10ga sxs Pedersoli

[megasupermagnum]

So after searching and searching for a flintlock sxs, I finally decided it is not going to happen overnight... likely not this year or anytime soon. The best way might be to build one, and that won't happen in the near future.

So to fill the roll, I found a very nice Pedersoli 10 gauge sxs percussion gun for a good price. Next month a intend to use it on turkey. Now here is where I am running into a problem. I can't seem to find any info on what a maximum load for this is. It is a light gun, and I have no need to push it. About all I can find online or in a hard to read Pedersoli manual is a recommended load of 100gr Fg with 1 1/4 ounce shot. I sure hope that isn't the maximum load. I would like to be able to try up to 1 3/4 ounce.

The other problem related to this is I also would like to try some round ball in this. It so happens that a 10 bore ball weights right at 1 5/8 ounce, and here I have no reason to shoot them with any more powder than needed. Pedersoli has no mention at all of shooting a ball in these guns, 12 or 10 gauge.

My normal load in my 12 gauge was 1 3/4 ounce with 100 grains FFg powder. Does anyone see any reason why the same load in this 10 gauge would cause a problem other than recoil?

[T-Bird]

I don't know why it would increase recoil with the gauge change. If the gun weighs more, it might be less? Same mass moved with the same charge. just don't rest your shoulder on a tree from behind!:smile: might be intense.

[megasupermagnum]

That's the thing, this is a light gun. I have not weighed it, but I'm guessing it's between 7 and 8 pounds, about your typical modern 12 gauge weight. I simply want to know what the maximum charge of powder and or shot that this gun was designed for. The only numbers I've found is 100 grains Fg powder, and 1 1/4 ounce of shot. That's a fine do-all field load, but rather pathetic by 10 gauge standards for a maximum.

I've got both Fg and FFg powder to try, along with a plethora of wad and card combo's. For turkey's, I would like to stay in the 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 ounce range if possible. I know that I can get a 30 yard capable pattern in those parameters with the modified choke. At 1 1/4 ounce, I'm going to be hard pressed to get the pattern I need.

[T-Bird]

I saw one reference that a man said his old Dixie Gun Works catalogue lists 109 gr 2F and 11/2 oz as a max 10 ga load. You might call Dixie Gun Works and ask them, they are a wealth of info and don't usually mind sharing.

[sharps4590]

I am an inveterate experimenter. I know what I'd do.

[Longknife]

Pedersoli is pretty conservative with their maximum load suggestions (Lawyers). Is you gun choked? I would take it out and try it with that maximum load and go from there. What size shot do you use? Bigger shot patterns better.

!""""My normal load in my 12 gauge was 1 3/4 ounce with 100 grains FFg powder. Does anyone see any reason why the same load in this 10 gauge would cause a problem other than recoil?""""

What are you shooting this load in? If you 10 gauge is heavier and with the larger bore producing less pressure the recoil should be less....Ed

[megasupermagnum]

My current turkey gun is my Knight TK2000 12 gauge. I still haven't found my postal scale, but both the TK2000 and the Pedersoli 10 gauge seem to be nearly identical in weight. The 10 gauge does only have a steel butt, while the 12 has a nice rubber pad.

Pedersoli doesn't seem to answer the phone for obvious reasons. I just tried Dixie, and all they had was their own recommended load of 85 grains FFg and 1 1/4 oz shot. They do not know what the maximum the gun was designed for.

I'm probably over thinking it. I'm finding a few articles online of people using some heavier loads. Toby Bridges isn't exactly the best source, but he worked for Pedersoli I believe, and he used some hefty loads. 2 ounce with 110 grains, and 2 1/4 ounce with 100 grains for turkey. 22 pellets of 1 buck (2 1/8 ounce) and 100 grains of FFg for deer. He pretty much just filled a BPD-10 wad with all he could.

It seems there is no maximum stated for the gun. Whatever your shoulder can handle. I won't mess with anything crazy, but it seems this gun can handle any typical 10 gauge load.

[Longknife]

Here is some good info, its for cartridges and I believe that the same load ion a ML would be produce slightly less pressure.
259076

[megasupermagnum]

It doesn't help me much, but if the 1 1/4 ounce load makes less than 3000 psi, I can go WAY up. If this Pedersoli couldn't handle 11,000 psi, something would be wrong.

[Edward]

That's the thing, this is a light gun. I have not weighed it, but I'm guessing it's between 7 and 8 pounds, about your typical modern 12 gauge weight. I simply want to know what the maximum charge of powder and or shot that this gun was designed for. The only numbers I've found is 100 grains Fg powder, and 1 1/4 ounce of shot. That's a fine do-all field load, but rather pathetic by 10 gauge standards for a maximum.

I've got both Fg and FFg powder to try, along with a plethora of wad and card combo's. For turkey's, I would like to stay in the 1 1/2 to 1 3/4 ounce range if possible. I know that I can get a 30 yard capable pattern in those parameters with the modified choke. At 1 1/4 ounce, I'm going to be hard pressed to get the pattern I need.

You don"t know till you work up a load what pattern is best .More velocity often blows the pattern ,it is putting in the time trying wad /shot/and powder choices that will produce the best pattern and then shot size/powder selection i 1/2F -2F 3F /wad material (see where I"m going with this) so forget maximum anything .Starting loads often produce great patterns ,and it is a muzzle loader not the biggest mag-semi 100 yd turkey slayer .My 62 bore (20 ga)smooth bore works just fine on turkey @35 yds and 50 yds with 4in groups with a patched round ball for 4 legged critters

[T-Bird]

Yeah, I would think that 11/4 oz load of #6 from a mod barrel would be plenty dense at 30 yds?

[Longknife]

I weighed my Ped. 10 gauge and it weighs right at 8lbs 4 oz. It was made in 1999. The Ped. website gives a weight of 7.27 lbs (7 lb 4 oz) for their current 10 bore, I don't know where the difference comes from but that's a whole pound!!! I have also had people say that their 10 bore is not a true 10 bore buy my left barrel mics. .775 ((cyl bore)at muzzle and the right barrel mics. .760 or modified. Here is that article on Turkey loads by T. Bridges. He is using only 85 grains, mostly F, a duplex load. Not sure I agree with his reasoning. He also uses a full 2 oz. shot!!!! I always believed that you want to use the least amount of lead and shot to get the job done. A good pattern is not necessarily a killing pattern! Turkeys are hard to kill. This little trick I read in a DGW catalog a long time ago. You shot needs penetrate a metal soup can at your desired range. Hope you get it ironed out!!!! Turkey season is not far away!!!!

http://namlhunt.com/mlturkey5.html

[megasupermagnum]

I've got plenty of time until turkey season. Three weeks to A season, and our seasons run through the end of may.

No way 1 1/4 ounce would be an ethical load for turkey at 30 yards. Maybe from a super tight turkey choke, but no way a modified will do it. I'm not looking for some super gun, but being a 10 gauge, I'm looking to use 10 gauge loads. I only need one shot. It is going to be a tough enough challenge to get 1 3/4 ounce to get 100 pellets in a 10" circle at 30 yards, I don't need to handicap myself.

So it seems there is no real maximum charge for these guns.

[megasupermagnum]

I found my postal scale, and this gun weighs dead on at 7 pounds 4 ounces.

Now here is the weird part. I first used calipers, and found both barrels at .758" at the muzzle. Using a cheap set of bore gauges, I again measured the muzzle at around .758", and down about 3" at .758". So it seems what I really have is a cylinder bore 11 gauge!

That's still ok by me, but it might put a wrench in my idea of a 30 yard turkey gun. Maybe with some work I can still get 25 yards out of it. This should make it easier to shoot round ball though, so not all bad.

[Edward]

I found my postal scale, and this gun weighs dead on at 7 pounds 4 ounces.

Now here is the weird part. I first used calipers, and found both barrels at .758" at the muzzle. Using a cheap set of bore gauges, I again measured the muzzle at around .758", and down about 3" at .758". So it seems what I really have is a cylinder bore 11 gauge!

That's still ok by me, but it might put a wrench in my idea of a 30 yard turkey gun. Maybe with some work I can still get 25 yards out of it. This should make it easier to shoot round ball though, so not all bad.
Guess you missed my reply about my Bob Hoyt .62 bore smooth bore Hawken @ 35yds /my load is 1.5 oz over 85gr 2F OE and it kills turkey just fine in the head ethically . The wife hates shot in her dinner ,your point of aim must be different than mine and thats OK ,I have been doing so for some time as shes picky .Told me to stop shooting them with a bow ,them I do kill with the body shot as I wasn"t good enough ( Ethics again)with head shots

[Rattlesnake Charlie]

I had the 12 ga, and my heavy load was 4 dr FFg and 1.5 oz shot. Recoil was stout in that light gun. I finally settled on 3.25 dr FFg and 1.25 oz of shot for pheasants. Took them out past 30 yds. In ML's, most guns get worse patterns as you up the powder charge over the "square" load, which is equal VOLUME of powder and shot. Use hard shot and do some patterning.

[megasupermagnum]

Guess you missed my reply about my Bob Hoyt .62 bore smooth bore Hawken @ 35yds /my load is 1.5 oz over 85gr 2F OE and it kills turkey just fine in the head ethically . The wife hates shot in her dinner ,your point of aim must be different than mine and thats OK ,I have been doing so for some time as shes picky .Told me to stop shooting them with a bow ,them I do kill with the body shot as I wasn"t good enough ( Ethics again)with head shots

Yeah... When you accused me of trying to turn my 10 gauge into the "biggest mag-semi" because I wanted to be sure this gun was designed for 2 ounce loads, you know, a standard 10 gauge load. And then you proceed to brag about 1 1/2 ounce loads in a 20 gauge? Come on man.

