Well,I got around to trying the gun. The first thing I shot was a round ball. I got the .820 inch balls from OctoberCountry and they were a perfect fit through the barrel. Just a few thousandths clearance. I was lucky (or unlucky enough) to get my third or fourth big bore with almost cylinder barrels. In my estimation, none have been reamed or honed, particularly this Scott 8 Gauge. The 820 balls weigh 1-7/8 oz. If they were .835 (which is what the bore measures) I am pretty sure they would be exactly 2 oz. I also discovered in measureing that the chamber is cut to exactly the dimensions of the enlarged section of the head of the Remington industrial shells. After making a die, I found I didn't need one.
I looked in Tom's book and found several 1-3/4 and 1-7/8 loads with different types of Clays powder, all with reasonable pressures. My reasoning is that a round ball without patching has to exhibit way less drag in the barrel than an equivalent shot load. I took a 1-7/8 oz load at 1250 fps and 8200 psi and reduced the charge about 15% for a trial. I suspect these are around 1050-1100 and down in the 7K's range.
I tried one by shooting into a clay dirt berm 20 yds away. A piece of cardboard with a circle served as a target. Recoil was mild in the 9-3/4# gun and the ball hit where aimed. I made the load up with a new Remington industrial case, the reduced powder charge, followed by an SP8 wad with the petals cut off. I thought this would seal the gas, cushion the ball and center the ball in the bore. The ball was coated with lube and a lump place under it in the cup. I cemented an overshot wad over it to contain the ball.
The ball hit a strip of grass in front of the target, cutting a 3" wide depression for a foot, hen went through the target and into the heavy clay. It literally drilled a 2" hole perfectly starigh for 15". I confirmed the measurement with a wooden dowel inserted until it touched the bullet. You could see the ball by looking into the "wound channel".
The case fell from the chamber, with the only change being the espansion of the thin part of the head to near the same diameter as the larger section. There was no measureable expansion of the head.
I was pretty impressed. I think this load would shoot completely through a deer. Since there is no choke to contend with, a similar ball cast of hard lead should do major damage to even a large animal.
I plan to try about 5% more powder, then shoot for accuracy.
I also am going to try the PolyWad approach to long distance shots with open chokes. My favorite was their 28 ga Gram Cr'ker. I still have a bunch. The concept was use medium size (5 or so) niclkel plated hard shot, well packed in a good buffer. I have a 30" 28 ga bored cykinder and skeet. For quail I shoot the first shot from the cyl barrel with a spreader load and the second from the skeet barrel with a 5/8oz gramcr'ker. They are devastating. I have patterned them out to 40-50 yds. They seem to almost never open up. I can kill doves and quail consistently at those kind of ranges with only 5/8 oz. It seems that the protection of the shot along with the hard shot and buffering avoids any damage at all to the shot to cause dispersion. I am going to try, as time permits, to adapt the concept to open large bores.
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