Smellydog
Well-Known Member
I thought after feelings of doom for my flintlock post 2029 I'd try some steel shot in it.
I cut two shells to get the shot.
Said 32grm on them but it wasn't, they were 30grm! Lying buggers.
Anyway I had one shot with #5 and one with #4 steel.
I laughed when I saw the condition of the pellets, years ago people would condemn lead shot that looked like that!
Anyway I just dumped 70gn of 3f, added a thin card then a split fibre wad with a blob of lube, then the steel shot and another thin card on top. No barrel protection at all.
Fist up was a sitting squirrel at about 25 yards.
To my surprise it was killed instantly!
It looked like one pellet got it's head but another had gone though a front leg and on further examination made it across the lower neck.
Feeling confident I loaded the #5 and stalked rabbits. The only chance I got was a long shot . More than 30yds. However I fluffed it and pulled the shot! I didn't know I had until after the smoke had cleared and I saw the birch I was supposed to shoot passed was pep, pep, peppered with shot. Hence, I was way off and no rabbit.
At home I swilled the barrel out with boiled water and scrubbed to clean the salts out and dried it off what it didn't do itself from the heat and then dropped a light down the bore.
No damage whatsoever!
So there is hope, kind of, at least it will be worth shooting steel to keep the purists way alive.
I cut two shells to get the shot.
Said 32grm on them but it wasn't, they were 30grm! Lying buggers.
Anyway I had one shot with #5 and one with #4 steel.
I laughed when I saw the condition of the pellets, years ago people would condemn lead shot that looked like that!
Anyway I just dumped 70gn of 3f, added a thin card then a split fibre wad with a blob of lube, then the steel shot and another thin card on top. No barrel protection at all.
Fist up was a sitting squirrel at about 25 yards.
To my surprise it was killed instantly!
It looked like one pellet got it's head but another had gone though a front leg and on further examination made it across the lower neck.
Feeling confident I loaded the #5 and stalked rabbits. The only chance I got was a long shot . More than 30yds. However I fluffed it and pulled the shot! I didn't know I had until after the smoke had cleared and I saw the birch I was supposed to shoot passed was pep, pep, peppered with shot. Hence, I was way off and no rabbit.
At home I swilled the barrel out with boiled water and scrubbed to clean the salts out and dried it off what it didn't do itself from the heat and then dropped a light down the bore.
No damage whatsoever!
So there is hope, kind of, at least it will be worth shooting steel to keep the purists way alive.
