Black Powder Shotgun Basics by Bob Spencer

This post first appeared on Dec 9, 2020

Pedersoli Double Barrel Flintlock Shotgun. Read more about it here.

In Pteryplegia: Or, The Art of Shooting Flying, a poem written in 1727, A. B. Markland said, in part:

To ram the Powder well, but not the Ball;
One Third the well-turned Shot superior Must
Arise, and overcome the nitrous Dust,
Which, dry'd and season'd in the Oven's Heat,
Has stood in close-mouthed Jarr the dampless Night.
Now search for Tow, and some old saddle pierce:
No Wadding lies so close or drives so fierce.
And here be mindful constantly to Arm
With Choice of Flints, a Turn-Screw and a Worm;
The accidental Chances of the Field
Will for such Implements Occasion yield.
When you mention black powder shooting, most people assume you are speaking of black powder rifles, maybe black powder pistols, but rarely black powder shotguns. The rifles get all the glory, and shotguns are relegated to the background. That's too bad, because a more versatile and enjoyable black powder gun doesn't exist than the shotgun.

Fusils, northwest trade guns, fowling pieces, even muskets can all be thought of as forms of the shotgun, although the gun we normally give that name is a fairly late arrival on the scene, somewhere in the second or third quarter of the 19th century. The typical form of that gun was a side-by-side double barrel percussion shotgun, and from it evolved, directly, the modern shotgun.

Regardless of the name, and whether flintlock or percussion ignition, all those guns have certain things in common, and the care and feeding, shooting and cleaning of them all can be considered as one topic.

One Third the well-turned Shot superior Must Arise, and overcome the nitrous Dust,

Load development for the shotgun is, overall, easier than for a rifle shooting a patched ball, but attention to some principles will yield better results. Here, the versatility of the shotgun is evident, because every shot is essentially a custom handloaded one, the only difference being that it is done in the barrel, not in a shotgun shell.

First, the powder used should, generally, be of a coarser grade than for other black powder guns. Experience shows that the slower ignition and lower peak pressures of the coarse powders give more even and consistent patterns in most guns. Thus, FFg is considered best for 28, 24 and 20 gauge, and most people include 12 gauge in this group. In 11 and 10 gauge, Fg will give good results. FFFg powder can be used in the smaller gauges, but most experienced shooters feel the rapid, high pressures generated tend to 'blow' the pattern.

Second, the amount of powder needs to be balanced against the amount of shot being used. The sport of black powder shooting is rife with 'rules of thumb', many of which turn out to be not at all useful, but one used in black powder shotgunning has stood the test, and works very well in most shotguns. That rule is: Use the same volume of powder and shot. That is easily accomplished by using the same measure to load both shot and powder. A good way to approach this is to decide upon the amount of shot needed, say 1 1/8 oz. for rabbit hunting, set the measure for that, and use it also for the powder. If the game is passing ducks, maybe you want to increase the load to 1 1/2 oz. of shot. If so, apply the same method, and good patterns will result with that combination.

It is generally true that any change in ratio from equal volume loading will affect the pattern, and that can be used to custom tailor loads for different circumstances. Shooting more powder than shot will, in most guns, tend to open the pattern a bit, and if that doesn't create too many 'holes' in it, can be used to mimic the effect of less choke. Conversely, using less powder than shot, by volume, will tend to tighten the pattern, make it more dense. As is obvious from Mr. Markland's poem, this principle was understood even by the very early 18th-century wing shot....One Third the well-turned Shot superior Must Arise, and overcome the nitrous Dust...or, as much as 1/3 more shot than powder, by volume.

Now search for Tow, and some old saddle pierce: No Wadding lies so close or drives so fierce.

Once the type and amount of powder and shot are decided upon, the shotgun load can be constructed. First, the powder is put down. Then, some form of wad is used over the powder, to keep the flame of the igniting powder from invading the column of shot as it moves up the barrel. This would not only disrupt the column by blowing hot gases through it, but could melt/deform the individual shot, causing them to sail wide once they escape the muzzle. The standard over-powder wad used by most is simply dense cardboard, 1/8 inch thick. For many decades it has been thought by some that a soft cushion wad should go down next, the idea being that some of the shock of the igniting powder would be absorbed by that soft wad, thus protecting the shot. These cushion wads are available in two basic forms, a harder, more dense 'fiber' wad, and a softer 'paper felt' wad. Both are about 1/2 inch thick. Once these are down, the shot is dropped, and then an over-shot wad, usually 1/16 inch cardboard, is put in last, simply to keep the shot from rolling out of the barrel.

The late Mr. V. M. Starr, the shotgun guru from Eden, South Dakota, stated that he saw no use for cushion wads, at all. He cut his own wads from 3/32 inch poster board, and simply loaded two over the powder, one over the shot. This method works well in most guns, and the choice as to which wads will be used must be left to the individual shooter.

