8 ga pyrodex loads

[charlie cleveland]

shot some more of the 8 ga loads again today at the dr pepper can at 40 steps..no recoil noticeable with the loads and the pattern aint to bad with the cly bore barrels i used the old mills 8 ga for the test..this old gun weighs 13 1/2 lbs... these pyrodex loads smoke like black powder and just about as hard to clean the gun up...gona try these loads on squirls soon... the load was a winchester 8 ga clear hull 50 grains of pyrodex powder...209 winchester primer 3 1/2 inch over powder wads 1 1/4 ounce of bbs... a 1/8 inch split in half over shot card then rolled crimped... have had possitive ignition on all shells tested so far..penetration is very good...if you want some really lite loads for your 8 ga this is it.... charlie

[wayne goerres]

Charlie Dose the pyrodex burn holes in your hulls.

[CraigThompson]

Unless it's a muzzle loader I hate using real blackpowder and even less so Pyrodex .

IF I wanted the smoke the smell etc I think I'd try granulated Triple 7 most likely FFg .

The Triple 7 granulated has no corrosive elements in it where as Pyrodex does . I know alot of folks say cleaning black/pyrodex is no big deal . I don't agree any sealed action cartridge gun is bound to get some residue from the powder charge inside the action or some other spot thats difficult to clean without submerging in H2O .

[charlie cleveland]

you can load a hull usally 3 times with the pyrodex powder...i ve used triple 7 and it an pyrodex shot about the same...either powder will do for a low pressure load in the 8 bore..one thing for sure no squibs yet with this low of a powder charge... one thing about these loads shooting squirls you had better listen good for the squirl to hit the ground because you shore can not see him fall because of the smoke... charlie

[Paul Harm]

JMHO but 50grs is way to lite of a load in a 8ga. I'm not trying to tell you what to do because you've shot quite a bit - but just a thought or two. In the Dixie catalog they don't show anything for the 8ga but do show a 1 1/4oz load for the 12ga breech loader using BP. They recommend 92grs of 2F giving 1050fps. A light 12ga muzzle loading load is 76grs with 1 1/8oz's. What is your penetration ? I've shot quite a bit of 12ga BP loads in shot shells and have always used at least 75grs for clay targets and 80 to 90 grs for pheasants. In my 10ga MLers my load is 95grs for hunting. If it were me, I'd be using # 2s or 4s for tree rats- don't think the BBs are necessary; and you'd get a lot more shot in your loads and better patterns. I'd also use at least 75grs [ more like 95 ] for more energy. With a 13 1/2 lb gun you ain't gonna notice any recoil till you get up to a 5 + dram charge. Just some ideas.

[charlie cleveland]

paul i sure appreciate the info
your right about 2s or 4 s havinh more shot in pattern..the reason i was shooting the bb s was thats all i had at the time and the penetration is really good ..i m really surprized at hoy good 50 grains of pyrodex does in these old shells..these are something i mostly shoot at cans with and they really work fine but they would kill a squirl with no problem.. plus the gun i shoot these in is probably the roughest looking parker still fireing a shell of all times.. if i was doing some real good squirl loads i would up my loads...you outa try 50 grains in the 12 or ten loads and tell me what you think of them... charlie

[Paul Harm]

Charlie, I like a BIG LOUD boom that shakes the 5-Stand or wakes up the skeet, trap, or SC's shooters standing next to me. About 94grs of 2F and 1oz of shot does the job. Once in a while I'll even throw one in a friends shooting bag - damn is that funny. Sometimes I have to almost catch their gun. The up side is no one will now " borrow " a shell from me. I had one of my better rounds of SC's shooting smoke one day - a 45/50. That's one I'll always remember. Those 3 1/3 dram loads move right along and crunch clay birds real good.

[Paul Harm]

Forgot to tell ya - Brad Bachelder said his barrel boring machine came in and my 10ga Parker will be the first to be taken out to a 8ga. Man, I can hardly wait to get it. I'm gonna have to order some 8ga stuff from BP's. That, and I'm gonna right now go back through the threads and see how to peal the band off those 8ga shells. Think I'll just use fiber wads and roll crimp. Should be able to use my Mec jr. to deprime and prime. Just need a dowel to push wads down. If I don't quit thinking about shooting my own 8ga I'm gonna have a wet spot in my pants.

[wayne goerres]

Paul There is no band on the 8ga cases. There is a bulge in the brass that is put in by the factory. You hace to swedge it out useing a die or as charlie has been doing,with a set of pliers. You cant use a meck junior to prime and d prime. The case is to big for the primer cup. New brass comes primed and it you use full house Bp loads you will only get one fireing out of the case. It will burn right through the case.Check out the thread under reloading named 8ga die. You will see photos of a loaded and sized case.

[charlie cleveland]

paul get you one of these dies that wayne is fixin to have made ...a few others and myself included are going to get one.. you can use the old lee hand held 10 ga magnum to punch out the primers and put back in i also use it for every thing except the crimping then i use the bp roll crimp..boy i ll be glad to hear about your barrels being 8 ga before long...i ve been looking at a parker 10 ga that has really heavy and thick barrels to do what you are doing.. the barrels i ve found way 7 lb and 6 ounce at 30 inch long...barrels are super thick at both ends... i wish i was secound on brads barrel boreing machine... charlie

[wayne goerres]

I would be sure he has a chambering reamer before he bores the barrels.

[Paul Harm]

He's a Master Gun Maker and can do about anything except the engraving. I'm sure the chambers will be done and gun in shooting order. On a back page - page 8 - there's a thread about pealing off the band on a 8ga shell. Are there different 8ga shells that get treated differently so we can shoot them ? I have a couple of plumber buddies so the pliers should be no problem. Which 8ga shell does BP's sell ?

[Paul Harm]

yes I have the old Lee 10ga handloader and I'll get the 8ga roll crimper probably from Precision Reloading - their roll crimping tolls are cheaper. They offer the 2 pin roll crimper for what BP's get for their 1 pin. BP's wants way too much for their 2 pin model.

[wayne goerres]

Paul I just checked BP web site and their remington hulls say they are banded,but I cant tell fron the photo wether it is an actual band. Heres an idea. If your going to convert a 10ga why not have him to chamber for the industrial hull instead of resizeing cases. The reamer has to be made either way.

[charlie cleveland]

i ve took the old plumbers pliars and done several remington hulls of course you can use a die grinder and peel thr wrap off but you will ruin some cases doing this...but i bet waynes 8 ga die will resize it just as good as the winchester hull... charlie

[Paul Harm]

I'd rather not have him take out any more metal than necessary as far as the chambers go. Sooner or later I'm gonna have to order some hulls from BP's and play with them.