Then claiming a 20 gauge cylinder bore gun is an ethical 35 yard turkey gun. You lost all credibility.

[Edward]

Yeah... When you accused me of trying to turn my 10 gauge into the "biggest mag-semi" because I wanted to be sure this gun was designed for 2 ounce loads, you know, a standard 10 gauge load. And then you proceed to brag about 1 1/2 ounce loads in a 20 gauge? Come on man.

Then claiming a 20 gauge cylinder bore gun is an ethical 35 yard turkey gun. You lost all credibility.

You truly dont know squat about muzzle loaders do you ,PM me and we can discuss it to your satisfaction/Ed

[megasupermagnum]

Pedersoli is pretty conservative with their maximum load suggestions (Lawyers). Is you gun choked? I would take it out and try it with that maximum load and go from there. What size shot do you use? Bigger shot patterns better.

!""""My normal load in my 12 gauge was 1 3/4 ounce with 100 grains FFg powder. Does anyone see any reason why the same load in this 10 gauge would cause a problem other than recoil?""""

What are you shooting this load in? If you 10 gauge is heavier and with the larger bore producing less pressure the recoil should be less....Ed

Thanks for the info. I'll be out shooting tomorrow. I'll start at 1 1/2 ounce and go up from there. It turns out this gun is not choked. I use #5 shot mostly. I have other sizes, but #5 has always been my preference. This gun may prove different, but in the past #4 has always been worse than #5 in my tests. After looking this gun over closer, the barrels are stout. There is no danger there. Quite literally the only limit of this gun is going to be recoil at only 7.25 pounds. If I didn't say it before, I was shooting the above mentioned load in my TK2000, which weighs about the same.

[Golfswithwolves]

Mr. megasupermagnum- I own one of these Pedersoli 10 gauge guns. On the side of the left barrel is stamped 109 grains Black Powder Only and also is stamped 1 1/2 Oz. Shot. This is likely the maximum suggested load. My shotgun is of pretty recent make as I bought it new a couple of years ago, and advertised as 7 1/4 pounds weight overall. As I see little advantage in a light 10 gauge I put a couple of slugs of lead into the stock under the buttplate; this improves the balance a bit and I reckon it's about 8 1/2 to 9 pounds now. Don't sneeze at those 1 1/4 oz. shot loads as these were the standard for the 10 gauge for many years. For your gun which seems to have no choke I think that the old equal volumes of shot and powder are likely to work well, and also less powder than shot can improve patterns with such guns. I hope this is helpful. Bob

[megasupermagnum]

Mr. megasupermagnum- I own one of these Pedersoli 10 gauge guns. On the side of the left barrel is stamped 109 grains Black Powder Only and also is stamped 1 1/2 Oz. Shot. This is likely the maximum suggested load. My shotgun is of pretty recent make as I bought it new a couple of years ago, and advertised as 7 1/4 pounds weight overall. As I see little advantage in a light 10 gauge I put a couple of slugs of lead into the stock under the buttplate; this improves the balance a bit and I reckon it's about 8 1/2 to 9 pounds now. Don't sneeze at those 1 1/4 oz. shot loads as these were the standard for the 10 gauge for many years. For your gun which seems to have no choke I think that the old equal volumes of shot and powder are likely to work well, and also less powder than shot can improve patterns with such guns. I hope this is helpful. Bob

Absolutely. 1 to 1 1/4 ounce will be the majority of what I use in this. However, for turkey, 1 1/4 will not get me to where I want to as far as effective range. I'll see if mine is marked on the barrel. That sounds like a recommended load. We obviously can't take apart loads from muzzleloaders, unless we find one that has been loaded for 200 years. If we look way back to when cartridges first came out, and shells were brass, 10 gauge loads have been found that were as much as 2 1/2 ounces with black powder. I prefer that a manufacturer is outfront and says this gun is designed for X, but I'm sure this Pedersoli can handle any reasonable load after thinking about it.

[Longknife]

There's an old saying: Less powder, more lead, shoots far, kills dead. More powder, less lead, kicks hard, wide spread,,,,Ed

[megasupermagnum]

I looked mine over and over. I can't find any load on my barrels anywhere. On the bottom it says black powder only, made in italy. Then a bunch, maybe 10 different markings which I can only assume are quality and or proof marks. The top only says dixie gun works, 10 ga. One other odd thing I notice is that Pedersoli is supposed to have chrome lined barrels. The only other gun I have with a chrome barrel is my Benelli, and the inside is a mirror finish. This Pedersoli looks like a standard steel barrel, nothing really shiny about the inside.