Lubrication of the cushion wad will allow unlimited shooting with little or no need for cleaning between shots. Either fiber or paper felt cushion wads can be lubricated prior to the shoot by submerging them for a moment in melted solid Crisco shortening, with good results. Anything to soften the fouling at the breech will allow it to be scraped off by the over-powder card wad as it is rammed down, essentially cleaning the barrel each time. Many shooters of trap or skeet use simply water and a little detergent, or some form of Moose Milk, which is water plus water-soluble oil.

Once again Mr. Markland shows his understanding of the problem, when he says....To ram the Powder well, but not the Ball...., because hard ramming or pounding of the shot column once the shot has been added will deform the shot, causing them to sail and damage the pattern.

The end result of building the load in this way is a very efficient, hard shooting round. The velocities of black powder loads are on average about 100 fps-200 fps less than that of modern shotshells, but that difference is not enough to prevent the clean taking of game or consistent breaking of clay birds. In order to minimize the difference, a few things can, and should be practiced.

Set a shorter range limit, about 5-10 yards shorter, depending upon the gun. This will in effect tighten the pattern, since there's less time for the shot to scatter, and more shot will strike the target. It will also mean that more energy is retained by the shot, since it will have slowed less....and energy is equal to weight X velocity.

Use one shot size larger than you would normally use with a modern shotgun in the same situation. The larger shot will retain energy better out to game range. This will, of course, mean fewer shot, but in most situations will not be a telling factor.

Use some type of 'shot cup'. For those longer shots, this can work well. A frequent technique is simply to use plastic shot cups manufactured for shot shells, but cut off the cushioning column, leaving only the cup. There are some disadvantages to this; one, that there are no cups made which will completely hold a heavy load of shot, and; two, that the shot cups are too small in diameter. This latter is true because they are manufactured to fit inside a shot shell, not the barrel directly. To avoid problems caused by this mismatch of size, always use a good over-powder wad.

Use a choked gun. Since the beginning of 'shooting flying', shotgunners have always wanted to take game at greater ranges than their guns would allow. As early as 1781 the idea of extending the range and concentrating the shot on the center of the target by changing the shape of the bore of the barrel had been hit upon. The idea was worked on by many people for almost a hundred years before success was achieved. A patent for a choke-bored barrel was granted to one Roper, an American, in 1866, but his choke never proved practical. It remained for W. W. Greener, the famous British gun developer, to work out the tools and a practical method of choking, and his first guns with this configuration were not developed until 1874.

Any accurate replica of a shotgun using flintlock ignition will be a cylinder bore, as will any percussion replica of guns up to 1874. A variety of chokes are offered in our modern replicas, and each must decide if they are for him. Standard modern chokes of Improved Cylinder (IC) and Modified (Mod) are available in modern black powder shotguns, and these can be used with little difficulty. Full Choke (Full) guns are also available for special situations, as in turkey hunting or trap shooting. These chokes are available as fixed configurations, that is, ground in, or as replaceable choke tubes, screw-in type. Full choke guns of either type can be a problem to load, since the wads are larger than the choke, will be difficult to push past it, and may be deformed in passing through it, with possible detrimental effects on the pattern. Other than this, choked black powder shotguns achieve the same improvement in range and pattern density as modern shotguns, just not quite so much, because of the inherently lower velocities.

A special type of choke, the 'jug' choke, can be done to cylinder bore barrels, and this is a very efficient choke. It consists of a precisely shaped widening of a short section of the bore just behind the muzzle, achieved by removing metal. Since the smallest diameter of the cylinder bore is not decreased, but only increased in that one area, no difficulty is encountered in ramming wads down, yet the gun will shoot with the best of the modern chokes. This is a custom gunsmithing job, and has never been offered on any commercial replica.

With all the above factors in mind, the gun needs to be patterned, fired to check the density and evenness of the shot at target range. As with any black powder gun, any component in the load can affect the results in a good or bad way, and many combinations should be tried until the optimum load is discovered. Since the gun may be used in several different situations, each calling for different performance, most shooters will want to develop an optimum load for each. A load for quail over dogs will be quite different than one for pass shooting doves.

Anyone with much experience shooting modern shotguns has been gently brainwashed into thinking that choke is a great thing, and that there cannot be too much power. As a result, converts to black powder shotgunning often feel there is a significant disadvantage to shooting the guns. This is not true. In most small game situations, an open choke and light to moderate loads will prove more than adequate for the job. Many a man has found the old black powder scatter gun to be just the ticket for most of his hunting needs.

