.690 RB loads for Remington 11-87

[GORLO]

I've been experimenting trying to get a RB load to cycle in the smooth bore cyl choke of my 11-87. 690 was usually too large a diameter to fit in my shotcups without bulging so I have built a sizing jig to swage them down to .665. These fit quite nicely in WWAA12R red wads. Using Win AA hulls I've tried several powers that I have on hand. 20 gr Clays gave a chrony of 1200fps but won't cycle the action. 27 gr of Unique also around 1200fps, tremendous flash and also not reliable. 30gr of Winchester WSF with a fold crimp averaged around 1325 fps and seemed to cycle OK. ( i only shot a couple) That same load with a roll crimp averaged about 1100fps and wouldn't cycle. ?? I thought the roll crimp would give a better burn. I also have HS-6 & HS-7 on hand but haven't tried them. My objective is to get the RB moving at least an honest 1200fps and cycle the action. I'm not opposed to buying another powder if someone knows it'll work my 11-87. There's a 21" smooth bore deer bbl on there that works fine with factory slugs. If I can get something that is reliable, I would then go to work on accuracy probably by varying my swage size up slightly for a snugger fit.

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings Gorlo I think you are not getting the velocity that you should due to the fact your RB is swaged a little too under size. Nor do I think you will find them accurate! Had you swaged them down to .678 you would have gotten a tighter fit in the barrel for the powder to burn correctly. May I suggest you take your RB and put it in the wad, now push it through your barrel up side down with a wooden dowel to check how well it fits your barrel. It should not just slide through but you should have to push it through with what ever combination you want to try. This is the way I try with all RB and slug in wad before I load them for a smooth bore.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/RoundBallsinwad.jpg
Its better to fold crimp, a roll crimp will damage the wad petals.
Hope it helps.
Ajay
www.PreciousVideoMemories.Com

[rockrat]

Haven't loaded any in decades, but IIRC, I used Blue Dot for my round ball loads and velocity was supposed to be around 1400fps.

See if I can find my old Handloader magazine, that I got the data from.

[longbow]

BPI lists loads for 0.690" and 0.715" RB. They have a pretty good slug reloading manual and also publish single page sheets for about $1.00 each. I have one for 0.690" RB.

It seems to me that your load of 27 grs. of Unique is the same as BPI lists though I can't recall hull, primer and wad as that all makes a difference.

I have loaded 0.735" RB over 38 grs. of Blue Dot. That is a "substantial" load. I used the Precision Rifle published date for their PileDriver as a basis. That is up to 44 grs. of Blue Dot under a 610 gr. bore size slug. 38 grs. under the ball was enough recoil for me!

I agree with AJ about the size. I also think 0.665" is too small. Something of 0.675" to 0.680" should be good ~ for cylinder bore.

Have you recovered any wads? If they are all scrunched up and the gas seal is blown there is a hint of problems.

I have found that unless I use at least one or two nitro card wads under the ball, often the wad deforms and the gas seal blows then accuracy is gone and sometimes the load is almost a "blooper" because too much gas gets by the ball. Take a look at AJ's photo and you can see the nitro card wads.

Another thing that can help is a scoop of cornmeal under the ball to form a cushion saddle.

My feeling is that you should be using a straight walled hull too rather than the AA. The tapered walls and smaller volume can lead to higher pressures.

Longbow

[SuperBlazingSabots]

Greetings to you all. Gorlo I use the same method for Lee Key slug in wad.
http://i232.photobucket.com/albums/ee75/Dantebeowulf/LeeKeyinFed12S4and12S3wad.jpg
Just be sure to put a hard nitro card in shot cup below the ball or slug to give it a solid base.
Longbow is innovative and has a lot of experiance so be on the look out for his posts and advise for he is very good!
Ajay
www.PreciousVideoMemories.Com

[GORLO]

Thank for the suggestions. I think it must be too loose a fit thru the bore. I'll try boring out my sizing jig to around .675 and try the same loads again. I was getting discouraged as factory 1oz slug loads I checked chronyed around 1400fps and functioned well in this shotgun. I thought I should at least be able to duplicate this velocity with a lighter RB.

[Bloodman14]

Depending on your alloy, a .690 RB will weigh about 492 grs., or 1 1/8 oz. (Mine do) I use Longshot with a standard WAA12 wad, the white one, or a Claybuster equivalent. I use load data for 1 1/8 oz. of shot (starting), OR use load data for the 1 1/4 oz. loads, so I stay in the safety margins. In other words, use 1 1/4 oz. data, while using a 1 1/8 oz. RB. Oh, by the way, Longshot will let you know that you just fired something BIG!! I use this in a Winchester 1300 defender with a 22" cylinder bore barrel.

[Harmon_Greer]

Try the win wt12 wad. It has thinner petals than the waa12 wads. I would start with win aa hull, wt12 wads a few nitro cards under the ball and about 30 grns of hs6 powder with a win or rem 209 primer