http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/conten...erarchyId=11653

Lightweight, factory 2-3/4" chambers, strap swivels, double triggers, choked right, good brand name.

Federal 2-3/4DE 1oz #7-1/2s ought to be about right - which is what I shoot for sporting clays.
Best,

Mike

The short tubes are out of fashion. Few people shoot a 6 lb 12 very well (my 12 double is 6 lbs) and feeding it loads any hotter than what you listed will likely lead to a flinch.

Nice looking gun.
Best,
Ted

Very nice gun, but why would you need a 12 to kill quail?

I usually shoot old 6 lbs SxS sixteens at 'em (and everything else) but I have been on several far-from-home hunts where it would have been nice to drop in at WalMart and buy some shells.

My sixteen reloads are 1oz of #7-1/2s. I have to agree with George Caswell - I spend a hell of a lot less time looking for wounded birds since I moved up from 3/4 of an ounce to 1 ounce.

I didn't mean I would shoot that gun for sporting clays, just that I buy a pallet of those 1oz Federal target loads every spring for clays and already had them. My clays guns are all near 9 pounds.

Best,

Mike

That makes sense Mike. That gun is so light a set of 12 to 16 reducers would also make it a very versatile backup gun for your 16's.

I was in Owatonna the other day and handled this gun.
It felt alive in the hands-very sweet. I thought the faceted fences
were kind of unique. In person, the wood to metal gap on the left side
where receiver meets stock didn't look as bad as it does in the photo.
Checkering had all been recut and done well.
Jim

Mike, One mans opinion and here it goes... 26" barreled guns are the ones I seek out. My go to guns be it a 20-16 or 12 are short barreled and light. In all, when push comes to shove,I favor the 12's for all upland,waterfowl and clay games. Grouse and woodcock in our part of the country are tight cover encounters. Ideal, for me, is my 26",12ga., Dickson SXS, 6lb, Cyl/LM. It is a carbon copy of the FN you are looking at. I have just purchased a WM.Cashmore that is identical to the Dickson. Both are A&D BL, ejectors. Only the Cashmore has Full/IM chokes. Probably will be the western pheasant, waterfowl, and SC gun. You will be looked down upon for your choice of 26", its just not cool???? To me, nothing swings and points better than the short barreled guns. BTW, I have run in the Dickson, quite a few boxes of the Federal 1oz factory you described and it's a little extra bump as compared to the 7/8oz LP handloads that are our regular loads. That FN looks to be a great buy, Randy

Short barrels may be out of fashion, but they work well in W. Texas mesquite! I have a set of 24” Beretta 680 barrels that Stan Baker did for me years ago that are choked .007/.011 and they work very well while hunting quail in mesquite! IMHO, a 12 with a 1oz load produces a much better pattern than I get with a 1 oz. 20 gauge.

The barrel length would do well at my club, too. A lot of the people there like shorter barrels. Looks like a sweet gun to me. What are you waiting for? Buy it!!

I might hazard a guess that this gun was originally a 2 1/2" gun.

It is on the way and thanks for all the replies.

Peter it may have been, it is marked "70" but a gunsmith could have done that after he lengthened them or they could have been lengthened and reproofed. I will post a picture of the barrel flats when it gets here.

Thanks again!

Best,

Mike

It's good looking mid-grade piece. It's strange not to see ejectors on it, but somebody did very good re-checkering job plus pad is tasteful too.

I almost picked up one of them 20br Bobwhite game guns. Local shop had $1100 closeout deal on them ronded action Smith & Wesson Turkish delights. Not a bad deal for NEW quality gun like that.

Fashion doesn't kill many birds. So "everyone" wants long barrels. The problem is that most inexpensive doubles - and alot of not so inexpensive doubles - with long tubes tend to be slow. There are exceptions.

This FN has about perfect dimensions (for me), ideal chokes for grouse and wc, too.

An ounce at 1200 fps or so - about perfect.

Sam

The gun came in and I like it. Does anybody know where I could get a strap to fit the sling attachments. Here is the one on the stock. The hole is about 1/8" diameter and the swivel is 3/16" wide measuring flat side to flat side.


Thanks!

Mike

Mike,
New England Custom Gun Service will have the sling and associated hardware you need.
Marvin

I would get those flat polymer ones that Gander Mountain sells. They're light, easy to fit, and will not damage stock finish.
PS.BassProshops item #38-888-048-00.

AM,
Cogratulations!
I didn't want to hype up that gun too much before you handled it yourself,
but I thought it was a real wand.
Glad to hear you like it.
Enjoy,
Jim

Mike, if that gun is marked 12-70 inside a sort of sideways horseshoe or capital C on the flats, then it's original 2 3/4". Quite a few earlier Belgian guns (they'd have 12 over C inside a diamond) were also originally 2 3/4" (typically marked 70MM), especially if imported by someone like A&F or VL&D. If you show a photo of the flats, we can probably make a pretty educated guess as to whether the chambers are original or lengthened.

I shoot a pair of Brit 12's, 6 1/4# with 28" barrels, and they work out fine for me. I shoot mostly 7/8 oz reloads at targets, but usually 1 1/16 oz at pheasants, with some moderate velocity 1 1/8 oz reloads thrown in. They work OK for the few shells I need in a day's pheasant hunt, but I'll stick with those light reloads for targets.

Ted, check out the very light "Helice" sidelock 12 in Cabela's inventory. I think the price is too high for a no name French gun, but talking in terms of "gun for the money", it's likely a better gun than a lot of Brit sidelocks with higher sticker prices.

Tarheel and Jag - thanks for the help! That is very specific information.

Twister I do like it. I shot low gun skeet yesterday with the 1oz loads and it'll sure do. I am with Larry - if I was going to shoot a lot of targets with it I would sure go to a 7/8oz load. After quail season closes I am going to have the gap between the action and the stock acraglassed.

Larrly the gun was "imported" by Thad Scott. It is stamped on the bottom rib - covered by the forearm. It does have 70mm stamped on the barrel flats. Thanks!

And thanks to my shooting student Joe Wood for going to the FFL to look at the gun for me.

Here is a picture of the barrel flats:



Thanks again to all that replied - this was very helpful to me in making the purchase decision and in rigging up the gun for hunting.



Best,

Mike

'just read this thread Mike. Looks like you found another good one.

Thanks Chuck!

Mike

Mike the D=70/20.6 is the chamber dimensions, this mark was used from 1892 until 1924. 26" light, quick handling, kills just as well as a 30' 7lb gun, I remember when you couldn't give a 30' 16ga away.

Jim

So that means this gun was made before 1925?

Best,

Mike

Just got back from Walmart in the Hoooood. Had to go there to get that good Fed Premium buckshot @5.47/pack and some std. Winnie 15pack/$9.50 to feed my Ithaca trench gun. Maaan, you go to the one in white part of town and the ammo shelves are empty! They got USA made 'Razor Sling' from Waco, TX with polymer swivels for $9.97. It's very compact and light easy to fold into a vest pocket. Nice product.