doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Safety of using......?

I have a OLD 20 ga SXS that I want to use for hunting. We've a fair number of hogs in the woods we hunt and I thought that with a slug at the close ranges we can get to them in the thick swamps and palmettos it would work good.

Concern I have is pressure of the slug loads. After looking about I found the Remington Buckhammer Managed Recoil offering. It states 40% less recoil and appears to have a couple of hundred FPS less velosity over the standard Buckhammer.

So what I assumed, and we know the trouble assuming can cause, was that the reduced velosity and recoil would translate into reduced pressure. But then I know things are not always that straight forward so I thought I'd see if there is any experence here.

As another option have any of you tried making up low pressure slug loads using shot cups and......well I don't know what you'd use.....?

We could use some more specifics on the 20 gauge. Name, rank, serial number come to mind, a photo or two, especially of the flats of the barrels.

Could be you have something along the lines of a Nitro Special that was hunted hard, and simply looks old. It's happened here before. Oh, and a Nitro could use anything you could stuff in the pipes as well.

Knowledge is power, and all that. We just need some more information.

Best,
Ted

FN Sidelock from the 30's

Nice and tight but I do not want to stress it... Better less pressure to be sure.

And I don't think the hogs will know the difference when a 3/4 oz slug at 1200 or 1450 hits them....will they?

So do you think I'm right in the pressure being less?

I think a cheap Remmy 870 with an open sight slug barrel would best serve your need, and they hold up to 5 rounds!

I would think an imported slug (Rottweil or Brinkel) loaded to CIP pressure standards would work out for you but check your chamber length first because many pre war European small gauge guns have short (65mm/2 1/2 inch)chambers.

Velocity is not directly related to pressure. Claims of "less recoil" are not, either. Claims of less recoil are often simply factory BS. Safest bet is to get data from a published source and load your own accordingly. I also believe slugs should be shot through fairly open chokes, such as cylinder or improved cylinder. I like the advice to use an 870 and save your SxS for appropriate loads.

As has been noted here before - If its American SAAMI standard ammo, and it is NOT marked "low pressure", you can bet your bottom dollar it is not. Fast burning powders require smaller amounts to propel the payload, so American makes almost always use the fastest powders available that allows the load to remain in the SAAMI standard - 11,000 psi for 20g. This is a cost control measue and its not bad, it merely is.

I suspect that Buckmaster reduces recoil by reducing velocity, because in the calculation of recoil, velocity is a squared term and thus has a bigger effect on the Ke of recoil than projectile mass.

That being said, I am sure a 1930's era CIP proofed FN double gun will easily serve with the American loads currently available. The CIP proof and load standards of that era are similar ( but cannot be 1 to 1 compared due to differences in measurement methods) to American usage. American loads may beat the gun up a bit more.

Given that if you hog hunt 15 times a year and shoot the gun 4 times a hunt, I doubt that 60 rounds or so a year will be noticed in the wear/tear department.

I would very much want to make sure that the slugs are a style that will fit through your ( possibly) tight European chokes.

There are three other solutions:

1) Buy and shoot CIP ( European standard) slugs. These are readily available. I have a box of S & B buckshot in my closet as we speak.

2) Load your own to pressure standards of CIP, or you can easily develop slug loads in the 8000-9000 psi range.

3) Go the 870 route ( me, Id rather have an Ithaca Model 37, but you get the drift).

Happy Hunting

Regards

GKT

Safety should be your first concern. Most likely though that double will not put the slugs where you want them. After you go through the trouble of finding a safe load you may be real disappointed with the shooting qualities. Best to use a real slug gun.

Hello Fishdock,

Here is proof that the adviced 870 with a rifled barrel, Remington Copper Solids & some luck does the job:


JC

Who gets on a double gun website and suggests the best gun for the job is an 870?????