20 Gauge Extremely Accurate Round Ball Loads

For 2 months I have researched and tested these loads. I had a lot of help from former member Ajay Madan. For anyone that has a Savage 220 rifled bbl shotgun - this load is sweet!. I will chronograph it next week when I get my hands on the chrono. According to data, the velocity is 1685 (Universal) and 1722 FPS (Longshot) respectively. Here is the medicine that works and pressure seems to be good. Highly accurate for me!

Fiocchi 3" w/ 616 primer with 25.0 grains of Universal or 31.0 grains of Longshot with Fed 209A primer followed by:
20 Gauge Obturator gas seal on top of powder. Both powders work well and are very accurate.

Next is the wad configuration: BPI #020TC20 Commander Wad - One 28 GA .125 NC card in the gas seal of the wad and two 28 GA NC cards in the wad cup followed by the round ball with the sprue cut facing up. Sometimes there is a small injection nib in the gas cup of the wad and I use a Dremel tool with a small grinder head to eliminate this so the 28 GA .125 NC card will seat well. Use a 3/8" socket to snap in place the first NC card in the very bottom of the shot cup followed by a second 28 GA NC card. The Commander wad has the perfect dimensions for the 28 GA NC cards and it holds the .575" round ball snugly. After examining the fired wads I can see the rifling marks on the wad so I know it's got a good spin. DO NOT use any OS cards on top of the ball under the crimp. This can affect accuracy.

Use very slight wad compression just to seat the wad assy and the obturator seal on the powder charge

Adjust final crimp station for 6 Point fold and you are good to go

Picture shows a typical 3 shot group average 1.25" at 98 yards exactly. I was amazed.

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Special thanks to Ajay for all the help and guidance. He has put in a lot of expense and hours in testing these loads. I cast my round balls using soft lead, 5-6 BHN. I think the softer alloy will obturate just slightly enough to provide a little better positive seal for the rifled bore. It looks like I can make these for 0.25 cents each if you don't have to buy the lead. Beats paying $20.00 + for Remmy Accutips. Looking for Federal 209 primers.... anyone know where I can find them?

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Attachment 324672

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As you can see, roll crimps are not necessary for this load. The crimp forms great on top of the ball. I originally started with an overshot card but the card will deform and can mess up accuracy really bad. Just be sure to use a marker on the brass to label them. I’d hate to accidentally use one of these at a dove shoot. This is a very deadly sabot round!

That's the best I've ever seen with balls. Thanks for posting.

For those also wondering.......a 20 ga ball weighs 350 gr.

Thank you. I was totally amazed at the results

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Originally Posted by Delkal

For those also wondering.......a 20 ga ball weighs 350 gr.

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The weight of the LEE .575 round ball is about 280 grains.

That will knock a hog ass over teacup…

I haven’t shot anything with the round ball yet but reports are it can be quite devastating!

Wow! That is the best 20ga ball load I've ever seen. Thanks for the post.

Just great!
Now, I want a 20 gauge Savage!

Outstanding load work up!:drinks:

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Originally Posted by 45workhorse

Just great!
Now, I want a 20 gauge Savage!

Outstanding load work up!:drinks:

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I got to try a 220 yesterday. It was surprisingly light and felt like a rifle. If I needed one and owned one, mine would probably get some lead glued into the synthetic stock.

Doubleg, thank you for sharing this. It came along at a great time! At over $4 per shot for accutips, one could pay for a 600 JR pretty quickly!

On the other hand, if roll crimps worked, all I would need to buy is a roll crimp tool and new components...

I was a bit hesitant to get one at first but I do not regret buying it at all. The gun is capable of great accuracy provided you get the right loads. The Remington Accutips are also highly accurate and they are the recommended shell to buy. I shoot a lot so at over $20.00 for five rounds is just not justified to me. That is why I wanted to develop an accurate affordable load and one that anyone who reloads can duplicate!

Barry54 I also deliberated over roll crimping but Ajay showed me it wasn’t necessary so the 6 point crimp was good for me. One less step in the production process!
Barry this is loaded using an old 600 jr set up for 3” hulls. The recoil isn’t bad at all considering the light gun and I’m 100 lbs lighter due to a rough journey with pancreatic cancer so if I can easily shoot it at 150 lbs, anyone can shoot a 220. I did polish the bbl with 20 ga VFG hard felt disks with JBs bore polish to smooth out the machining marks in the rifling. The action is beefy and the bbl is much thicker than my 20GA silver pigeons.

45Workhorse- thank you but we must remember Ajay for making lit possible. The 220s aren’t that expensive. I usually hunt deer with a 444 or 308 but next season I will be using this and post results after I knock one down with the 220. I have been working on a custom 350 gr projectile cast from a custom mold from Tom at Accurate Molds. If I can get it to my accuracy standards I will post that load too.we shall see!

Nice work!