Shooting current shells in old guns poll

[Himark]

I am new so this may be a quick answer poll. I have been reading some guys say these old guns do not know what powder you use and it makes NO difference as long as you keep the pressure down.

What do you do?

[Leighton Stallones]

There have been a lot of articles on reloading for older guns . Most of us use slower burning powders such as Pb, 7625 etc. I use Greendot a lot and keep the pressures under 7000psi if possible. I dont like the faster burning powders because I believe the pressure curives are higher sooner and I would prefer having them peak later.

[Bill Murphy]

I shoot 2 3/4 DE 1 ounce Gun Clubs and Top Guns in my steel 12 and 20 gauge guns, 1 ounce 2 1/2 DE Game Loads in my 16 steel guns. I shoot 7/8 ounce reloads with Red Dot at just under 1200 fps in my Damascus twelves. One exception is that I shoot 1 1/4 ounce reloads with Herco to 1225 fps in my PHE Trap gun at pigeons. It has not shot much else since I started shooting it about ten years ago and it doesn't seem to show any wear. It was a pigeon gun for the seventy or eighty years before I started shooting it, and from its condition, I assume it has spent a few nights outdoors after the shoots. I would assume most of the shells shot through it were fast 1 1/4 ounce loads.

[Dean Romig]

Presuming the barrels to be sound, both fluid steel and Damascus, and verified by a competent gunsmith, probably the greatest danger by shooting heavier loads would be to the stock head and wrist.

[David Hamilton]

I must agree with Bill. I have shot hotter loads in my damascus guns but it was a mistake.
No harm done but I was shooting pheasants with "game loads" which were much hotter than I imagined. My old 12 ga G doubled and almost flattened me backwards. Dewey fixed the problem which was worn sears and I've had no problems since but I don't shoot game loads in that gun. David

[Himark]

I am looking for advice (giving condition is shootable by a gunsmith) on what to shoot in a GH with 2 5/8 chamber. After doing some reading it appears they shot longer shells in shorter chambers to get better patterns but that was of course with BP loads and no wad. What about 2 3/4 with a wad and 6k pressures?

[Carl Erickson Jr]

Most Parkers and other quality shotguns (Damascus and twist)were proofed for smokless powder. Currently I am shooting 7/8 oz with Redot in my Damascus GH Parkers and have not experienced any problems. I believe that once smokless powder came out no one wanted to use BP

[David Hamilton]

Many shot shell makers are sensitive to older guns and make loads for these guns. Federal, Remington, RST and B&P are regularly used in my old damascus barreled guns. I( most important thing is to figure out what the gun was meant to shoot. I have a 12 ga DHe with 30" damascus barrels and a 1 1/2 frame. The gun is very light and the barrels are thin as they were made. I shoot the 1 oz gun club target loads @ 1140 fps in that gun with success and after thousands of rounds, no problems. There are people who post on this site who have great understanding of Parker guns and can give you a world of good advice. David

[Bill Murphy]

The 2 1/2 DE 1 ounce 16 gauge Game Loads are less intrustive than the 3 1/4 DE 12 gauge Game Loads or the super fast 20 gauge Game Loads. Learn to read the labels to protect your gun. The 2 1/2 DE 16 gauge loads are the bargain of the century and probably safe for any older fluid steel gun.

[Roundsworth]

The only shotshell I load is the 2-7/8" 10 gauge. I load one ounce of 7-1/2 shot with a charge of Hodgdon's Clays for about 5200 PSI. In my short chambered 12s, I use 2-1/2" Polywad Vintagers or light loads from RST. I hunt ruffed grouse and really don't need anything outrageous to effectively take them. Cheers!