When I see an old gun like this my choice of shell size is more concerned with how the wood will stand up rather than the action getting loose.
Exactly how I look at it.
Just to put a finer point on it, what I mean to endorse when Rob says "shell size" is the amount of recoil being generated. A function mostly of shot load and speed to which that load is accelerated. Not pressure. It's just rather handy that typically the shells I buy of correct length and loading for the guns I use are also on the low pressure side of the equation.
Those pre war Sauers are pretty nice guns and you seem to have snagged a dandy. Good luck with it.
Thanks!
That makes sense to me about recoil and affect on the wood. I don't really notice recoil much at all unless shooting a lot of heavy loads for geese or slugs etc. I probably hold it technically incorrect but I put a lot of "push-pull" with arms, no matter the gun, pistol, rifle, whatever. I learned the hard way when I was just a kid how not to hold a 12 gauge ha ha. I have a friend to this day who only shoots 20 gauge cuz he hates 12 gauge recoil. He always lets his shoulder take all the brunt of the recoil. I tried to tell him hands, forearms, arms can be "shock absorbers" and not to hold it so gingerly. But u can lead a horse to water... not a big deal of course when shooting light loads.
It does make me wonder a bit if how a person holds it affects the amount of "shock" to the wood. But that's just an "academic" question though I think, cuz a person is going to hold it in whatever way works for the most hits for him/her.
I also wonder how much simple age of the wood is a factor. I had a pretty nice post war Suhl SxS that got damaged because UPS dropped it (it was incorrectly shipped as one piece, not broken down, and it wasn't in a hard case). Really nice stock was broken badly after that drop (see pic below) that broken stock got me wondering if wood was overly brittle or if it was due to just a really big drop (I'm pretty sure it was the latter) combined with not shipping it broken down/not in a hard case.
BTW, FYI UPS insurance is worthless unless UPS themselves do the packaging. I paid for insurance on the Suhl SxS but they wouldn't honor it. And In talking with a large classic gun dealer (not the dealer who shipped that suhl) they said UPS denies insurance claims 100% of the time. Only by long arduous protest can u ever get paid apparently and that is very rare from what they said. In my case UPS never honored the insurance (but the dealer who shipped it stood by it fortunately).
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