Black Powder 12 GA Load

Gunny52

Have some 2.5 in brass cases that I woulkd like to try Pyrodex ff in. So far here's what I came up with: 50 grains of Pyrodex and 500 grains of shot. I am assuming that this is relatively low pressure. Someone stop me if it is not. I've loaded regular shot shells and rifle for 40 yrs. this is new territory for me. Thanks

Noah Mercy

How do, Gunny.

Forget about the weight of the components when dealing with black powder or its substitutes. The old shotshells were loaded with equal volumes of shot and powder. Use a dipper or adjustable measure to throw your powder charge, and use the same dipper or measure (at the same setting as for the powder) to throw your shot. A couple of black powder accesory suppliers sell adjustable shotshell measures. I got a CVA shot/powder measure for about six bucks new and if you look under reloading supplies and accessories you'll likely find some good used ones, including some really cool antique ones.

BTW, if you are using traditional wool or vegetable fiber wads, get the 11 gauge size for the brass cases...those cases have thin walls and 12 gauge wads won't seal. Your patterns will look like big doughnuts due to the gasses blowing around the wads and everything will be filthy due to the poor burn. The best product to secure the overshot wad in the case is waterglass. I have also heard of folks using Duco cement when waterglass isn't available.

In my brass hulls, I use 80 grains (by volume) of Goex 2F, an 11 gauge overpowder wad, one and a half 11 gauge cushion wads (they split easily with a butter knife so you can tailor the thickness to fit your needs depending on how much powder/shot you're using), 80 grains (by volume) of shot, and an 11 gauge overshot wad secured by waterglass. This is almost a wimpy load, as many of the original shotshells had 120 grains of powder and a corresponding volume of shot.

Any other questions, don't hesitate to ask.

[:D]

Gunny52

Thanks a bunch Noah