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Just bought a spencer gun co. 16bore not sure how old it is looks to be 1930s ish. has fluid steele barrels. wondering what type of shot is best suited to the gun due to its age. can it take hard shot or should i stick with lead? any help would be very much apreciated.

Absolutely you must use lead in a gun of that age unless you wish to damage the barrels. Don't shoot steel or the heavy shot. Federal does make what they call tungsten-matrix which is soft enough to use in old guns. I don't know if it's available in 16 ga. though. Another shot that you can use is Bismuth and it's avalable for reloading.

thanks alot for you advice. now at least i dont have to worry about blowing myself up. mucho apreciado.

I think we need to get a better estimate of it's age before you run off and get a case of current lead shot ammo for it. Spencer was making shotguns pretty early coming off their Civil War success and there is a good possiblility this gun is short chambered, and older than it may appear. Is is a double, single or pump?

its a double. its not short chambered. i can see the chambers and they are longer than the 2 3/4 shells that i have been useing. and this is made by the spencer gun co. produced by crescent firearms not the spencer of civil war carbine fame. however as i am no expert nore do i claim to be i could be completely full of shit. please reply. i need all the info i can get. thanks

Any indication on the gun as to location of manufacture? Choices are Norwich or Chicopee? Shell length is measured with the crimp unfolded. So a 2 9/16" chamber (usually what a short 16ga chamber measures) will let a loaded 2 3/4" shell close in the gun. The more important issue is the gun's intended service pressure. Guns from 1920s were mostly designed for the older service loads which were less than the modern 11,500 psi average of current SAAMI standards. I wouldn't use current loads in a 1920 or earlier gun, especially if you want the gun to last. On the other hand this is only a $200 gun at most so if it shoots loose no large loss. Pressures of steel shot aren't any different but the steel shot will tend to score the barrel if it makes contact and will tend to open the chokes if tighter than modified with possible rings at the choke area. You aren't likely to have a disastrous failure if you do shoot current factory ammo, just more rapid deterioration than with proper ammo. Is it safe? Shoot it with 2 1/2" shells or reloads with lower pressures and it should last quite well

Not sure where the gun was manufactured. it isnt stamped with that info anywhere. I wasnt aware that the chamber is measured that way I will check it as soon as i get home. if it is 2.5 as you suggest where would be the best place to get ammo, would gander mtn. have it? Thank you very much for all the info you have provided thus far. you have been most helpfull

I use RST ammo in my 16ga from 1912. It is lower pressure, premium quality ammo that does a great job on birds. Low pressure doesn't mean puny results. RST has a new website which someone posted on here recently. Polywad has a vintager load which is another possible source but I have never used those. William Larkin Moore also has his own house brand I have used a couple times, his website is listed in the advertisers on this web page.

I am confused about how you know this gun is a Crescent with Spencer name on it. Exactly what markings are on the gun?

the gun is marked " Spencer Gun Co." "Model A" after doing a little research I found that "Spencer Gun Co." is one of a larg list of names that Crescent produced under. the Pat. Date on the action is something like Nov. 15 1890 and seeing as crescent was producing from doubles from 1890 till the early 40's I figured that this was a logical conclusion! Could I be wrong ? I will check out RST, its definatly a better alternative than damageing my weapon. Even if it is a 200$ utility gun.

Oh, Yeah! almost forgot, Measured my chambers last night with a 6" mechanics ruler and they are deaper than the 2 3/4 shells with the crimp out. does this mean its ok for 2 3/4 shells???

You should measure the chambers with a bore gauge rather than a ruler. The ruler allows for all kinds of slop while the gauge will give you an accurate reading. More important than the actual measurement (which could have been altered) is what load the gun was built to shoot. You can't go wrong shooting a low preasure, short shell, but the opposite is not the case.

Best regards,
David

Probably means that someone in the past extended the chambers. This was not always done very carefully, for example I used to have a Crescent sxs that you could look down the barrels and actually see the difference in chamber lengths (compared to each other). Apparently, they were both supposed to have been rechambered 2-3/4's since that's what the shortest of the two chambers measured.
Steve

Did you include the forceing cone? If you did return to go and start over. Odds favor a short chamber.
bill

303 British,

The "Spencer" name was used as a trade name by various makers over the years. Sort of hits a hot button for American buyers. I did some digging and came up with at 6 different makers.

Keep asking questions. If you can, post some pictures. A 90-100 year old sxs is not the same in every respect as the guns of today.

At the very least have a good sxs gunsmith look it over. If someone has messed with the chambers or chokes, make sure they did not do a hack job on the barrels and grind away an unsafe amount of metal.

Even if the gun is pristine, modern loads are not always safe in these older guns. There are enough examples of split barrels and cracked frames around.

These guns are a learning curve. It is a steeper curve if you don't have some one to ask questions of. I am still learning.

Pete

Well, while going over this thing with a light and a magnifying glass I discovered the markings H.S.B.& Co. on the underside of the right barrel. I make the assumption that this stands for
Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co. so i think this answers the question of who made it. now just to figure out how old it is.

Crescent operated from 1893 to 1930. Crescent was a subsidiary of H&D Folsom Sporting Goods, New York. Many of their products were sold through Folsom's retail outlets, but Folsom was also a large wholesale dealer and many Crescent guns were marked with the names or trademarks of other retail chains and even independent hardware stores. Hibbard, Spencer, Bartlett & Co, Chicago (1882-1962), retailed the Victor shotguns which were manufactured by Crescent Arms, Norwich, CT (1893-1930).