And here be mindful constantly to Arm With Choice of Flints, a Turn-Screw and a Worm;

Very good advice, even today, especially for the flintlock shotgun shooter. Regardless of ignition, though, that worm is a handy thing to have in your pouch while afield with the black powder shotgun. A jag is a poor tool for cleaning the smoothbore barrel, but a worm does it very well. A piece of cloth pierced and twisted on a worm will reach the recesses of the breech much better, and will not get stuck, as a jag is very likely to do. Another handy tool is a ball-pulling screw, one of those with a brass collar to prevent it touching the bore. This can be used to easily screw into wads and remove them, in case the occasion arises to pull a load.

Which, dry'd and season'd in the Oven's Heat, Has stood in close-mouthed Jarr the dampless Night.

Surely no one would put his powder in the oven, today. There are a few safety items that need to be mentioned in relation to black powder shotguns, though, items not encountered with other types of guns. Double barrel...a wonderful configuration, handy for that quick second shot, or for loading each barrel in a different way. Having two barrels creates two potential dangers, though. First, when you have shot one barrel and must reload it before you shoot the second, ALWAYS uncap that loaded barrel first, if shooting percussion, or open the frizzen and dump the prime if shooting flintlock. Obvious, but easy to forget. Second, when you shoot the same barrel repeatedly, it is possible for the recoil to cause the shot column in the unfired barrel to move forward a bit. As with any other muzzle loading gun, it's critical that the entire charge be rammed against the breech. An easy problem to solve...every 3rd or 4th time you reload, slip the ramrod down that unfired barrel and make certain it's still well seated.

Another aspect of the versatility of the shotgun is its ability to shoot solid projectiles, roundball, instead of shot. This is easily worked out by simply substituting a patched round ball for the shot and leaving out the over-shot wad. Everything else stays the same....powder, card wad, cushion wad, then a tightly fitting lubricated patched roundball. An ounce of any lead shot weighs 437.5 grains, and we shoot up to 1 1/2 ounce of it, 656 gr., in the larger gauges. A typical Brown Bess musket of .75 caliber is an 11 gauge. A roundball to fit it will weigh 625 gr., so although that roundball seems heavier, it is actually lighter, and can be quite safely shot with moderate to heavy powder charges in a strong gun. A roundball for any given gauge will weigh less than the maximum charge of shot for that gauge. Any shotgun, single or double barrel, which puts the center of its charge of shot right where the bead is pointing will shoot groups acceptable for large game out to about 50 yards, 75 yards with practice. At first consideration, one would think that having no rear sight would be a severe disadvantage, but it isn't so. A well fitting shotgun will cause you to point naturally at the target, with your eye and head position serving well as a rear sight, and the groups will surprise and please you.

The black powder shotgun gets little of the attention of the average black powder shooter, and that's regrettable. For a versatile, enjoyable, efficient and reliable companion in the field or on the range, it's hard to beat.

©1997 B. E. Spencer

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Flintlocks In Bad Weather by Bob Spencer

This post first appeared on  Dec 2, 2020

Wet weather has been a problem for flintlock shooters since the lock was invented in about 1610. Those of us us who favor that ignition system in today's world are faced with the same difficulties, and it seems that many of us never overcome them. That's too bad. It is a real disappointment to have gotten in position to take a nice deer or elk and fail to do so because the pan is full of slush, instead of the good dry prime we need. Disappointing, but almost totally avoidable. Wet weather flintlock shooting is a learned skill, and we can overcome the problem with the application of a little thought and effort.

The design of the lock is one important consideration. There is a type of lock known as "waterproof", which, of course, isn't. No lock is totally waterproof, but this type is engineered so that there is no excess pan exposed below the frizzen, and this helps prevent channeling of water into the pan. I would select this type for a gun I knew was going to be subjected to foul weather regularly, if it were possible. It usually isn't.

The ordinary lock most of us use has a wide flange around the pan, and this mates with the bottom, or foot, of the frizzen when the frizzen is closed. This joint is a frequent source of trouble. Take your lock off and hold it up to the light so you are looking at that joint. If you can see light between the flange of the pan and the foot of the frizzen, you need to do some work. This joint needs to mate exactly, so that no light will be visible. Some careful filing and stoning will usually make that happen. Remove the frizzen from the lock and work at it slowly, and it's not a difficult job to make both sides perfectly flat, as they need to be.

In his series of tests of locks, reported in Muzzleloader, Peter Alexander did a 'wet' test of each lock. He primed the pan and closed the frizzen, then put his finger over the opening where the pan communicates with the flash-hole. He then submerged the lock completely in water and held it there for one full minute. He then took it out, blew off any excess water, turned the lock upside down and fired it. Most of the locks he tested passed the test, and yours should, too, if you've done a proper job of mating that joint.

