Recommended shells for 16-gauge 1932 BH/Grade 5

[Sunny Gauntt]

FRIENDS...

My desk-bound best friend inherited a 16-gauge 1932 BH with 28" Acme barrels.

Which shells (length, powder, lead/steel, etc.) do you recommend for occasional clay and/or quail shooting?

Thank you very much for your help and advice.

[Bill Murphy]

My shells!

[Destry L. Hoffard]

www.rstshells.com

Call these boys, they'll set you up.


Destry

[Robin Lewis]

Any 2 1/2 inch low pressure shell (not steel shot) will be OK but the best for the buck are the ones MarketHunter recommended.

RST's are hard to find in a store but their web page gives you access to them by the flat (10 boxes). If you want to mix the shot size, it is necessary to call them to get a mixed flat because the web page doesn't allow that option. I have found their turn around time very short, they get their orders out fast and its shipped directly to your door.

[Sunny Gauntt]

FRIENDS...

Thank you for your very good advice.

I'll forward your recommendations to my best friend, Charlie "Parker".

[Dave Noreen]

No one can tell you over the internet what loads may or may not be safe in a given gun.

A 1932 vintage gun would be right on the cusp. For more than the previous three decades the "standard" 16-gauge shell in North America was put up in a 2 9/16 inch paper case, and carried loads of 7/8 and 1 ounce of shot, ahead of various amounts of bulk or dense smokeless powders. Longer 16-gauge shells with more/better wadding, were offered in 2 3/4, 2 7/8 and 3-inch, by the loading companies but they were never popular. When Western Cartridge Co. introduced progressive burning smokeless powders to shotgun shells with their Super-X loads in 1922, they came out as a 1 1/4 ounce load in their 12-gauge 2 3/4 inch Field shell and a 1 ounce 20-gauge load in their 2 3/4 inch Field shell. The next year, they introduced their 1 1/8 ounce 16-gauge Super-X load, but it was put up in their 2 9/16 inch Field shell. So, high velocity 1 1/8 ounce 16-gauge shells had been on the market at least nine years when the gun in question was made.

In 1931, Remington Arms Co., Inc. introduced the 16-gauge version of their Model 11 and "The Sportsman" autoloaders and they were made for 2 3/4 inch shells. Along with these guns, Remington introduced a 2 3/4 inch 16-gauge shell. While their regular 2 9/16 inch 16-gauge progressive burning powder shell, Nitro Express, came with a load of 3 drams equiv. and 1 1/8 ounces of shot, their new 16-gauge load in the 2 3/4 inch case carried a load of 3 1/4 drams equiv. and 1 1/8 ounce of shot. They called this new shell the Auto Express --

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/Ansleyone/Remington/16-gaugeAutoExpress.jpg

So, there is every chance that an up to date sportsman might have ordered his 1932 BH 16-gauge chambered for these new 2 3/4 inch high velocity loads. By 1938, both Winchester and Western had added these 2 3/4 inch 16-gauge loads to their Super-Speed and Super-X lines. Western even called it "magnum", but not to be confused with the "2 3/4 inch magnum" loads that were introduced in 1955 with the 16-gauge version carrying 1 1/4 ounces of shot!!

Bottom line, there is more to it than just saying "oh use light RST loads" which would be great for the clays and Quail as mentioned. Have the chambers been measured? Get a PGCA letter on the gun and see if it was ordered with a longer chamber. Is it a dainty little 0-frame 16-gauge bird gun or a heftier 1- or 2-frame waterfowl gun?

[Daryl Corona]

Great information as usual Dave and very sound advice. You just can't take one of these wonderful old guns off the rack and then go out and shoot them with whatever as you would with a modern gun.

[greg conomos]

So it would be detrimental to shoot light loads in a gun capable of shooting heavy loads? I don't get it.

[Daryl Corona]

No Greg, all I'm saying is for a newbie questioning what loads to shoot in a newly acquired gun it's best to have it checked out by a competent gunsmith who is well versed in older double guns.

[John Campbell]

It is always prudent to get an old Parker evaluated by a competent double gun 'smith before shooting it.

However... if the gun proves physically safe, there is no reason to stuff it with magnum ammunition, even though it may be chambered to accept such. In fact, it is probably detrimental.

Destry's recco is the best. RST has nothing on its charts that would likely harm such a fine Parker. Personally, I'd never put more than a 1 oz. mild load through such a gun. For 99% of all shooting, that is more than adequate.

[Dave Noreen]

I wasn't trying to imply anything, and certainly not suggest -- ...it would be detrimental to shoot light loads in a gun capable of shooting heavy loads?

I was just providing some history of 16-gauge loads in North America and what loads were available at the time the gun in question was built.

I'm sure in my own mind that most of these old guns that were in service in the 1920s, 30s, 40s, 50s, 60s and 70s were more often than not being shot with the heaviest loads available. That just being the mind set of the great bulk of North American Nimrods.

[Sunny Gauntt]

FRIENDS...

I deeply appreciate your thoughtful and thorough advice.

[Dennis V. Nix]

Doesn't the frame size have much to do about what shells are fired in a gun? If I had a 1/2 frame 12 gauge I would feed it light loads which would be great for upland game. I also would most likely not use it for a turkey gun though it may work just fine depending on range. If it was a number 2 frame I would have no hesitation using it for waterfowl or late season pheasant hunting with 2 3/4 inch heavy loads if all else was in good condition. I don't mean baby magnum loads. As stated before though never steel shot for me in a double.

Dennis

[John Campbell]

Dennis:
In a way, you are correct. Frame size relates to gun weight and proportion. Smaller frames generally result in lighter guns (all else being equal). Thus lighter loads are appropriate for lighter guns. But it only takes a few good hits with the right size shot to bag a turkey. For that, choke and shooting distance play the major role -- not so much charge weight.
Every original Parker ever made is now a century old or close to it. And out of respect for that and their aging wood, I would not personally put a 2 3/4 inch "heavy load" through any of them. Especially when it's not necessary.