

A smooth bore rifle will generally need a smaller diameter bullet than a rifle. No where for the patch to hide in a smoothie.

[codgerville@zianet.com]

Have never seen a "smooth bore rifle".

[missionary5155]

Greetings
I have shot RB in all my smoothbores to incluge the numerous muskets. They all exhibit the same item.. individual likes and dislikes. Some shoot a thin patch with a overpowder wad better, some like a thick patch with a smaller size ball.
I have never tried an over ball wad but have tried and over ball patch which did nothing better that I could tell.
I hunt river bottoms and thickets. My farthest deer shot to date is 33-34 yards. Pristine accuracy out to 50 yards has not been a real pursuit. But I have found trying heavier loads to help but not to rip/snorting loads. My caliber .60 "trade gun" with a 42 " barrel shoots 3F better than 2F which is fine by me. I load and prime with one powder.
So my advise is to not be afraid to experiment and when you see an idea that maybe will help give it a whirl next time out. Me I am gonna try the double wad on the patched ball next time up.
Mike in Peru

[irishtoo]

hi fly, i shoot a .54 flintlock rifle and a .54/28ga smoothrifle. i load a .526 ball with .013 linen patch(joannes) both shoot that load well, but i worked to get a ball/patch combo that would function in both. the smoothrifle does load harder. as said before no where for the patch to go. irishtoo

[Fly]

Ha,Ha, you guys have my head spinning with your great info.Sounds to me it,s a long process
if you don't hit the combo early on.But He11 this is muzzleloading right, (wink).OK you guy's
have pointed me in the right direction.

Guess that's why we love these ole guns
Fly

[codgerville@zianet.com]

Historically, a "smooth rifle" has the attributes of a rifle (patchbox, rear sight, and cheekpiece) but a smooth bore. A true smooth bore or fowler has none of the aforementioned parts.
Thank you, seems us old geezers can still learn something new.