doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com The go to hunting gun.

Fox 20 sw and Ithaca 20 flues get most of the work for behind the dogs, Ruger 0/U 28ga for doves, Ruger O/U 12 for ducks. If I am in a really tightly enclosed duck blind, then the old 12 wingmaster comes out.

Go to guns,
LC Smith 20ga. 0 grade, 26", .003/.008 for grouse,woodcock
Greener 16ga, Grade FH35, 28", cyl/full mixed bag, grouse to pheasants.
LC Smith 16ga. 0E grade, damascus, 28" for pheasants, SC
Lefever 16ga. G grade, damascus, 28", .006/.018 for pheasants, SC
Fox SW, 12ga. 28", Full/Imp.Mod, for waterfowl, turkey

Randy

Grouse & woodcock, a Chas. Hellis 2" 12 bore.

Everything else upland, a late model NID 16 that was cut back to 28", now it's choked about skeet & cyl.

I hope to bring my Kettner 2-1/2" 16 soon, weighs about 5-8.

I find a number of them 'handy'. Kinda sorta depends on a combination of what is gonna be hunted, where, what time of year[i.e., weather] mood [mine] and whether or not it requires my going to the ammo barn for munitions or battery to get the gun. Off hand, its a 20 of one sort or another for dove and a 12 for foul weather waterfowl or pheasant [mostly tower birds, but not all] almost 100% of the time. A 42 or other .410 for making a small limit of dove take all afternoon when the birds are about and shots within reason may be taken .. btw, it does not always work out to become a limit. 28's for quail when feeling particularly sporting whilst KNOWING that a 20 would do just as well, if not better and a whole lot more inexpensively. Jeep gun is sometimes an 1100 20.

A 16 model 12 with a small wristed stock and longish pistol grip for an all 'round shooter is hard to beat & it works on most all upland game with good effect. Too, there is this one particular old full choked Wingmaster with the chequering almost worn smooth that finds itself in service yet, in the foulest of weather.

Don't know that I have ever been able to actually decide whether it is the gun, the shooting, the dogs or the companionship that appeals the most. I've seen and had good, great and bad .. and so far would be unwilling to trade any of them. Just let me go, as a rule it is quite enough thank you.

This is not meant an elusive answer, rather an honest one. When you chase this stuff about [guns], shooting it becomes a part of the responsibilty, particularly if you are not a collector in the closet sense. Working collections require use, but if it were to come to one gun, I would probably pick a model 12 20ga. for the field and upland game. Terrible ain't it?, the truth. I also am bent toward a .410 Nitro for bunnys because it works and its fun. For the ducks and pheasant it would have to be an 870 or a 390 Silver Mallard Beretta w/the hump-backed receiver and the black synthetic stock. I'm talking nasty condition hard field use. Nice days, its nice doubles .. most all of the time.
The RBL has been wet a couple of times this season and is none the worse for the wear [exposure]. Two Miroku 20's go to South America w/me. One has been going a long time, the other only the last few years. At the target games when my game is 'off' with the double of the moment I'll go pickup an 1100 and go back to the basics for a while on the skeet field.

Seems that there are a number of vintage guns on everyones "go to" list (damascus and fluid). What loads do the owners of these pieces reach for, in order to keep their "go to" gun happy and healthy?

Kray,
I load mine with black powder (Swiss 1.5 fg of late, but other flavors as well) and lead.

For pheasants with the Cashmore 12b: 100 gr of Swiss 1.5, a nitro wad, about 1/2 of a Circle Fly wad (lightly treated with beeswax/oil lube or SPG)and about 535 gr of 7.5 lead, an over shot wad and a roll crimp. Often I use a watercolor paper as a wrap around the shot column to prevent shot deformation and leading.

Brent

Thanks, Steve. I do most of my considerable hunting with side-bys as noted above, however a season is never complete unless my paws spend some time wrapped around the old 42. I've owned it for a very long time. It started as a well-worn field grade and morphed over time into the gun you see. Mr. Bee did a truly great job on the dove and quail inlays - they look like they are going to fly off the gun, even when viewed closely.

Over the years, the 42 has occasionally sat at home while I've owned and attempted to hunt with various .410 sidelock SxS's built to scale, but they are just too small and light for me to shoot well. A 42 is "just right". With the screw chokes, it is great fun for causual target shooting, too. It, along with the other guns above, will probably be in my estate when I die.

At one time, I used the 42 for "wild" bird hunting. No more. These days, it only sees pen-raised birds - but it sees plenty of those. Within its range limitations, it is fully effective. Here's a tailgate pic of part of the bag of an end-of-season clean up hunt at the preserve where the dogs and I guide. The dogs and I killed 28 birds with the 42 that day - everything from cock phez to quail, without losing a single bird.

kray: LOTS of options for low pressure factory shells

Polywad 'Vintager' http://www.polywad-shotgun-shells.com 800-998-0669
Eley subsonic/low recoil http://eleyshotshells.com 512-821-9953
ARMUSA 'Vintage' http://www.armusa-performance.com 281-381-7773
Kent http://www.firearmservice.com 512-821-9953
RST http://www.rstshells.com 570-553-1651
B&P now offers F2 Sub Sound and MB Light but ONLY in 12g. http://www.bandpusa.com/ 800-683-0464
WestleyRichards http://www.westleyrichards.com/gun/ammo_shot.php

Source for short black powder shells:
http://www.republicmetallic.com.
http://www.tbullock.com/bpsg.html

Kray,
I feed my 16 gauge Frenchie a diet of 1 ounce Estate and Federal loads, I also have a flat of 1 ounce Fiocchi's I plan to shoot through it. My concern is not the recoil, but rather the thin barrels on the gun (though it is proofed for the pressures generated by what I shoot in it). The last owner extended the 2.5" chambers to 2.75"s by extending the forcing cones, I don't know what he shot through it, but I'm currently having the gun put back on face. I was tired of shimming the hook and I like the gun so much I just didn't feel right about it.
I've hesitated to reload since I've seen numerous examples of blown barrels in both modern and vintage guns caused by reloading mistakes. I'm very active and easily distracted (probably why I hunt upland rather than ducks and geese) anyhow, I don't feel that I have a good personality for safe reloading. Nonetheless, last year I purchased one of those little Lee Loaders on eBay and I may try making up some custom field loads since the manufacturers are not inclined to meet my needs (probably the only thing I dislike about 16 gauge).
As far as mail ordering shells, if the custom shell manufacturers would supply mixed load flats (such as 2 boxes of #6's and 8 boxes of #7.5's without charging me extra) I might be more inclined to mail order what I need. Last year I shot some black powder loads through the gun and they were really sweet.
Steve

My go to is my 30" 16b Lefever H, steel barrels, ic/m. Perfect upland gun, and really swings nice. I might get a short-barreled 20ga. Lefever nitro someday as a backup gun and for quail/grouse, or not. For ducks I plan on getting a 12b damascus Lefever (I'd like to have a two gun set), a Smith 0 grade damascus, a Parker GH damascus, or possibly even an early damascus hammer gun of unknown make. I have a BPS for stout loads, but I love the nostalgia of early duck guns. However, my britany is 8 now, so I'm hunting mostly upland.

My biggest problem isn't which gun to use, it's finding the time and $ to get out and hunt. Just bought a house. Yikes.