HOWDA 58 Cal. (BP)

[Ironhand54]

As a nurse I have actually had patients who were shot with bird shot, at close range. Hits in the torso and arms. Neither patient was killed or even seriously debilitated. They were both able to keep going. Bird shot is not a good idea for defense.

IronHand

 

[rodwha]

As a nurse I have actually had patients who were shot with bird shot, at close range. Hits in the torso and arms. Neither patient was killed or even seriously debilitated. They were both able to keep going. Bird shot is not a good idea for defense.

IronHand

The smallest shot I’d remotely consider would be #4 often used for turkey. But I’d still more likely choose some form of buckshot depending on the pellet count.

Quite frankly I’ve mused about what a load using my .457” or even .490” balls would be like. Not many “pellets” though...

 

[Bagheera]

Woo
Just for that passion n knowledge loyal, I ll call u sir Jeffery, cause he was a badass mofo..
Btw,what u think about the effectiveness of that howda loading plenty of 454s ..
Was in use at the time was it..?
In India I heard.its a mean weapon I think.

 

[rodwha]

Woo
Just for that passion n knowledge loyal, I ll call u sir Jeffery, cause he was a badass mofo..
Btw,what u think about the effectiveness of that howda loading plenty of 454s ..
Was in use at the time was it..?
In India I heard.its a mean weapon I think.

Balls of that size would eat up your payload, and even more so if you follow the traditional BP loadings of the British. A 20 ga would use 7/8 oz of shot with about 62 grn of 2F powder, which would be a bit heavy for such a short barrel. That equates to 383 grns of lead which is 2.7 .454” balls. Kinda defeats the purpose of the shotgun. I’m not even remotely familiar with what kind of velocity one would get from a short barrel. Following the typical British loads these flew around 1050 fps in a normal length barrel (well over 30” I’m sure). Maybe 600-800 fps from that short barrel I’d imagine, and using 3F instead. But then using 3F is said to destroy the pattern (deforms the shot from the initial shock wave pushing on the various pellets). Granted a short range prospect wouldn’t be quite the ordeal unlike hunting where your pattern is vital two or three times as far.

I have no clue as to the max charge for the Howdah. I’d venture to guess its listed as less than above.