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Posted By: Southern Sport Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 12:50 AM
Who hunts/shoots with a Remington 1894? Mine is a B grade with damascus barrels. Barrels have been checked out and are in good shape. What loads would you recommend? Thanks.
Posted By: ClapperZapper Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 09:08 AM
I do.

I just bought a case of cartridges from RST, (usually 1 ounce number fives for a pheasant) and I go hunting with it it.
There are so many Remington’s with a crack across the top strap, the I see no reason to pound them.

Kill plenty of birds with that combination.
Posted By: KY Jon Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 02:54 PM
The Remington 1894/1900 are well known for cracks in the head of the stock. A search here will show how a metal staple and epoxy glass bedding repairs the area. Remington share well made. I shoot 1 1/8 ounce loads in mine but keep the pressure down to about 8,000 psi to minimize stock stress. That is a fairly easy to find reloading listing assuming you can reload. Otherwise RST work well.
Posted By: LeFusil Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 03:44 PM
A very good friend owns two 94’s. Both of them are in excellent mechanical and aesthetic shape. No cracks. No stock issues. Like any boxlock or sidelock...be sure to periodically check the tightness of the hand pin and breech pin. Those two pins being tight is crucial to stock longevity. Sometimes, even with those pins tight...stocks can develop cracks. Numerous reasons. Poor fitting from the factory to include this final shaping of the top tang and if applicable side plates, poor stock design or action design, etc.
Most 1894’s that you’ll encounter fall into the “heavy use” category. Some are down right beat up. I can only imagine that these old workhorses were fed anything and everything from home grown bp loads to the heaviest smokeless loads used at the time not to mention heavy high brass loads popular in modern times.
I’m not quite sure how she’ll pressure adds into the equation of stock longevity. There’s some pretty high pressure mild recoiling loads out there that would have zero detrimental effect on the stock. The action....now that’s a different story.
Ive used for years an extremely low pressure load using 800x, federal gold medal and 1 1/8 Oz of shot. Somewhere in the 4500 psi range. Low recoiling it is not. I found it to be easy on the action and barrels, but pretty brutal for an old stock to take.
Something to think about.
Posted By: Researcher Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 03:51 PM
I certainly don't see that Remington Hammerless Doubles have cracked stocks at any higher rate than any other American boxlocks -- Parker Bros., Ithaca, A.H. Fox. No where near the rate of cracked stocks as L.C. Smiths. Keep in mind the Remington Hammerless Doubles are all 111 to 127 years old. For fifty years Father always carried a #7 1/2 trap load in his right barrel and a Remington Express or Western Super-X #5 or #6 in the left of his 1896 vintage AE-Grade when after Pheasants.
Posted By: topgun Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 03:55 PM
I used to own a Model 1894 BE Grade 12-bore and a very high-conditioned Model 1900 16-bore ejector, both with Damascus barrels. I carried them many miles chasing beagle packs back in the day; both were solid inside and out and I considered them both to be very well made guns. Don't remember the loads used in the 16-bore, but they would have been hand-loads kept under 8000psi. In the 12-bore (a first year production 28" gun) I used Gamebore 2" shells loaded with 11/16 ounce of #6 shot; and I did so because I found them very effective in the tight cover being hunted, they patterned well, and primarily because they were light and compact. I've no idea as to the pressures of those Gamebore shells and didn't care. But carrying those little cartridges was equivalent to carrying .410 shells, which made a huge difference when kicking thick brush; and even more so after putting a few bunnies in the old game bag. My only complaint with either gun was that the squared edges of the larger 12-bore frame made the gun less comfortable to carry in comparison to some of the other period double guns I used.
Posted By: canvasback Re: Remington 1894 B Grade - 02/03/21 08:19 PM
I have a 1894 BE I restocked a couple years ago. Big, thick walled Damascus barrels in excellent condition. I mostly use it at the range. But I really like it and if I got out hunting ducks more often I’d hunt with it more.
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