Thanks for the info, and again, great looking shot.
Thanks for the info, and again, great looking shot.
You're welcome and thank you.
BPI used to make a wad specifically for the .690 Round Ball.
They were a double cupped "brush wad" and failed miserably when you started pushing the velocity limits of that wad. Or so that was my findings.
I tried them several times years ago, but always found the accuracy to be on the far side of terrible.
I have found the .690 Round Ball to have it's greatest accuracy potential when wads were matched to each guns bore diameter, so it kept them going more in a straight line, and the choke was matched to that particular combination.
There are many many loads out there for the various Round Ball diameters, so the possibilities are endless.
For guys shooting either an O/U or SxS and wanting to know where their barrels throw a center pattern, a Round Ball at 1,200 fps. shot at 40 yards, will show exactly where each barrel patterns at that distance.
My Beretta O/U shoots the top barrel center of point of aim at 40 yards, and the bottom barrel shoots 3" high at 40 yards. Both barrels are perfectly centered left and right, and this gun works as well for pheasant and geese with shot, as what it does for hogs with the Round Ball loads.
I had a guy come by this morning and wanted some loads for his Ruger Red Label, and found his top barrel shooting 6" high and 4" left at 40 yards. His bottom barrel was shooting within an inch or two of center at the same distance. So he decided to shoot buckshot in the top barrel and a Round Ball in the bottom, and will be hunting hogs with it in Texas this weekend.
That is impressive weight in that tumbler!
My wife and I were both shocked, and weighed that load of Round Balls three different times to make sure we were getting a correct reading on our scale.
When I first started using this particular brand of case polishers, the springs between the bowl and the base bottomed out with the first load, and of course that hindered performance. After that, I put smaller but stronger springs inside of the factory springs, and these polishers have been working great ever since.
Have you tested these in rifled slug barrels? I'd think they'd be tack drivers.
Excellent work.
Excellent work.
Yes I have. I also have several customers who shoot fully rifled barrels, as well as Paradox double barrels. They all seem to shoot a little better than what smooth bores do.Have you tested these in rifled slug barrels? I'd think they'd be tack drivers.
Excellent work.
Thank you!
Doug came by this morning with a new gun that I had been wanting to look at, and wanted to see if it would shoot my Round Ball loads would shoot good enough to hog hunt and deer hunt with.
Gun tested was a Savage 555E.
I had a styrofoam plate as a target, but it was destroyed, so I put up an identical "target" so you could see the exact group size, which was 6 1/2" across and 8 1/2" top to bottom. The "target" itself is 8 1/2" diameter.
All shots were offhand at 50 yards.
A full choke was used in each barrel. Doug also tried a modified choke, and 2 shots had a spread of over 2 feet, so that was a definite no go!
Before the target was shredded, which made it through all rounds, ALL shots were on the target!
The way I look at it, if Doug can put the bead on the front shoulder of either a hog or deer, he should have no problem harvesting either one.
As far as the Savage 555E goes, I thought it was a great looking gun! Tight but not too tight. The wood to metal fit was near perfect, and trigger pulls were very manageable. The walnut stock on this gun had some of the best looking figure I have seen on a Turkish made shotgun. I'll have a 20 ga. on order before the week is out!
ADDENDUM:
I missed a page of my notes.
We started off with a 1,100 fps. load, then a 1,200 fps. load, but the 1,300 fps. loads is what was shot above. The first two loads were just so so, but it seemed the higher the velocity, the better the gun shot.
Recoil was a little on the stout side, but still quite manageable.
All in all, it was a good morning.
Gun tested was a Savage 555E.
I had a styrofoam plate as a target, but it was destroyed, so I put up an identical "target" so you could see the exact group size, which was 6 1/2" across and 8 1/2" top to bottom. The "target" itself is 8 1/2" diameter.
All shots were offhand at 50 yards.
A full choke was used in each barrel. Doug also tried a modified choke, and 2 shots had a spread of over 2 feet, so that was a definite no go!
Before the target was shredded, which made it through all rounds, ALL shots were on the target!
The way I look at it, if Doug can put the bead on the front shoulder of either a hog or deer, he should have no problem harvesting either one.
As far as the Savage 555E goes, I thought it was a great looking gun! Tight but not too tight. The wood to metal fit was near perfect, and trigger pulls were very manageable. The walnut stock on this gun had some of the best looking figure I have seen on a Turkish made shotgun. I'll have a 20 ga. on order before the week is out!
ADDENDUM:
I missed a page of my notes.
We started off with a 1,100 fps. load, then a 1,200 fps. load, but the 1,300 fps. loads is what was shot above. The first two loads were just so so, but it seemed the higher the velocity, the better the gun shot.
Recoil was a little on the stout side, but still quite manageable.
All in all, it was a good morning.
Last edited:
