Thread: Reloading for black powder

I have a s/s shotgun being sent to me to purchase which was built in the late 1800s .The gun is quite beautiful with ornate engraving over all of the round action and side lever .I am looking forward to using this for my upland game shooting and believe it is not a heavy gun which suits me even better as I walk for 4-5 hours in the day .
Anyway the gun is a Damascus barreled gun and will require black powder loads .Who knows about reloading in a modern cartridge for black powder ? I know squat

Have a chat to Neil Hayes (Hayes and Associates)
He sells BP guns including new Muzzle Loading 12g SXS's cause I was looking for options just in case ( you know the whole lead vs not lead shot debate)

Black powder and muzzle loading accessories

cheers Mikee good advice ! Iam wondering if a black powder s/s gun ever gets to use the second barrel given the smoke lol

And another post since I can't edit my original

Beautiful gun by the way, is it 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 chambers?

got the specs at work ! Will put some chamber gauges in on Friday -yes beautiful looking gun but we will see on Friday when we snap lock it together.Given its age -circa late 1800s it will have a bit of wear and the stock is not the original although not an unattractive piece of wood .The side lever was a transitional phase going from under lever to top lever .The case is original with the matching numbers for gun and case

the gun looks in very good order. provided the bore thickness is close to original and you know the chamber size,it should be no problem to shoot up to 1 1/8th loads using modern powder. i shoot with a w.greener hammer gun made in 1877,it has been BP. only ,but i have fired falcon 30gm 2 i/2 inch nitro through it no problems. i have two other damascus barreled guns a 16ga and a 12ga i regularly shoot modern powders through, no problems.these guns where made in 1884 and 1888.quality damascus is just as strong if not stronger than the steel of the day, just don't put waterfowl loads through them. i love the sidelevers, stephen grant made them popular, and some manufacturers still make them today. there is a lot of uniformed tripe about steel shot which has led to the demise of many a good sxs and u/o. long live two barrels.

but the smell of BP is soooo much cooler and not to mention safer too either that or Pyrodex if you can find it

I've got some 12 g brass if you want a couple

Originally Posted by Maca49

I've got some 12 g brass if you want a couple

what is the brass for?

Trying to stop dogy old Damascus barrels coming apart-they need all the help they can get as rust can form between the folds.

Cool old gun, if your planning on shooting it I hope it's been checked out by someone you trust

To put the load in ah you need it and it doesn't melt

can you post an image of it? I have zero experience with black powder and its components

Later today

Originally Posted by Maca49

Later today

thanks Maca49 !

As mentioned above, get the wall thickness measured before you shoot it ( you should have asked for measurements before you brought it to be fair if is to be shot), Robert Dollimore at Tarawera is the man for all things old and nice. Don't let Damascus barrels put you off but er on the side of caution. If it is 2 3/4 chamber then I would be its been nitro proofed at some stage. Put a pic up of the markings under the barrel if you can