I wonder if I have a really old one. Non coated barrels, both cylinder choke, very tight bores, no stamped load on the barrels, and apparently the browned finish is a sign of an older version. Very interesting.

[sharps4590]

It appears quite evident that you don't have much experience, if any with traditional, muzzleloading shotguns. You cannot know until you try several loads. Longknife's old saying holds much truth. You would also do well to find V.M. Starr's writings on ML double guns. There is also shot cups, home made and bought, that will tighten groups significantly, paper cups recommended. It looks as if you're much more concerned about shot charge weight than pattern performance and, I can understand that, especially as you bought a 10 bore...something on my list. Pattern trumps charge weight IMO.

[cub45]

my ped 10ga ser no 23529 says on bottom of barrels 109 gr black powder only 1 1/2 oz shot.

[Longknife]

Here is the marking on the bottom of my Ped 10 bore. It also has the 109/1 1/2 shot load markings. And did you know that all italian manufacture guns are required to have a date code on them? Sometimes they are visible with out pulling the barrels and some times they are on the bottom of the barrels. Here is a pic of the date code on my 10 bore which is BM in a square block. This plus the other Italian proof marks are marked on the side of each barrel. That dates it to 1999. It is also marked with what I assume is the Serial Number K30045. My gun was a kit gun and apparently came with factory blued barrels. The breech plugs are stamped with a "0" and the left barrel a "2" . I do believe that this designated the choke in that barrel, this is my opinion and not verified. So an "0" is no choke "1" is imp cyl, "2" is mod and "3" is full. Any way this list matches my chokes exactly. My gun was a kit Last I included a pic of Italian Date codes so you can verify the year of your Ped. Ed
259129
259130
259131

[Longknife]

BTW, The chrome lined barrels in these Peds is not a slick smooth chrome. You can test yours by touching a little cold blue to the bore, chrome will not blue, steel will!...Ed

[dondiego]

My father has been harvesting turkeys with a 20 ga. for years now. They are 3 inch factory magnums but they kill turkeys!

[sharps4590]

Longknife, that's precisely what I was thinking. I didn't think all chrome was shiny, is it?

don, the few occasions I hunted turkeys I used a 16 with 2 1/2 chambers, brass cases and black powder. The dead turkey's never said they could tell the difference. It was/is the classic 16 bore "square load" of 2 1/2 drams of Ffg and 1 ounce of #6.

[missionary5155]

Good morning
The Pedersoli Muzzleloaders are very nice ! We have the rifled double 12 bore... That is one fine shooting rifle.
I watched double flinters for years.. always more than what we pay for "kayak hauling car". Then one day 10 years back somewhere saw a reasonably priced Belgium double 20 gauge flinter. Nice heavy barrels and was cheap because it would not hardly spark. So I bought it.

Kasanite on the frizzens and it was about a 75% sparker. So I shoot it some and ordered a matched set of L&R locks.
Still have some more stock work but this time north it will be good for me. Already it has taken crows !
I think in this forum a search will bring up the "rest of the story" with photos.
Mike in LLama Land

[megasupermagnum]

BTW, The chrome lined barrels in these Peds is not a slick smooth chrome. You can test yours by touching a little cold blue to the bore, chrome will not blue, steel will!...Ed

This is very interesting. Mine has AF stamped on it, for 1980. I don't know when this model came out, but that must be getting near the start. Serial number 16592, or is it the KG1,740? I'll post a picture below of all the markings. On the top is only the dixie brand, on the left side the possible serial number. There are no choke number. I tried the cold blue trick, and sure enough both barrels are chrome all the way to the muzzle, they were never messed with. I have a factory Cyl/Cyl gun.

Moving on to the actual shooting, my experience depends on what you consider "traditional". For just black powder shotguns, I've been at this for years. Both cartridge and muzzleloading. Most of my muzzleloading experience stems around an H&R with a muzzleloader adapter, and my TK2000. This will be my first percussion cap SXS. I've been loading and shooting modern shotguns my entire life. This is not my first rodeo.

Some of you seem to have missed where the first thing I am doing is finding a load for turkeys. As most of the country, this is a head shot ordeal. Minnesota even goes so far as to ban shot larger than #4. This is a simple deal. There is no concern of efficiency, or pattern eveness or any of that. The ONLY thing that matters is putting as many pellets in the the brain and spine of a turkey. The rule of thumb is 100 pellets in a 10" circle. The farthest you can do that is your maximum range. Personally I am content with 80 in a 10" circle, as this will put 2-4 in the brain or spine.

Sure, sometimes less is more. In the TK2000 1 3/4 ounce put more pellets in a circle than the same 2 ounce load. There is nothing wrong with accepting your limitation either. Pellets come out at about the same speed, within reason, regardless of gauge. A 20 gauge is certainly lethal. But why on earth would I handicap myself to a 20 yard range with such a light load, when the gun is capable of so much more? That is thinking I'll never understand.

