By Jim
I like to turkey hunt with my old Colt 10 gauge. It’s the perfect thing for Fall gobblers in Maine. But it’s truly difficult to find the proper ammo for the old girl. Modern 10 gauge ammunition is quite a bit too long, and uses heavy loads of smokeless powder which is too hot for the Damascus double barrel. So I load my own.
When I can scrounge them, I pick up original brass casings to load. Sometimes the antique brass uses a Berdan primer, so the case needs drilling out to accept a modern 209 primer.
After hot gluing the primer in the case, I trim the excess glue off with my pocket knife.
I utilize an original loading tool to measure powder charges and shot charges. I use what is called a “square load” in the shotgun world. This means the same scoop is used for powder and shot. The scoop measures in dram equivalents, and a dram is about 27 grains of powder. My loads are usually 110 grains of powder (black, not smokeless), followed by a 1 5/8 ounce load of pellets. I’ve said it before but I’ll say it again….. never use smokeless charges in an antique firearm meant for black powder loads. The metallurgy of the time won’t necessarily handle the pressure curves of modern smokeless ammunition. Despite load data for smokeless being available, it’s a bad idea to give it a try. You might get away with it, and you might not. It’s a terrible way of earning the nickname “Stumpy”. Due to the nature of shell length and the shape of the forcing cone, when a set of Damascus barrels let go just ahead of the chamber, it’s pretty much where your offhand is holding the fore grip.
Besides — half the fun of hunting with these old guns is the bilious clouds of gray smoke you put into the air in the hunting fields, doing it the old school way your ancestors did.
Once the powder charge is in the case……
…..next comes a series of wads. From bottom to the top is an over powder wad, a felt cushioning wad, and an over shot card. The over powder wad goes on top of the powder charge. I like to squeeze this down onto the powder charge with a bit of compression. Black powder burns cleaner with a little bit of compression. Next, comes the felt wad for cushioning the pellets and preventing them from being deformed upon firing. Once the shot is in place, the over shot card is then placed on top to keep the pellets from falling out of the hull.
One of my “cheats” is to seal the overshot wad with a small hot glue gun. Now there are two thoughts about this. Some shooters say don’t do this, because the plug of hot glue can scratch or even coat the inside of the bore and make a mess. Others like me have seen no difference no matter how many rounds I’ve fired. The hot glue seals the hull from moisture on rainy or foggy days and I personally have had no problems with my shells. Your mileage may vary, and I’m only posting what works for me. I’m not swinging this behemoth around trying to shoot flying birds or trap shooting with such a heavy monster. I have a light 20 gauge for that business. This is my turkey gun and I’m not burning dozens of shells a day with it. She barks with authority and kicks like a pissed off mule, so I’m not cranking her up for multiple rounds per day.
It’s nice that modern made brass hulls are available these days. I bought a number of them for about $15 each. Getting a box of them for a day at the range can be pretty “spendy”. Fortunately there’s a cheaper alternative handy.
A more cost effective way to feed your old girl is in the form of modern plastic hulls. These are a one time use deal because of the nature of black powder. The heat of firing usually deforms the plastic and I don’t like to reuse them. So I load them, fire them, and chuck them in the trash. But here’s the kicker — the brass hulls require you to use 9 gauge components in them to ensure a really good seal and fit. But the 9 gauge stuff doesn’t fit the modern hulls well, too big. So you have to order stuff that’s an actual 10 gauge for the modern hulls. Since the cards are relatively cheap enough, I keep items on hand to load both types of hulls. Modern 10 gauge hulls come in longer lengths up to 3 1/2 inches, so you’ll need to trim them down to 2 7/8”. Right now I’m hot gluing the overshot cards as I do on brass hulls, but I will be acquiring a roll crimper for my plastic hulls soon. I think it’ll make for nicer looking shells and the roll crimp will ensure good ignition.
By reducing your main powder charge, you’ll be able to increase your payload up to 2 ounces. The reduced powder charge will prevent the shot from blowing out and leaving gaps in your pattern. I’m currently loading size BB shot for turkey hunting, and I’m getting decent patterns with a 2 ounce load at roughly 1,000 feet per second velocity. Potent medicine for the big gobblers.
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