Lagopus,
I'm sure the non-toxic shot laws in England have cut into the use of the big guns down there. I have a few friends that reload non-toxic in their guns and do continue to use them though it's pretty expensive. I had the loan of a Holland & Holland double 4 bore on a driven duck shoot a few years back. That was a lot of fun, I killed what I believe was the longest duck of my life with that gun.
The cartridtges were loaded with 3 ounces of bismuth and cost around 10 pounds each to load. The owner gave me 10 of them and said go to work but I just couldn't bring myself to shoot them all up since he wouldn't take any money. I shot a few, loved it, and went back to the 12 bore for the rest of the day.
That gun of yours sounds like a dandy. You don't see hammerless 8 bore guns very often over here. How long are the tubes?
I was just in Northern Ireland doing some shooting this past September. Lead shot is still legal there for everything though the boys I was shooting with figure that non-toxic is coming in the next few years.
Regards,
Destry
