Cowboy BP 8 & 10 loads

[charlie cleveland]

the 8 ga is a a very fine gun.. the difference between a 8 and a ten is the same as a 10 to a 12...each gun has its on merits but guns are kinda like cubic inches in engines the more the cubic inches more power can be made...so larger the ga the more powder and shot can be used...but alast guns are like engines they will also blow up...so the need for a good set of strick rules are needed for the loadings of each of our beloved old guns... and yes i have fired 3 ounces of shot through my old parker lifdter gun but not many of them but have shot close to a 1000 rounds now of loads from 1 1/2 ounce to 2 1/2 ounce in the old parker but i used tom arbrust loadings to a tee... the 3 ounce loads came from another shooter of the 19 th century and his gun was a english built greener...i figured the old parker was as good as any greener ever built so i tred the 3 ounce load...its a big load but is a bit rough on the shoulder in the parker at 13 lb but is not bad in the old loomis at 15 lbs...theres one company even now loading the 3 12 inch 10 mag with 3 oz of shot but they have only a muzzle velocity of only around a 1000 fps...but as been said on this forem many times the lighter the powder and load the longer that old shoulder and guns gonna last.... charlie