doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com RST vs Polywad

I'm a young new collector just getting going who is bound and determined to take his 1912 and 1915 Ithaca 12ga Grades 1 and 1 1/2 out hunting this fall. To be cautious for both me and the guns, I plan on using a very low pressure 2 1/2" shell, from what I can see the two most popular suppliers being RST and Polywad.

Do any of you have experience with both and have found one to perform better or more reliably than the other? What is your favorite load that still kills but will keep the girls safe? Thank you!

On another note, what a sad thing to see photo sharing sites changing and 80% of the photo links no longer working. That's a lot of work lost. One of my favorite items were photos from Researcher's collection of old sales catalogues, all gone!

Welcome aboard on your first post. Both are outstanding vendors. I have bought loads from each. I plan on buying a flat of 16 gauge Vintagers from Polywad next week.
RST has a larger selection of loads in each gauge, but Polywad has exactly what I need. In 16, I like the 2.5" 7/8 oz. #7.5 from Polywad for quail, dove and woodcock. I haven't bought 12 from Polywad, but have from RST. I wanted to see how the felt wads rather than plastic wads worked out in one gun and RST had them. Polywad didn't. In keeping the old "girls" safe, it's not just chamber pressure of the load that is a consideration. Recoil, a product of mass and velocity, can be the enemy of a 100 year old gun stock. While the guns may have been originally designed to handle heavier loads and velocities, sometimes it is best not shoot them. Gil

I have the same guns as you.
You can't go wrong shooting the 1 oz 12's from RST. Great selection, great products.

FWIW, in 12ga, the 1 oz and 7/8 oz Comp One from B&P is also a great choice.

I shoot polywad and rst and really like both. 20, 16, 12 and 10. Polywad is a little cheaper if you are out of state. For GA residents we have to pay taxes which makes them the same price. I support both companies to help keep them going for our sport. Polywad has spreader shells too if you have a really tightly choked gun and want to hunt closer game like quail and wood ducks with it

Maybe not wood ducks....

I shot some of the RST Select loads back when they were loaded in NH or ME. The Polywad slugs were pretty good too. Those are fine ammo companies that offer products where there are few alternatives available. We all know what can happen when we try to cheat by buying light target loads from big manufacturers......and shoot them in antique guns a possible KA-BOOOM.

Hopefully woodcock, instead of wood ducks!

How would Winchester low noise be any different than a 2 3/4 lite load from either company? Holland and Holland makes the same load with felt wads as well.

yeeeeah don't use lead but they do get close. Another good point rst carries nontoxic shells

Yeah, Woodcock, not Wood ducks.
I could have shot a limit of "Summa ducks" today. They love beaver ponds.

People shouldn't be so cheap.

We have a hobby that consumes THOUSANDS, and yet, people are reluctant to spend $8.00/bx/25 vs $4.98 at Walmart.

Feed your guns the proper ammunition.

You aren't going to shoot thousands of shells through an old Flues without problems anyway.