Or maybe just buy some Win AA 2 5/8" shells. The 1 oz AA ExtraLights are a delight to shoot.

You might have to call your local sporting goods store and have them order in several flats. Sometimes they don't stock them because they don't have enough recoil to cycle through autos very well , but the O/U shooters love them. But I've shot the 1 1/8 AA's at 2 3/4dre's also , little more kick.

The first time I shot a damascus barreled gun I approached it with trepidation....all the club house experts talking about how damascus would unravel like a spring, how the barrels would heat up and the solder melt, how black powder was so much slower burning than smokeless, how shells in a box marked 2 3/4 would cause drastic overpressures and this gun would blow up on me and shower shrapnel all over. So the picture is this: I put on an old military helmet, a pair of motorcycle goggles, a heavy jacket, boots, long heavy leather gloves, jeans with heavy Filson chaps....and its in the 90's, I'm sweating like a pig, holding the GH 12 at arms length with my head down. I pull the trigger and there is a pop, the gun jumps a little but and absolutely nothing unusual happens. It shoots with less recoil than the tank like Mod 21. So I shoot a few more times, then take off all the clothes that make me look like Ralphie in A Christmas Story, and shoot a round of trap with the other guys standing back. And this old gun just smokes em and its a lot of fun.

So, if you want to send me the 1920's GH, I can break it in for you , but it might take several years just to be sure.

2 5/8" chambers are made for 2 3/4" and shorter shells. By the way, mid 20's 12 gauge Parkers were commonly patterned at Parker Brothers with 1 1/4 ounce shells.

Bruce just mentioned the WW Xtra Lite 1oz. I have shot this load through an 1881 lifter with Twist barrels at the Southern. I reload this hull with WW 209 primers, Claybusters equivilent of WAA12SL wad, and 19.5 grains of WST (Winchester Super Target), 1 oz of shot for 7400 psi at 1180 fps. I shoot it through all my Damascus and Twist Parkers. The pressure is about 2000 psi higher than a 1 oz load with IMR 7625 powder, but WST is cheeper to reload.

Harry

:rotf: Bruce, That was exactly me last evening. :)

Okay I guess I'll don some proctective gear like, gloves, oil cloth faced pants and an old hat and see if I can knock some leaves off the aspens this weekend with the GH.

Bill, did you ever have the barrels refinished on your GH?

Bill, I was a bit apprehensive when test firing my Damascus LeFevers! I even took some external measurements to see if the barrels expanded. No worries! Even the reamed/honed 'G' Grade held up! Buck Hamlin chuckled when he told me that my LeFever barrels would 'take anything I stuck in 'em'. I don't recall if this statement was made before, or after, he endorsed my choices of cartridges, RST and Polywad. I plan on using my RBL most of the time when chasing the grouse. I have 2 lifters and a LeFever to rotate amongst when I get bored with the RBL. I don't anticipate firing thousands of rounds through my antique shotguns, so I think they will last a few more generations. Even though the barrels, Damascus, Twist, and Laminated, are stout, I like to lean toward the mild side with my ammo. If I ever decide to hunt bigger birds than Ruffed Grouse, I know that my guns will handle some stiffer loads (from the vast menu at RST!) Cheers!

The barrels I was thinking about refinishing were on a LC Smith but the gun just had to many other minor issues that in total added up to more work than it was going to be worth.

The GH, after lots of time with 0000 steel wool and oil to remove the fine layer of rust that covered it, cleaned up great. The GH was one a youngman inhereited from his grandfather along with several other nice guns. The youngman left in the plastic slip case and stored them for five or six years in his garage. All the guns looked like they were in high conditon when they went into the case and got stuck in the corner. When I saw them they all were covered in anice fine red/brown layer. It just about brought tears to my eyes. The bores on the GH when I opened looked like they had been honed yesterday. The wood look good and the gun was tight as a tic.

Here is a pic of the barrels after some work to remove the rust and some Formbys Tung Oil to coat them.

http://www.pbase.com/slowpokebill/im...1/original.jpg

I think they look great with the age on the rest of the GH.

So this weekend I'll give it try. Hopefully I won't be typing with my elbows next week.

WOW :D they look great Bill, ya done real good. ;)
Maybe after you proof test her, and you still have a
shutter finger left, you can get pretty Ms. Wanda to model
that little GH :cool:

Mike, recoil is the weight of the powder,wad, and shot X the FPS- not pressure. Pressure has nothing to do with it. Just because you felt less recoil with the modern shell doesn't mean there wasn't a lot of pressure. BP loads always have more recoil because there's a lot more powder weight in the shell, hence more recoil. Paul