16ga.com ~ View topic

I bought a new gun so now I have a project...

The gun is a nice old Heym combo, 16 ga. over .222 rem. I think it will be perfect for calling coyotes in the bush, and for shooting nuisance beavers.

The only problem is that the 16 ga. has been forgotten by the loading companies and no large lead shot loads are available for it any more. I dug through my "archives" and found a shell loaded by FN Belgium that would fit my purpose. 28 pellets of "4A" shot. I disassembled the shell and found 4 layers of 7 pellets nested very neatly together.

Pellet diameter is 0.22" ( Size F) but the pellets were not buffered and there was no shotcup. To duplicate this load with a modern shot cup wad I'd need to reduce the pellet diameter by the thickness of the shot cup. I figured a Ballistics Products wad called a "trap commander" would work, and so I took apart a Federal Steel 12 ga. load of "T" shot ( 0.20") and found that if fits into the shot cup perfectly. If I place 5 layers of lead shot this size, I should end up with 1OZ of shot and 35 pellets.

I think that coyotes, beavers, raccoons and like size critters would be fair game for such a load to about 40 yds and the .222 can handle any further out. So, now I need to find a source of magnum grade lead pellets, size "T"
- and loading data with buffer would be nice too. Any suggestions?

Hello
Give these folks a try
Look under Buckshot, lead balls

http://nuclead.com/leadshot.html

Joined: 26 Apr 2010 Posts: 3178 Location: NCWa

Another option would be to clip the shotcup petals off of the wad so the larger size pellets would fit.

Member Joined: 20 Oct 2010 Posts: 14 Location: Kansas

Longwalker,
Are the 12ga shells loaded with T steel or copper plated lead? If that's steel don't use it, try to get some T shot lead from ballistic products. Guess I should be more explicate as to the use of z-16 wads and steel shot is not recommended.
Charlie Wink