I'm off to the range.

259140

[dondiego]

My father regularly takes turkeys out to 35+ yards with his 20 ga. with #5 shot.

[megasupermagnum]

My father regularly takes turkeys out to 35+ yards with his 20 ga. with #5 shot.

That would require an extremely tight choke. Either that, or something like Hevishot or better yet, TSS. Remember I'm working with a cylinder bore, no choke at all.

I did a lot of work today at the range. I ran every load I could conceive with the wads I had. I wanted to try the skycheif load, but there is no way of getting a soaked 10 gauge fiber wad down this bore. I'll have to order some 11 gauge. 10 gauge nitro cards were no problem. I even tried some 10 gauge SAM1 wads, although they are a snug fit. Today I was trying all loads with FFg Goex. Next time out I'll be trying with Fg. The only odd thing is that this gun shoots low, and almost seems designed that way. Mounted naturally, I'm looking down slightly at the rib, and the mid bead and front bead stack. I know back in the 70's-80's, the figure 8 was all the rage in trap shooting. Not a huge deal.

The winner of the day was 80 grains FFg, nitro card, 1 7/8 ounce #5, overshot card. This load put 106 pellets on target (10" circle) at 20 yards, and 62 at 25 yards. A close second was the SAM1 wad shortened 3/8", 1 3/4 ounce of shot. This did 60 at 25 yards. The full SAM1 with 2 1/4 ounces of shot also did 60 at 25 yards, although recoil is extreme.

I've got a lot to try yet, and I feel I can close that gap at 25 yards. I did try some 1 1/4 and 1 3/8 ounce loads, but those were questionable even at 15 yards.

[Edward]

My father regularly takes turkeys out to 35+ yards with his 20 ga. with #5 shot.

I guess there"s 2 of us then ,my 1 inch Hawken 32in GM barrel just does it with 1 1/2 oz of shot over OE 2F Ed

[rfd]

Yeah... When you accused me of trying to turn my 10 gauge into the "biggest mag-semi" because I wanted to be sure this gun was designed for 2 ounce loads, you know, a standard 10 gauge load. And then you proceed to brag about 1 1/2 ounce loads in a 20 gauge? Come on man.

Then claiming a 20 gauge cylinder bore gun is an ethical 35 yard turkey gun. You lost all credibility.

Please do yerself a favor and pay some attention to what Ed's telling you. He has the credentials to back up what he's saying.

[megasupermagnum]

I guess there"s 2 of us then ,my 1 inch Hawken 32in GM barrel just does it with 1 1/2 oz of shot over OE 2F Ed

How many pellets does yours put in a 10" circle at 35 yards?

[dondiego]

It does sound like you are doing a lot of good pattern testing. Kudo's to you on that! I am sure that you are cognizant of where your pattern is centered as well. Where that is centered is critical too. Good luck with your project. I can see a gobbler in your future.

[T-Bird]

That article posted at the top of this forum by Waksupi on front stuffer shotguns is very good if you haven't read it

[Longknife]

Mega, Serial # 16592
Weight of barrels KG 1,740
Bore size 19.4 (mm) (.7637)
Year AF 1980
The other 3 marks are proof marks

[megasupermagnum]

I spent all morning at the range with Swiss Fg powder. The grains are similar in size to Goex FFg. Patterns were marginally improved across the board, and it allowed some stouter loads to perform better. Next time out will be with Goex Fg.

Today the winner was very similar to yesterday. 90 grains Fg Swiss, 1 nitro card, 2 ounces of #5 Lawrence magnum shot, overshot card. This put 73 pellets on target at 25 yards, and a second shot with the right barrel put 72. I did the same load, but replaced the nitro card with four overshot cards, and got 71. So this is by far the best load I've got yet. Unfortunately it is still a ways off from my minimum. Yesterday's load of 80gr (this time with Fg swiss), nitro card, and 1 7/8 oz, improved to 65 pellets.

I also tried some buffer. I had been reading about using corn muffin mix, but could not find anything similar in my cupboard. Instead i used modern plastic shotgun buffer, PSB buffer. I used a technique of dumping powder, then putting an over powder wad (either a nitro card or overshot cards) and seating. Next starting an overshot card about 3" into the barrel. I then dumped my shot in, along with some buffer. I lightly tapped the outside of the barrel with a wood short starter until the buffer was mixed. Unfortunately this did not put any more pellets on target. What it did do was even out the pattern, but that is not what I am after at the moment.

I'll keep at it, but clearly 25 yards is really going to be pushing it for turkey. Has anyone ever had a chrome lined barrel jug choked?

[Longknife]

You can jug choke it if you first remove the chrome with a hone but that would be a job in its self!!!!

