Flintlock fowler looks like it's ready!!

[Matt / PA]

Finally had a weekend where nice weather and free time collided.  :clap:   

Got the new flinter out to do some patterning in anticipation of our PA opener in 2 weeks. Think I settled on a winner.

20ga English styled flintlock fowler built by Ken Moors using a 38" Colerain turkey barrel

1 3/4oz of nickle plated # 5 1/2 shot
95grs of FFFg Goex
Swiss 4F prime

2 thin over shot cards
1 Hoppes #9+ lubed 20ga felt wad
Shot mixed with Jiffy "muffin Mix" for buffer
2 thin overshot cards

Consistently puts right at 140ish pellets in a 10" circle at 30yds with enough velocity to shoot through both sides of a Campbells Chunky soup can.
Nowhere to hide in that pattern and should be consistently good to 35yds if not a touch farther.

       

30yd patterns


Downright nasty at 20yds!! 
 

 


 

[The Woodsman]

Good luck! Nice looking rig and great patterns!

Denny

[MISSISSIPPI Double beard]

Nice looking piece, good luck with it!

[crow]

good looking hunting pattern out of a very nice fowler

good success this spring

[tree-rat sniper]

Gorgeous fowler, looks like a nice pattern too.

[The Cohutta Strutter]

Have you had a chance to weigh that beauty yet?

[reflexl]

Very nice set up!

[mwr]

Beautiful!!!!!

[Matt / PA]

Have you had a chance to weigh that beauty yet?

Thank you guys!.....and CohuttaI have actually weighed it on my digital scale. Its exactly 7.28lbs.
Handles like a nice light pump shotgun. Such a fun gun to carry around.

[The Cohutta Strutter]

Nice Matt. Roy Stroh and I built me a iron mounted Woodbury style rifle in .58. It really is deceiving how well these rifle/fowlers carry if you are just basing it off how they look like they would carry and handle.. I totally agree they are a pleasure to carry, shoulder and shoot. Really has to be experienced to be fully understood. I'm getting the itch again to get me a fowler to use on turkey's and squirrels. I've always like the lines of the English fowlers and yours is a wonderful example. No doubt that's a solid load you developed but was curious have you considered working up some type of htl load?

[Matt / PA]

Funny you should mention HTL loads.....
I have a couple pounds of Hevi 13 #6s and have 3lbs of TSS #9s coming this month.
Already working on the logistics of loading.
I have 3" bpi shotcups that after I cut 4 petals into will short start fairly easily through the .580 constriction.
I have a plan for loading that involves a small diamter tube to push the cup to the .62 portion and leave in the cup....that way I can fill the shot cup without worry of pellets getting between the cup and the barrel wall.
Will gas seal it with a couple nitro cards or a mix of a card and lubed wool 20ga wads.
Basically going to build a 20ga TSS shotshell load inside the bore. With the .580 choke it should in theory toss some great patterns and stretch that effective range out quite a bit.
Can't wait for some nicer weather to put it all to the test.
Stay tuned.

[The Cohutta Strutter]

Sounds like a plan...keep us posted and thanks !

[Matt / PA]

"Smoked" a nice PA gobbler with it this morning!.... 10 1/4" beard, 22.44lbs on the scale. He wasn't missing many meals for a mountain bird! LOL
1 5/8oz of TSS #9 in front of 100grs of Goex 3Fg black.
Only a 23yd shot and it just flattened him as expected.

[WAGinVA]

Excellent pic!!

[Matt / PA]

Took PA longbeard #2 yesterday...... 10.5" absolute paintbrush of a beard, 20.2lbs and 1" spurs.
The 30yd shot flattened him.