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Hi all I am hoping someone out there can help me out I would like to load some black powder slug loads for some fun and giggles our club has a "wood chop" event coming up and I thought it might be fun to use some black powder (a surprise of course!!) basically it is a team event where you have to cut a 6" treated pine post in half fastest time wins since we in Oz are not permitted to use semi auto or pump actions my Armi Gamba hammer gun is going to get a work out
the slugs I have are cast hollow base type (lee I think) they weigh about 440grs (1 1/16oz or mighty close to it) I have 2F and 3F and a die that will throw 2 3/4 drams I was hoping to be able to load these and with the right wad combination maybe even fold crimp them the slugs will drop through both barrels of the Gamba so are a rattling good fit am I on the right track? or would I be better of just using smokeless and normal wads? I really only need about 1000fps so I'm not looking for magnum drop'em dead from 10 miles kind of loads just a nice noisey and smokey load for a what the ????? type of response
any suggestions?

Kid;
Have never done this so just a few thoughts. First 440 grains is very near to 1oz, 1 1/16 oz = 465 grains. 2 3/4 drams = 75 grains. for this usage I would personally think the 3FG would likely give the better results. I do recall an article from an older American Rifleman (pre plastic wadding etc) where some extensive tests on slug accuracy were carried out (smokeless powder) & they recommended a minimum of .200" of card wad directly beneath the slug to prevent filler wadding from being forced into the cavity of the hollow base. No data of course to back it up, but I would think the 2 3/4 drams with that wt slug should easily reach your 1000 fps & still be a fairly comfortable load to fire. Have fun with your project & do fill us in on your results.

will do