things I learned this w/e

[KDubs]

 so 1st "Vous of the year and I decided for some asinine reason that i was only going to take my fowler to shoot. no other long guns.
  I really haven't shot this gun much due mainly to the wallop it brings, even with lighter loads.  but I was determined to learn to shoot this baby.

 20ga flinter ( you've seen the pics) with 100gr 2f leather OP card,  .600 ball,  cut wool blanket wad.   also tried it same load but bare ball and PRB, no real difference in the kick.
 
started the day with a 19 target trail walk, miss miss miss, hit, miss miss and so on. hit 3 total and the reason is that as I continued the shooting my right cheek began to hurt and by the end of the walk it was guite sore .  suck it up, all part of the fun.

 shortly after a group of us headed out to the fort shoot, My first time doing that, and desperately wishing I had brought ginger along for the fight. by the end of that shoot ( 20 + shots) I couldn't even cheek my Fowler but held my face off the stock to fire. not to accurate.
 
 That evening my cheek was swollen, hot and had a slight bruise, couldn't even shoot yesterday. 

 So the lessons I learned were sell my Fowler  , never leave ginger at home and If it hurts after a while maybe I should stop that particular activity for the day.
 
 It's all good now, face is feeling better, now to try and figure out why that damn 20ga kicks so bad. It is heavy gun I think.
 I fondled a few smoothies while there and the one thing I noticed were they were all maybe 6-7# and all have thin wall thickness in the barrels ,really thin.
 mine by the eyeball is an 1/8" at least, seems thick , I'll measure it.  this is a straight Bbl too, not swamped.  maybe I should weigh the whole gun just to see, but I wonder if the whole mass of the gun contributes to the beating I'm taking.

 I don't know.
 
kevin.



 

 

[PetahW]

  never leave ginger at home 
 

Yep - dance with who brung ya........   

[Nessmuk]

Hard Lesson I learned recently. If you don't learn to love in six months, sell it! Gun Safe time will not improve it. Concentrate on the guns you do love. I recently cut down my herd from 16 Rifles and 12 pistols to 6 rifles and 6 pistols (CapLock and Flintlock, .32 .40 and .50 Cal)  No regrets.

[Winter Hawk]

The heavier gun should recoil LESS than a light one, all else being equal.  100 grains of powder seems like a rather hefty charge to me.  Also, that 20 gauge ball is a lot heavier than a smaller one; pushing it out of the barrel will result in more push against your shoulder.  And then there is stock design; some are going to kick you right in the teeth, while others are a delight to shoot.  Check with Mr. Smoke about shooting large, heavy projectiles with large powder charges, as he did/does it for pure fun!

[No Powder]

Well Kevin if it makes you feel any better, shot my postals today with my latest acquisition. TC 50 Hawken. No, I don't have a sore cheek, but we didn't get along at all today. Targets showing room for improvement, and dealt with other frustrating things. If what Mark said is true, this gun would be the first to go. But, me of little patience, will work will her some more. ( Notice I did call it a her).

[Bigsmoke]

Check with Mr. Smoke about shooting large, heavy projectiles with large powder charges, as he did/does it for pure fun!

Yessir, that I did.  There is just something indescribable about touching off 400 grains of Fg pushing a 1,450 grain round ball out the barrel.  Did it hurt?  Nah, not really.  Did it kick?  Well, hell yes.  But no worse than getting punched in the shoulder by a fair sized man.  Did I do it again?  Well, of course.  Actually, that four bore kicked less and hurt less than a T/C Renegade I converted to a .62 caliber rifle.  That was brutal.  As a .54 rifle with a 100 grain charge it was not a big deal.  But going up to the .62 with a 310 grain ball and 200 grains of Ffg - totally different story.  I believe the real difference was the stock design, way too straight to handle recoil efficiently.

As far as shooting big guns go, I kind of liken it to the difference between driving a Yugo to the corner store and driving a Corvette there also.  They both get you there, but the Vette is a heck of a lot more fun.  And the big guns are a lot more fun to shoot, although it does take a bit longer for the smoke to clear.  Hint:  My moniker was fairly come by - Big Smoke, think about it.

Kevin,
My opinion on your rifle is that your stock is too straight and you are shooting a heavier charge than you need.  Obviously, I have not shot your smoothbore, but from what you have said, that's what I hear.

John (Bigsmoke)

[KDubs]

Thanks for the replies.
 Not having much experience with the fowlers I based my load etc on mike beliveau videos= 100+ gr for the SB
 I definitely feel the stock or cheek n comb specifically is if poor design.
 Thick n wide  with more of a peak in the comb rather rounded over
 Maybe something like I can work on.
 Also I found that not having a rear sight causes me to really mush my face into the gun so as to sight down the barrel ( IE shotgunning)
Probably a mistake I'm sure.
 I'll be shooting my postals this weekend with my TC .
Kevin

[No Powder]

Nice to see someone else besides me using TC's. Especially for the postals.

[KDubs]

It's really my best shootin iron.
 I should sell my other 2 flinters 
Kevin

[Hanshi]

Kevin, I probably couldn't really help you with the problem so I'll just kinda "outline" what I do with mine.  My smoothbore is 8-lbs & 1-oz, a 20ga with a 38" barrel.  The barrel is fairly thick and not the kind of tube you find on those 6-1/2 lb upland bird guns.  It loves a patched (.012" + or -) .600" ball and anywhere from 60 to 75 grains of 3F.  I've tried loads up to 100 grains of 2F and 90 grains of 3F but none did any better.

Firing 3-shot groups over a period of a few weeks at 50 yards, it let me know I had it down pretty well.  The average group size was right at 2-3/4 " (2.75").  Bare ball was good but not AS good.  Mine has a rear sight which made it easier to shoot groups.
Left target is with my bare ball load.  On the right is the patched ball load. 2-3/4" bare ball & 1-3/4" prb.

The load that got this doe was either 70 grns or 75 grns of 3F, can't recall which one. 

[Winter Hawk]

I'll be using the T-C Pennsylvania Hunter to shoot the postal targets this month.  And, start out with the single shot from a cold barrel at the "shingle" at 100 yards.  I really like the Hodgepodge Rifle better, but need to exercise this one also.

~Kees~

[garrettep3]

100 gr is a really heavy load for a 20 ga. Try somewhere around 75 gr.

[No Powder]

Well Nessmuk, you said recently that one should sell any firearm that you haven't fallen in love with in 6 months. Does that pertain to knives, hawks, and fire starting paraphernalia. The Hawken performed better,  so I think I'll keep it. But concerning the other items, it's debatable. Of course Hank recommended having the shoots in my yard. I haven't accomplished that yet.

[Nessmuk]

Of course not! you can never have too many knives, hawks, etc.

[duca]

Good stuff