Rifled slug in smoothbore

[Appalachiannative]

I have been considering getting one of those pietta 20 gauge double barrels. I considered a hypothetical situation in which I would use it to hunt deer with a slug in one barrel and buckshot in the other. Would it be possible and practical to ram a 20 gauge rifled slug into a muzzle loaded BP shotgun? Or would I have to use a .60 round ball?

 

[paul harm]

Round ball. The rifle slug doesn't spin. A 20ga RB will kill anything you're gonna hunt.

 

[mcb]

A rifled-slugs is designed for a smooth bore shotgun. They get the name rifled-slug from the angular grooves in their sides, that look like rifling marks on them. The groove impart very little if any spin and are there primarily to aid the soft lead slug swaging through any choke, up to and including full, safely. Rifled-slugs are primarily a drag stabilized projectile, using a forward center of mass and the trailing lead skirt in a manner similar to a shuttle cock from badminton.

As for the particulars of using rifled slugs with black powder muzzleloading shotgun I have very little experience. It should work but I have no first hand experience. A round ball might be easier, that said a good rifle slug would probably be more accurate.

 

[entropy]

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/DGS-Gualbo-Steel-Slug-20ga-10_pak/productinfo/0721615/

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/20ga-DGS-20-Slug-25_pak/productinfo/0721620/

https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Thug-Slug-20ga-7_8oz-25_pk/productinfo/1262025/

3 options to consider.

 

[Appalachiannative]

Round ball. The rifle slug doesn't spin. A 20ga RB will kill anything you're gonna hunt.

What diameter exactly? I know it's about .60 so would it be like .595 or .590?

 

[PapaG]

I have shot slugs in 12 and 20 gauge ml shotguns, both cast from old Lyman Foster style moulds. I patched them tight and got round ball equivalent accuracy. Oops, the 20 was used wit patched 575 minies, also patched. In doubles, it behooves you to check the second barrel's slug is still seated on the powder after firing the first. I never had one come unseated but I patched really tight.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

What diameter exactly? I know it's about .60 so would it be like .595 or .590?

Depends on whether you load a wad and a bare ball followed by a wad, OR you do a patched ball. You want the ball as close to bore diameter if it's "naked", or you want a fairly good fitting patch and ball combo. Some folks report even better results loading a wad, followed by "flower petal patch".

The problem with the patched ball in the smooth bore is the cloth folds don't happen the same way each time which introduces inconsistent positioning in the barrel. The idea is the cloth holds the ball in the center of the bore. The seal of the gasses in the bore comes from the wad between the ball and the powder.



I've not had a chance to try this yet.

LD

 

[windini]

"flower petal patch".

THAT strikes me as a great idea! Similar to a plastic shotshell wad, relief cuts up the side of the cup.