Spreader shells question

[Gary Weaver]

Ok.. on the advice (of some :-) from this group, (my 30" GH is Full and Full Damascus) and I decided to try the RST Spreader shells.. instead of opening the barrels for now..
Question: what kind of pattern can i expect from these shells, and how far will they shoot?
I am shooting Skeet and Sporting Clays..(not duck hunting)
Trying to get somewhat of an idea of how they will shoot... like Skeet, IC, Mod?
I guess any of those will be fine for me. I can see when shooting SC that i'll have to have 2 pouches, one for reg shells and one for the spreaders. LOL sounds like fun actually.. :-)

Also getting a lot of resistance from gun smiths that say they would not recommend opening up Damascus barrels.. they appear to be afraid they may start to come apart.. ??
(the barrels are not thin)
Thanks for your comments i appreciate it.

[todd allen]

I think a lot of the gunsmiths out there are more questionable than the Damascus barrels they're opining about.

[Gary Weaver]

Agreed.. There seems to be a fear of working with those barrels.. i guess its the unknown for them as most have not had to deal with them before so their scared to ruin a nice old shotgun.

[charlie cleveland]

hope the spreader loads work for you...i sure would hate to see a extra full barrel go to clyinder...charlie

[Brian Dudley]

What are the thoughts on using fiber wads in place of a shot cup wad instead of a spreader load. Fiber wads are supposed to give more open patterns than modern shot cup wads.

[Chris Travinski]

I have gun that's choked .042" and .045" and I have tried the spreader loads too. I've found I have better luck accepting the tight chokes instead of using spreaders. I would highly recommend giving the spreaders a try, but just for fun try shooting you gun the way it is too. You may be surprised.

[Dave Noreen]

My Father had the Damascus barrels of this extra full and extra full 1896 vintage Remington AE-Grade opened to IC and Mod, and bagged a lot of Pheasants, Chuckers and Huns with it from when he got it in 1945 until he quit hunting after the 1987-8 season.

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v316/Ansleyone/Hunting/RKRustyPheasantsOctober1972.jpg

This pic from 1972.

[Gary Weaver]

I would not go to Cyl with them.. if i were to open them up i would probably do one barrel IC or Lt Mod and leave the other one alone. That way its still a good hunting gun.. for those that hunt.
I have a nice Trojan that the barrels surprisingly fit the GH.. and they are Mod/IMP Mod.. So i can leave these alone and just switch barrels if/when needed.
Also have a VH that have Skeet/IC that i shoot Skeet, 5 stand, and even done well at Sporting Clays with so I agree that would be best for the history of this gun..

[Daryl Corona]

Gary;
Let me start out by saying that I'm against reaming out chokes. I agree with Brian in loading (if you reload) a load without the shotcup by either using fiber wads or simply by cutting the petals off a plastic wad. Both methods allow the shot to contact and "scrub" the bore, slightly deforming it and opening the pattern. Many years ago I contacted Tom Roster, a ballistician of some note, and he suggested that I try this method. It opened the pattern, using low antimony 7 1/2's, by about 10%. Low antimony, or soft shot, is the key here. But I, like Mills, have come to enjoy shooting tight chokes. If you are just shooting skeet and SC, try different loads, such as cheaper promo loads in 8 1/2 or 9. Smaller shot is typically softer as the antimony content is'nt there and will open up a tight choke. Bottom line is you are going to have to spend some time at a pattern board, shooting these different loads and finding one that you are comfortable with. But the ultimate test is shooting lots and lots of clay targets with different loads and completely, and I mean completely, forget about what choke is in your gun. You'll be surprised.

[Pete Lester]

I tried the X-Stream spreader inserts in a 1 1/8 ounce load of #6 in a 2 7/8" 10ga. The gun was a Remington AED '94 10 ga choked .046 and .045. This reload without insert patterned between 92 and 93% at 40 yards. The use of the X-stream insert opened the pattern of the same load to 57% and the distribution was pretty even across a 30" circle at 40 yards. Spreaders work.

[Russ Jackson]

Hello Gary ,I am not a trap shooter but an upland hunter mostly ,with that said ,I have used Poly Wad SpreadR Loads for years with great success ! I had a 16 Ga. Trojan that was so tight I couldn't hit anything with it but it was a nice gun to carry so I persisted and eventually came across the Polywad Ammo and it really works ! It is low pressure ,good for the Damascus Barrels and the wood on these old guns ,and now I see they even make a Double Wide Vintager Load ! The last thing I would do is open up the chokes on an original Parker ,whether it was Damascus Barreled or Fluid Steel ! That is just my line of thought ,of course you own the gun so it is your option but the SpreadR Loads are a great alternative ! Best ; Russ

[Frank Srebro]

Sometimes commercial spreaders and reloads with spreader inserts will throw "doughnut patterns" with a hole in the center. It's good to check your patterns with same, on paper, before heading out to the courses or the field.

A friend is in the plastics molding business and he's been working to patent and market a new type spreader gizzmo. This is all I can share right now. Just to show what can be done. The patterns I'm posting here were done using a 12 gauge GH Parker Damascus with .036" choke/left barrel at 20 yards from a sitting rest. I'll keep folks here appraised of progress with the Patent.

Control (just for comparison) - 1-1/8 ounce of Lawrence hard 8's in a Remington RXP wad, in a Remington Gun Club case. Powder was IMR "PB" at low pressure. Sorry, I'm not a ballistician. Please don't ask for the powder charge; you can easily get that info from the Hodgdon's site.
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b450/silvers897/pic%20posting/118ozcontrol_zps185536d1.jpg (http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/silvers897/media/pic%20posting/118ozcontrol_zps185536d1.jpg.html)

Same load of 8's also at 20 yards but with his spreader gizzmo
http://i1044.photobucket.com/albums/b450/silvers897/pic%20posting/118ozsprd-1_zps8405138c.jpg (http://s1044.photobucket.com/user/silvers897/media/pic%20posting/118ozsprd-1_zps8405138c.jpg.html)

[Eric Eis]

Very Nice

[Matt Valinsky]

Please do keep us informed on what is going on with his "spreader gizzmo", looks pretty darn nice.

[charlie cleveland]

looks like your friend is on to something good...charlie

[John Dallas]

Here's a spreader gizmo which answers a question no one has asked.

http://www.paradigmsrp.com/our-products/gator-shotgun-spreader/

[Gary Weaver]

wow thats interesting.. i would think 25 straight in skeet would be easy with that.. and you could turn it the other way for trap.. LOL wonder how long it will take them to outlaw that on the range...