I want to shoot black powder. I found a Rem 1889 in the back corner of a chicken coop long covered in barn dust and spider webs. Its got two hammers, a SXS of unknown chokes. Barrels are obviously Damascus. So I scrounged up some Remington industrial 10 gauge empties and threw my shotgun reloading skills at the new gun. After tinkering around reading and back alley fiddling I took some shells outside and BANG!, they worked. OK, now I'm hooked. The gun itself looks OK except the bores. There is modest pitting all the way down both barrels but my test loads shot OK (in my opinion). How about that 1.5 to 2.0oz of shot! The discussions/threads on castboolits are all over the map concerning black powder protocol, forcing me to say two rosaries a day hoping for enlightenment.
Besides scrubbing with brass brush and Hoppes, what to do further with the bores?
I really wonder why these old black powder shotguns aren't sleeved and put into service with WallyMart ammo. I had an 1895 Winchester sleeved in .30-40 Krag and the finished rifle is a thrill to shoot.
Is there a thread devoted to black powder shotgun cartridge development--no second hand lions need apply--where some credible info resides?
The heartbreak is finding empty 10gauge hulls.
Hope I didn't waste your time.