Spreader shells question
 

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.

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

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.

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

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.

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.

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/v3...ctober1972.jpg

This pic from 1972.

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..

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.

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.