Originally Posted by WPMinor
Brent D. First, my goodness, that's one beautiful Golden Retriever and a stunning shotgun. I have an understand that weight of the projectile (shot) and velocity are directly interlinked with chamber pressure. I'm trying to determine with factory rounds, how or (if) I can use this side by side to squirrel hunt in my region effectively and still be within safe margins. As much as I scour the internet, it's hard to find some answers or else, I find conflicting information. I'm familiar with SAMMI specs which are well published and have read (not certain) that the Europeans had a lower pressure standard (9000 psi) comes to mind. I'm not even sure I worded that correctly. It's why I'm on this forum trying to develop a better understanding. I've used firearms almost all my sixty years and am a certified armorer for several modern firearms, Glock pistols and Rock River AR15s but a shotgun of the vintage I have in this side by side is new territory for me. I also understand and have seen the end results of chambers/receivers that were exposed to over pressure. Thanks to all who have tried to answer my post and mostly for their patience with my lack of knowledge on this topic.

Thanks for the compliments. The dog is indeed, special, but the gun is relatively plain, though it certainly seems to provoke some outrage from a couple of the grumpier folks here. I like it, however. It is just a Merkel Model 8.

Factory loads may change without notice so the major manufactures rarely, if ever, put pressures on them. Most places that test ammo pressure will not test factory ammo, but they will test handloads. For a gun like yours, I would seriously look into handloading. You won't need to make a huge amount of ammo for hunting, so you can get by with pretty simple tools.

Unfortunately, most published reloads for shotguns concentrate on the upper end of the pressure scale, but we can find loads that are pretty reasonable. In my vintage 2.75" 12s, I use a 1.25 oz load that is published at 7700 PSI at 1250. That should bring down your big coastal plain fox squirrels from the top of a good sized Loblolly or Longleaf. Personally, I shoot squirrels only with a .22, but this load should get it done for you if you are willing to reload. Scrounging for supplies is a bit of a PITA but doable. You might even find a trusted buddy that could make them up for you too.

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BrentD, (Professor - just for Stan)
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