bp shot gun

[engineer]

been tinkering with the idea of a bp shot gun and have been looking into the available replicas, seems 12g are plentifull and .58in which falls just under 20bore, are these smaller calibre guns cabable of being used with a solid ball as well as shot or are they a smooth bored rifle just to get a shotgun from the same machine ,any help much appreciated.

engineer

[lilguy43uk]

been tinkering with the idea of a bp shot gun and have been looking into the available replicas, seems 12g are plentifull and .58in which falls just under 20bore, are these smaller calibre guns cabable of being used with a solid ball as well as shot or are they a smooth bored rifle just to get a shotgun from the same machine ,any help much appreciated.

engineer

I very much doubt the wisdom of using a solid ball through a choked barrel.

[Gunnerman]

If you mean a double barrel hammer shotgun only use shot, if your looking at a musket type smoothbore, solid ball can be used on ranges that are approved for it

Regards Andrew

[robinghewitt]

Well....

They undoubtedly did shoot ball from shotguns, what goes down comes out because ball doesn't obturate. You only find "NOT FOR BALL" stamped on back stuffers.

Would you get slung off a musket range? Probably not, I know someone who regularly loads ball in his double gun at Bisley, probably depends on whether the bod in charge is a total jobs-worth.

Would it do the choke any good? Probably not, might pop the foresight out on a single

.58 is the modern equivalent of .577 (24 bore) which is small bore rifle calibre. Probably chunky and unchoked, designed for ball and crap for clays.