Once you are satisfied with the lock, there are other things you need to do to help assure reliable ignition. One of the most important is to check for "channeling" of water into the lock. On most guns, water can run down along the barrel, in the joint where the stock and barrel meet, and straight into the pan. This can happen even if you are protecting the lock from being directly rained on with a cow's knee, or some such. You can tell by looking whether this is possible with your gun. If so, then it's easy to fix. Before you go out into the rain/snow, fill that joint with some of your paste patch lubricant, Wonderlube, homebrew, or whatever. Fill it up for about a foot in front of the lock. This will divert any water away from the lock. You can also help prevent this by carrying the gun in a slightly muzzle-down position as much as possible.

If you want to be extra certain, before you prime your piece, smear a thin coat of your paste lube on that pan/frizzen joint discussed earlier. Don't go to extremes, just make certain the entire joint is covered. With a good fit and a thin coat of grease, water will not enter.

On March 15, 1759, General Amherst, Commander in Chief of all British Forces in North America during the Seven Years (F&I) War, gave the following order while soliciting men for a campaign: "And every Man, is to be well clothed, and be furnished with a good Firelock, Powder Horn, Shot Bag, and Cover for the Lock of his Gun, with three Pound of Ball fit for his Gun, and a good Blanket". That "Cover for the Lock of his Gun" is called a cow's knee, today, but serves the same purpose now as then, to keep the lock dry in wet weather. No one who shoots a flintlock in the rain or snow should be without a cow's knee, some kind of leather cover to put over the lock. Treat it thoroughly with grease or wax. I use my regular beeswax-lard patch lube, but have used Sno-Seal for years with good results. Make it simple in design, small and convenient to carry and simple to use. If it's complicated or difficult to use, you won't. They work very well, indeed, but not if they are in your shooting pouch.

A lot of people search constantly for a magic additive to mix with their priming powder to waterproof it. That's totally unnecessary, a waste of good money and an unneeded hassle. If dry prime is put into a dry pan, and the methods mentioned above are adhered to, a flintlock will fire every time, in rain or snow. The biggest mistake most people make is in not cleaning the pan thoroughly after every shot on those wet or humid days. If you are not going to shoot again immediately, the pan must be cleaned of *every last bit* of the residue of the last shot, because the salts left from burning black powder are strongly hygroscopic, and will suck moisture out of the air like a sponge, on some days. Good quality unburned black powder is not hygroscopic enough to cause any problem, and it will stay useable in the pan for hours and hours on the most humid day. If you mechanically exclude liquid water by the steps mentioned, and start with dry prime and a clean pan, the gun will fire.

I know, I know, lot of people will disagree with the statement that black powder isn't hygroscopic. You are free to do so. I've hunted for years in extreme humidity, rain and snow, and have proven to my own satisfaction that the statement is correct. I have never once, not a single time, had a flintlock fail to fire because dry powder in a clean, dry pan had absorbed enough moisture from humid air to prevent ignition.

The only priming powder I've ever used is plain old FFFFg, most of it Hodgens or Goex.

In a discussion of this subject on the MLML, some good suggestions were made which need to be included here. Bill White pointed out that a rough, unpolished pan affords a multitude of tiny crevasses and cracks, each of which is a perfect hiding place for the salts left in the residue of the burned prime. Polishing the pan markedly reduced the problem he was having with soup in the pan after firing. He used crocus cloth on his finger, and a Dremel tool with rubber polishing tips to make the pan as shiny smooth as possible. Roger Lahti feels that FFFg powder used as prime has less tendency to draw moisture. Thomas Crooks warns that a ramrod can swell with moisture and stick in the ramrod channel, and should be sealed to prevent this. He also says, "Do not use the type of primer container that relies on being pressed into the pan to dump the priming. Moisture will work its way into the nozzle and plug it up. Use something you actually pour from and does not touch the pan's surface." And: "In driving rain, shelter the neck of your powder horn from the water. I found that water accumulated around the neck and plug, and, when I unstoppered the horn to load, the little bit of water was enough to wet the powder and partially block the neck of the horn--had to use my vent pick to clear it out."

Some of the most enjoyable days afield I've ever experienced have been rainy, snowy days. There is something special about them, a different feel, a different look. The hunting can be very good, too. Whenever such an opportunity presents itself, I never hesitate to take advantage of it, and I never worry that my flintlock will let me down because of the wet. I've carried it all day in constant rain, many times, and had it fire instantly at the end of the day. Many of those times, that end-of-the-day shot was fired using the prime I put in early in the morning.

A flintlock is a marvelous machine. There are some disadvantages to them, some handicaps. I'm firmly convinced, though, that we create many of them by not knowing how to use the guns correctly. Shooting in the rain is certainly one of those problems which can be overcome with a little thought and effort.

Copyright © 1998 B.E. Spencer, all rights reserved. Photo #4 by Chuck Phelps.

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