powder in shot shell

muzzelloader69

when you are reloading a shot gun shell , could you use black powder in place of smokless?, i was just wondering if you could do it . i'm not implying that i will do it , i was just wondering. thanks ron .

Tailgunner1954

Yes you can, but you will find that the internal volume of a modern shotshell/wad combo won't allow you to put in enough blackpowder to be effective.
Besides it really grunges up the barrel and creates enough smoke to blot out the target for a follow-up shot (don't ask how I know this).

1 Dram is a volume measure equal to 27.5 grains of blackpowder, and when you see the term "# Dram Equiv" it means that the muzzle velocity is the same that a charge of # Dram blackpowder would give the same weight of shot (a 12Ga 1 1/8 ounce 3 Dram Equiv loading has a MV of 1200fps, the same as if you had 82 rains of BP in the shell)

25wcf

This is from a long-time lurker, first time contributor. The answer to your question is "Yes, you can!" You need to be a little "retro" to do it successfully, but it is a lot of fun and is just as effective as using modern components.

I have been shooting a model 1889 Remington double-barrel hammer shotgun with black powder cartridges for several years to do all my bird shooting. It is much more convenient than a front-stuffer, and just as satisfying I hunt ducks, geese, turkeys, and pheasants, mostly. I tried quail, but as the man said, there is a lot of smoke and sometimes you have to wait a second to see what happened after the first shot, so it is hard to mark down the birds you shoot. This is not usually a problem when the wind is blowing, though.

OK, here is what I do. I use 2 3/4 inch, 12 gauge Federal paper target hulls, which have a short base wad and allow quite a bit of room for black powder, which takes up more room than smokeless. I use Hodgdon Triple Seven powder in 2f granulation. Any primer that will fit the pocket will work just fine. The old Alcan air wedge plastic over-powder wads provide an excellent gas seal and maximize velocity. A fiber cushion wad follows the air wedge into the shell case. I use an old hand dipper to load equal amounts by volume of shot and powder. I use a MEC 600 Jr. to de-prime, prime, ram the wads, and crimp the finished shells. I only load each case one time, as many will develop pin-holes after the first use and in the past I have had the brass separate from the paper when I tried to shoot them a second time.

My gun has full choke barrels and creates a very dense pattern out to 30-35 yards. My basic load is 3 drams of powder and 1 1/8 oz. of shot. This load gives between 1200 and 1300 feet per second and is really a just a heavy trap load, but is all I use for most of my hunting. This load takes an air wedge over-powder wad and a 1/4-inch felt wad. I should mention here that I use bismuth shot for waterfowl hunting. Bismuth is a tad lighter than lead by volume, so you get a faster load than lead for the same amount of powder. Yes, it is expensive...about a dollar per shot. For turkeys and geese, I step it up to 3 1/4 drams of powder and 1 1/4 oz. of shot, using an air wedge and a 1/8-inch felt wad. My trap and skeet loads are 2 3/4 drams of powder and 1 oz. of shot, with an air wedge and a 1/2-inch felt wad. As you have read in many places before, these loads work for me in my gun; you should have your gun checked out by a competent person before trying them in yours.

Components are fairly easy to come by and the results speak for themselves. Here is a warning, though...once you start filling the air with white smoke, it sort of gets in your blood and it is hard to put up with anything in your gun safe that doesn't have hammers on it.