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The historic doubleguns and double gunners that are best remembered, today, are what could be considered "high class". However, it is fair to say that most doubleguns and their owners were anything but "high class", especially in the Americas and the various European colonies. Perhaps these guns and shooters should "get some respect", too.

The vast "majority of the majority" of the old-time double gun shooters had at least one thing in common. Either through necessity or preference they were, shall we say, "careful" with their money. As a result, many "old-timers" very often tried to economize whenevever they could.

One common area of economizing was ammunition.

Up until the 1920's shotgun ammunition reloading was very common and the use of brass cases was the norm. These brass cases were often subjected to considerable wear. My grandmother once showed me her father's loading set from market hunting days. The shells that remained with the set were badly corroded and absolutely paper thin.

Old-time brass shotshell cases were primed with Berdan primers that were similar to, if not identical with, contemporary black powder rifle or pistol primers. Later issues of such cases often were primed with Boxer rifle or pistol primers. It was not all that common for the old-timers to try to make their own primers. Later on, however, when shells began to be loaded with battery cup primers, a number of thrifty shooters objected to paying the extra money for the new-fangled primers. As a result, a fair number of shooters took to "reloading" spent battery cup primers with replacement "caps". This practice went on for quite some time. Hornady offered caps and tools for this purpose at least though the 1960s.

At least a few intrepid cheapskates made their own blackpowder. I suspect that the quality of such homemade powder varied quite a bit and the exact rate of accidental deaths and injuries that resulted from the enterprise can never be known. However, at least a few men, such as Fred Kimble, seemed to do very well with their "home brewed" powders.

Wads were a very common area for economizing. Old reloading sets routinely came with appropriately sized arc punches for punching out wads from cardboard, felt, or what have you. In addition, some very "creative" substitutes were used for relatively expensive felt or cork filler wads. On substitute was wadded-up paper. Newspaper and paper from old catalogs that escaped "privy duty" seem to have been most commonly used but bits of "paper wasp" nests were used, too. (I suspect that a certain amount of care was used to obtain the latter form of "paper"!)

Cereals, such as corn meal seem to have been used, as well, much as they were used in muzzle loading revolvers. In shotguns, the cereal product was "sandwiched" between overpowder wads. This practice went on until quite late. In the 1950s an basement mechanic in Wisconsin came up with a measuring device for cornmeal wadding that was similar in principle to a powder measure. In practice, cereal wadding seems to have worked quite well as long as it did not get wet. In fact, at least one user justified his use of such wadding on the basis that those birds that he did not hit with his loads, he fed. One problem that arose from such loads took place when they were fired in a strong headwind. Shooters and bystanders often ended up looking like they were suffering from terminal cases of dandruff!

Shot, which was and is the most expensive component, was often "economized". Home melted "swan shot" was not uncommon but it seems like "square shot" that was cut from sheet lead was most common. I believe that FN still sells "square shot" spreader loads that work quite well. I suspect that the home made product also did a good job of "spreading" patterns, especially in cylinder bore barrels. My experience with such shot took place when I was a kid. A "hot charge" that featured such shot was pulled from and old Civil War era Prussian smooth bore musket that my friends and I had been playing with! I guess God really does watch over kids, drunks, and fools!

I guess what I am saying is that, while there is nothing wrong with honoring the equipment and practices men who were and are our "betters", there may be merit and a lot of fun in recreating some of the experiences and practices of "the other doublegunners", as well.

UPDATE:

Many of the old-time components can still be used, today, but the use of ground or powdered "natural" cereal- or animal-based products as wadding or shot buffering material can cause dangerous pressures when used in fired plastic cases. This is due to the roughness that previous firings can leave on the inside of case walls. Old-fashioned brass or paper cases did not manifest this problem to the extent that plastic cases now do.

Paper filler wads can still have merit but care should be used when shooting them under dry conditions. Shredded paper in particular, can pose potential fire hazards. The use of wadded paper wads seems to be no more hazardous than the use of fiber filler wads but I have seen at least one nasty grass fire that had been started by a smouldering fiber filler wad.

I've used cornmeal to reduce capacity of shotcups and used wasp nests in my muzzleloaders. Also punched shotcups from heavy paper.

Oh No! Joe Wood will be molesting wasp nests and reloading with cornmeal. He finally has a second use for all the newspapers he has been hoarding the last 50 years. He also saves waxed cardboard milk cartons - at last a use for those too. Now when he shoots it will look like a ticker tape parade.

Best,

Mike

When I was a kid I used to shoot a 20 gauge single shot ML at squirrels and rats. I used wadded up toilet paper as wadding (no over-powder or over-shot wads, just TP). A few years ago I picked up a 70's vintage 12 gauge Pedersoli SXS and took it pheasant hunting, again using TP. After knocking down three pheasants in four shots, TP seemed to work just fine, but the fire-hazard aspect was very real (burning pieces of TP floated to the ground in front of me, fortunately it had rained earlier). I soon purchased proper wads from Circle Fly and have quite using TP (in my muzzle loaders Mike).
Steve

Altogether or just in your reloads?



Best,

Mike

I quite using TP.
Steve
[/quote]

OH MY

That's a good story, Rockdoc.

OH MY [/quote]
I hope you used new toilet paper. Even new could create a fire hazard when fired over dry grass.

An old timer (now long dead) from my home area talked of he and his brother both having muzzle loaders when they were boys. Their parents had an orchard and made their own fruit boxes.

He said when they didn't have money for shot they'd use berry box nails (very small iron tacks) in their guns. He told it as the truth and I would assume it was though I can't imagine trying to eat game shot with something like that. You'd have to be mighty careful to pick them all out of the meat prior to cooking.

He was in his 90's when he died in the early late 1980's so their muzzle loaders were used out of poverty sake not because that's all there was available.

Another old timer talked about how they only gun they had was an old Springfield 45-70 trapdoor rifle. They'd buy .410 shells at the feed store a few at a time (they never had money enough for a full box) then wrap them with newspaper so they'd fit tight in the gun. He said it would kill a squirrel or a rabbit but you had to be real close.


Destry