8 GAUGE BRASS SHELL TURKEY LOADS
 

I have a P grade hammer gun on a 7 frame with 34" barrels and full chokes. The gun was originally shipped from Parker in 1894. It was returned in June of 1914 to have the barrels rebrowned and the action repaired and cleaned. The barrel wall thickness is as follows: .151" one inch in front of forcing cone, .069" ten inches in front of forcing cone, .062" sixteen inches from muzzle and .058" minimum wall thickness. The components I plan on using are as follows: 3 1/4" brass Rocky Mountain Cartridge, W209 primer, Alliant Blue Dot powder, .125" overpowder wad, .500" fiberwad, #4 West Coast premium magnum extra hard lead shot, .025" overshot wad held in place with Duco Cement.
I have Tom Ambrust's book but he really doesn't address loading the brass shells and using the Precision Loading components. Does anyone have any experience with using these components? Any suggestions on powder and shot quantities?

I've tried everything from water glass to just oversized overshot cards with brass shells. I like hot glue the best. It sets up immediately. As far as 8 gauge shells I know nothing. I do like IMR 4756 in 10 gauge.

I've loaded 10 ga brass shells with smokeless powder. There is very little data out there for this type of loading. I used PB powder, 1 5/8 oz. I ended up settling on 40 gr. powder and had best patterns using two 1/2" wads.

all of your coponets sound ok now how much of powder and shot do you want to use..your gun sounds like it is in real good shape...how much does it weigh...i would start with a light load and work my way up...a light load would be 40 grains of bluedot and 1 1/2 ounce of lead shot...a medium load 45 grains of blue dot 2 ounce of shot a heavy load 50 grains of bluedot 2 1/2 ounce of shot...when loading the brass shell i would put 2 or 3pellets of black powder by the primer to help have better ignition of the powder plus you need to put some pressure on the over shot wad and use hot glue while holing pressure on the over shot wad...charlie

Charlie, the 8 gauge weighs 12lbs 7oz. I agree with you to start out with a light load. I naturally want to keep the pressure as low as I can (8000 psi max) but still have the killing power out to 40 yards. The last thing I want to do is loose a wounded bird. Actually, the last thing I want to do is ruin my gun and loose some fingers!

Wayne,

I fully appreciate your trepidation. I worked my way into shooting Damascus and Twist Parker's very slowly. With all we have learned I have come to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that Parker's are all near equally as strong. I have two 1881 Twist Parker underleavers that take off the shelf shotgun shells. The 10 gauge is difficult to find 2 7/8" shells for, but the 12 gauge lives on a diet of off the shelf 1 oz loads at 1200 fps or below. Just try not to flinch as you grow a custom to the strength of Parker barrels.

Harry

Wayne, go on the Alliant site and look at the Blue Dot loads for ten gauge to get a "feel" for what charges you like. In the bigger eight gauge hole, the loads recommended for ten gauge should come in at a lower pressure. In the lighter shot charge, a lot lower. I have 30 RMC brass shells, but have not used them yet. My Parker hammer gun was also shipped in 1894, to Tryon in Philadelphia. It is serial number 76,470. Is your number close to that?

Bill,
The serial number is 79884. The gun was shipped one day after the order was received to C. H. Tucker in Wakefield, RI. The gun was returned 20 years later by A. L. Lamphere from Stonington, CT. Thanks for your help.

After loading my first/lightest 8 gauge load, the overshot wad ended up 1 1/4" from the end of the brass shell. Does anyone know if shooting the shell "as is" will create a problem? In order to get the overshot wad close to the end of the shell, I would need to put 2 additional 1/2" thick cushion wads below the shot. Wouldn't this increase the pressure and maybe affect the shot pattern. Any thoughts?

It doesn't matter how far below the charge sits, just a little more trouble reaching down in to apply the glue. In my experience, too many cushion wads can give a hole in the pattern. If you want it to look pretty, put in more wads, but shoot it on paper to make sure it looks good. No, you won't increase pressure.