My .690 12ga smoothbore load.

[NSP64]

I am going to use my O/U shotgun this year for closeup deer work. I started with a .690 RB of pure from a lee mold. Pound it through a Xtra full 12 ga choke tube, this gives me .685 around the equator and two flat poles on the RB. I hot glue on a plastic cup. Take a WAA12F114 wad and cut out the collapsable area. Glue the wad and gas seal back together. then load over 36gr of bluedot and fold crimp. Off hand I got 6" @ 35yrds and 1150fps for this 520gr ball load.
16821

16822

1527 ft/lbs @ muzzle 961 ft/lbs @ 100 yrds

[IllinoisCoyoteHunter]

I like your idea of cutting out the leg section of the wad. Good idea!

[missionary5155]

Good morning
Round Ball ! Realy at 40 yards and less you do not need to do any work UNLESS your particular 12 Bore just needs the extar help to perform.
A .685 ball moving at 1250 FPS will complete penetrate any white tail I ever saw from any angle. I take a lowly Winny brand dove load (Wally World) has them on special off and on in 100 packs) dump the powder and drop in a .685. I shoot these out of any 12 bore I have with a choke restriction of .005 or less. These also work well in a rifled barrel out to 55 yards.
Gluing on the base is another GREAT idea. LONGBOW and others have been toying with interesting added on bases also.
Personally I am going to continue a search for a barrel about 26 inches long that will have a 1-90 twist in 12 bore that will drop on my Mossy frame. I envision taking a Mossy rifled barrel and getting it relined with a turned down muzzle loader rifle barrel. It would be alot easier to start with a Mossy barrel blank but so far that is a dead end.
Keep on experimenting. Someone is going to find the perfect combination and the 12 bore RB will be launched at 100 yards from smoothbore barrels resulting in "Ho Hum Boring" 4 inch groups all day long. Then I am goint to apply the system to .685 ball bearings and have the ultimate Toyota SMASHER.

[yondering]

Velocity seems a little low for that much blue dot??
I get the same velocity with 18.5gr Green Dot, and a unmodified WAA12SL wad. The Green Dot load gives lower recoil at that velocity level than Blue Dot.

You might look at loads for the Lyman 525gr "pellet gun" slug for a starting point; I'm using 43gr Blue Dot in those for about 1400 fps.

I also size my Lee .690 balls down to .685", but I use a reamed out 5/8" nut in my single stage press (like a lee sizer die). You might be able to set up your choke tube in your press so you don't have to hammer on it.

[yondering]

Then I am goint to apply the system to .685 ball bearings and have the ultimate Toyota SMASHER.

That would be fun. After reading some of your posts about round balls last year, I've been playing with WDWW .685" round balls. They penetrate an engine block pretty easy! Lots of fun, and if I shoot them into a big chunk of firewood, I can re-use them.