[megasupermagnum]

You can jug choke it if you first remove the chrome with a hone but that would be a job in its self!!!!

That is what I was worried about. I would rather have a modfied jug choke than have it threaded for tubes. I'll keep working at it, and hopefully I can make the cylinder bores work for me.

Conditions were not good today. 20mph winds with strong gusts, as well as a light rain. Today I tried Fg Goex, and while patterns seem unchanged from Fg Swiss, the recoil felt less brutal. Maybe it was just me paying more attention to the wind. The same 2 ounce load with 1 nitro card only did 68 pellets, although the wind likely did not help. More importantly I tried the same load with a 12 gauge 1/2" fiber wad soaked in olive oil on top, the skycheif load. It turns out after soaking for a few weeks that they grow to nearly 11 gauge size. This did only 65 pellets, identical to only an overshot card.

I tried some #4 lead shot, both an OS and skycheif loads, and they did 50 and 52 pellets. That's clearly no good. For the life of me, I could not find my #6 shot, but I did find my #5 bismuth. On a scale, I weighted 2 ounces, which should have nearly the same pellet count as 1 3/4 ounce of #6 lead. This did 65 pellets.

I'm beginning to think #5 lead shot will not get me to 25 yards. I even tried nickel plated #5 with not a single bit of change. And #4 is going in the wrong direction. I am going to turn my focus over to #6, which is as small as I feel comfortable using.

[longbow]

Not sure if you have seen this or not but I have to think it is safe for your modern made 10 ga.:

http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/191/1/WAD-10-A

Both for BP shotshells but I'd have to think safe for muzzleloader too.

Here is some info specifically for muzzleloading shotguns:

http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/starr.html

About half way down the page he talks about "lighter" guns and using 4 1/4 drams of BP under 1 1/2 oz. shot.

And more:

https://goexpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mlss.pdf
http://www.black-powder.co.uk/swiss/shotgun_percussion.htm
http://www.traditionalmuzzleloader.com/index.php/loading-the-smoothbore-gun

Hopefully there is something useful there.

Longbow

[Earlwb]

The 2020 issue of Hodgdon's reloading Annual magazine has a article about using Old Eynsford black powder in some shotguns. He used a 10 gauge shotgun too. He published some reloading data for the 10 gauge and some other smaller ones too. Anyway maybe it might help you out.

[megasupermagnum]

Not sure if you have seen this or not but I have to think it is safe for your modern made 10 ga.:

http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html
https://www.trackofthewolf.com/Categories/PartDetail.aspx/191/1/WAD-10-A

Both for BP shotshells but I'd have to think safe for muzzleloader too.

Here is some info specifically for muzzleloading shotguns:

http://home.insightbb.com/~bspen/starr.html

About half way down the page he talks about "lighter" guns and using 4 1/4 drams of BP under 1 1/2 oz. shot.

And more:

https://goexpowder.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/06/mlss.pdf
http://www.black-powder.co.uk/swiss/shotgun_percussion.htm
http://www.traditionalmuzzleloader.com/index.php/loading-the-smoothbore-gun

Hopefully there is something useful there.

Longbow

It is strange, but it seems Pedersoli does not come out and say a maximum. Just vague recommendations. I've resolved to keep things reasonable, say 2 1/4 ounce. The gun is light, but the barrels are every bit as stout as a modern 10 gauge. I trust it can handle non-stop 11,000 psi loads with out breaking a sweat. I would be surprised if these blackpowder loads are anywhere near that.

Last night we got hit by the snow storm. I woke up to 3" of snow, with about 1" of slush underneath. I went to the range anyway. I am happy to say I found a true 25 yard load. Again I was working with Fg Goex, although this time I had #6 shot with. I started with #5 and again found loads to be about the same as Fg Swiss. When I switched to #6, it almost looked like the center of the pattern was thinner, even though I did not see that with #5. I tried a few combo's, including plastic wads, but no cure. To this point, the great majority of my loads were topped with a single overshot card punched from a cereal box. Finally I decided to try something stupid simple. The load was 100 gr powder, nitro card, 2 ounces #6 shot, and a nitro card for an overshot. This was the magic combo. Pellet count jumped right up to 102 in a 10" circle at 25 yards. Thinking it may be a fluke, I loaded again, and the second shot went 100. To this point I had only been shooting the left barrel, so I decided to try the right barrel. For fouling control I had been wetting the nitro cards in my mouth, the nitro card for using overshot was well saturated by the time I used it. For the right barrel I used dry wads. This went 92 pellets, which is adequate. I tried a second shot with soaked wads, and got 100. So it seems a lubed nitro card is the best overshot card. How's that for some load development!

