RST loads tend to be some of the best loads for a Smith. Gun clubs not so much. If you can reload you can cut your box price in half and loads shells which your gun will handle for the next hundred years.
As to the Smith reputation it is what it is. They often crack behind the side plates. Is it a weak point in the design? Yes. Is it a design defect? No. The defect is people putting too heavy a load into a gun approaching 75-100 years. Wood get dry with age and tends to crack due to stress. Keep the stress down and cracks will be minimal.
500-700 moderate pressure shells a year should be nothing to worry about. 5-7000 might be another issue. Shoot your gun as a tribute to who owned it before you. Trust me I would like to think others will be shooting and enjoying my guns after I am gone. I might even leave them a few flats of proper loads behind for them to start.