I still have a little more work to do. One of my ideas was a custom wad, but I forgot it at home. The idea was to use an unslit LBC50 wad, which is a 12 gauge wad that is a full .730" diameter. This obviously is a loose fit in my bore, but not as bad as one would think. The important thing was that I had punched some 10 gauge wads from 3/4" thick wool blocks I had found in some packaging, and glued to the bottom of the wad. Besides providing a gas seal, I'm hoping the wool will provide enough drag to keep the wad flying straight until the shot is released. I used the LBC50 wad for two reasons. One, I do not have an unslit 10 gauge wad. Two, I'm wondering if it may provide some kind of choking effect. During firing the shot will set back, and expand the wad to bore diameter. The question is will the wad then shrink back down upon exit and provide a choke, and more importantly will it release the shot.

Besides that, I also want to try the skycheif load again with #6 shot. I did try varying the powder charge today, but I did not mess with the shot. I'll try some 1 3/4 and 2 1/4 ounce loads as well.

[megasupermagnum]

It looks like Ballistic Products is not allowing in-store pick ups at the moment, so it will be a couple days for shipping to get here.

In the mean time I played with a few slug loads today. Being as the bore on this is actually 11 gauge, my .780" balls are out of the question. I tried both .715" balls in a duck canvas patch, and .730" balls in pillow ticking. I also just got a mold which will hopefully drop between .735" and .740".

.715" with a duck canvas patch is a decent fit. It can be started by hand. .730" with pillow ticking was slightly looser. I only had enough patching with for 6 shots each, and both shot about 4" at 50 yards with 70 grains Fg goex. The left barrel hits about level, and 3" left, and the right barrel hits about 6" low, but about perfect left and right. With a little load development, I think this has the potential to be a great deer gun.

[ASSASSIN]

If your gun will be used more for turkeys than anything else, you could always have 3" "sleeves" permanently installed in the barrels instead of choke tubes, and get turkey killing patterns out past 40 yards quite easily. Been there done that!

[megasupermagnum]

A little more range would be nice, but I think I can get it done with 25 yards. This gun will not be used only for turkeys. I'm not sure what its niche, if any, it will become for me. I've got my TK2000 as a purpose built turkey gun if I want it. It is a 40 yard gun without trying. If I put the effort into it that I have been on this Pedersoli, I wouldn't be surprised if I could push it out to 45-50. I have no need for that much though. In my experience, turkeys hang up well out of range, and when they do come in, they don't waste too much time when they have a decoy to look at.

I'll use this Pedersoli for turkeys this year for sure, provided nothing comes up. I'll use it for ducks for sure this fall. Provided I'm confident in my shooting, I'll likely use it next winter for deer. I may even use it for bear. We shall see.

[ASSASSIN]

Ducks!!! Black powder and ducks go together like chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk!

If you do get a chance to kill some ducks this next Winter, PLEASE post some pictures. I'm already looking forward to seeing them.

[megasupermagnum]

Ducks!!! Black powder and ducks go together like chocolate chip cookies and a glass of milk!

If you do get a chance to kill some ducks this next Winter, PLEASE post some pictures. I'm already looking forward to seeing them.

It won't be too long a wait, although it always seems it is. Our season starts in September. I've done no work on it yet, but I have no doubts a load of my #4 bismuth shot will do just fine.

[megasupermagnum]

This morning while loading the truck I accidently put my knee on, and snapped my ramrod. So I ended up using my ramrod from my TK2000, which is 3/8", and never gave it a second thought. Later while ordering hickory dowel for a new rod, I noticed TOTW had a 9mm size listed for Pedersoli. Sure enough, my original rod measured about .354". Being as dowel is cheap, I ordered both 9mm and 3/8". The guides on my barrel measure around .380"-.385", and my aluminum 3/8" rod falls right into them. Can wood rods swell enough to become a problem? Is anyone else running a 3/8" rod on a Pedersoli?

[Woodnbow]

I would seal the 3/8” rod very well with a polyurethane finish and never look back. Unless it’s soaked in water for a looooong time I doubt it would swell enough to cause an issue. At least until the proper rod arrives.

[megasupermagnum]

I would seal the 3/8” rod very well with a polyurethane finish and never look back. Unless it’s soaked in water for a looooong time I doubt it would swell enough to cause an issue. At least until the proper rod arrives.

I've got both 9mm and 3/8". I would rather use the thicker 3/8" if at all possible. I'll make both sizes into a ramrod, and if the need ever arises, I'll switch to the 9mm size.

[megasupermagnum]

I made both size ramrods today. The 3/8" seems to fit just fine. The only problem was it was very tough to get the 10 gauge jag around the barrel, as the thimbles are so tight to the barrels. What I did was sand down the ramrod around the front thimble area to about 9mm size, and that seems to have made it a lot easier. If it becomes a problem, i think a 12 gauge jag might be the ticket.

The only other problem I have is that it seems the right side lock can fall into the half cock notch. I've mainly fired the left barrel, so did not notice this problem until recently. There is no fly. I'm going to try and file the half cock notch slightly to allow a little more clearance.

I also found that the sling studs on this are some tiny little things. Is there an adapter to go from those to an american style sling stud?

[KCSO]

Max load, way more than you can stand... My heavy Turkey load is 102 grains of Fg powder and 1 1/2 Oz of shot with the shot in a paper sleeve like a wad cup. This is good for over 30 yards on a turkeys head and has killed plenty so far. All one shot kills.

[megasupermagnum]

Alright, I think I got the right side lock figured out. I ended up taking both locks apart and giving a deep cleaning. The right side, I stoned the half cock notched down just a touch, it did not take that much. I think what happened is somebody tried to do a poor trigger job. Somebody has clearly filed away on the sear, but on the wrong side. I believe this turned the angle more inward, and is what caused the problem. Eventually I'll think about a new sear and tumbler, but for now I feel this is a safe and functional fix. The cleaning brought the trigger pulls down to a crisp 5 pounds too. I also had to bend the sear arm, for lack of a better term, to give a little clearance in the stock. I think I'll shim the right lock outward too, as the hammer seems to drag slightly on the stock too.

Now I only need to figure out sling studs, and this will be ready to hunt.

[megasupermagnum]

It turns out that there is a European standard sling stud, and that is likely what this has. I hope it is anyway. I ordered a set of swivels from Grovtec that they say are for a European style stud, and should work on Pedersoli.

[Longknife]

GREAT!!!!! Now go get that gobbler!!!!!!!!! and post some pics!....Ed

[megasupermagnum]

I got to chronograph it to today. 100gr Fg Goex, NC, 2 ounces shot, lubed NC. 875 fps about 6' from the muzzle.

Admittedly slow. I did not have a tin can on hand, but found an old WD40 can. Shot from 30 yards, the pellets went through the front side, but barely even dented the back. Using KYP ballistics calculator, If we assume #5 lead at 1100 fps muzzle velocity is lethal at 50 yards, that provides 561 fps and estimated 1.42" gel penetration. Compare that to #6 at a MV of 875 fps, that should be the same 561 fps at 33 yards, and estimated 1.42" gel penetration at 26 yards. So it's the bare minimum, but should be lethal at 25 yards, which is also the absolute limit of the pattern.

[megasupermagnum]

Played some more with the KYB shotshell ballistics. My load of #6 lead at 875 fps (closer to 900 fps muzzle), is nearly identical in performance to your standard target load of #7.5 shot at 1200 fps, or #4 steel shot at 1300 fps, both of which have been used to take turkey.

More importantly I finally got my 11 gauge fiber wads to properly test the skycheif load. I'll be shooting again this weekend, and loading for the real deal next wednesday.

[megasupermagnum]

I forgot to say that I tried the skycheif load with a multitude of combinations with no improvement. I simply could not improve on simplicity. The load I used was 100 grains Fg Goex, a dry nitro card, 2 ounces #6 shot, and a lubed nitro card overshot. I lubed with mink oil.

Day one today, it was chilly at about 20 degrees in the morning, but I've been in worse. The turkeys seemed to be in winter mode yet. Very little gobbling. Not a single response to calling. This was my first trip with the Hilljacked chair, and I have to say I'm impressed. I sat 6 hours straight in the morning without moving or stretching, and it stayed comfortable. Around noon I took a nap, then decided to head over to where I knew there was a gobbler. I had hunted this spot in the past, and knew about where they would be coming through to roost. I sat until about 7:00 I could hear what I thought were turkeys. They were scratching the ground eating, but I could not see them. About 7:30, right when I was considering crawling to the ridge's edge, one flew up into a tree about 75 yards from me. I could see he was a younger jake. So much for sneaking on them with eyes in the sky and ground. Thankfully, it turned out there were two on the ground, both full grown toms, and they decided to check out the decoys. Despite my calls, they paid no attention to this point. This was pure curiosity. Both came in right next to each other. It felt like an eternity before the smaller of the two put its head down, and I let the big one have it. Range was 12 yards. I knew it was an adult tom, but until I was butchering it, I had no idea how big it is. Size wise, it's likely your typical 25 pound bird, I've never weighed any of mine. What was special about this one was that it was my first with a double beard. One 9" and the other about 7.75". This is likely my highest scoring turkey I have taken to date. Oh, and the pedersoli did just fine.

260424

260425

[T-Bird]

Very nice! congratulations! ahrd work paid off.

[megasupermagnum]

I got the family together, and we had half of the turkey yesterday. When I butchered, I found that the pattern was well centered in the neck. I stopped counting at 30 hits. Now here is the amazing thing. I did not see any shot in the breast, yet my dad picked two pieces of shot... from the leg. This was shot at 12 yards. Well, I wasn't going to miss.