doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Pressure limits for N.R. Davis shotgun?

Hi Gang:

I have a N.R. Davis 20 gage SXS that belonged to my wifes's uncle. I paid him $200.00 for it to keep peace in the family. It has an interesting history attched to it.

In any case, I had the stock bent to fit me, the chokes and forcing cones opened. and put back on face. The gunsmith assured me that the gun was safe to use with modern high pressure magnum shells. Along with the gun, I got a large number of 20 gage magnum 2.75 shells that were purchased circa 1971.

I enjoy using the gun for pheasant hunting but I would like to hear from you experts if it is safe to use heavy loads in this gun. After all it does say, AS Good as the Best" on the receiver.

Any opinions?

Thanks,

Franchi

I have a Davis Arms 12 ga of similar vintage that was my father's (his good guns mysteriously disappeared) and I have shot it but would never use magnum loads. Nothing wrong with the gun but it never was top-of-the-line.

Why would you want to?

The pressure limits established by the industry standards organization are exactly the same for standard or magnum shells, and for 2 3/4" or 3" shells. In the case of the 20 ga, it is a maximum average pressure of 12,500 psi. Without testing the same lot, there is no way to determine what the actual pressure of a given make and loading of a shell is. Therefore, you are probably just as safe shooting a factory magnum shell as you are a standard load in your gun from a pressure viewpoint. Recoil is of course a different matter. The NR Davis was built before the current SAAMI standards were established, so it may not be built to withstand even the lighter loads. The use of known low pressure loads is always advisable with older guns, and lower recoiling loads will result in longer life of the gun most probably (although low recoil and low pressure are not directly related).

Franchi - do you ever consider the ammo that came with it might be the reason that you had to have it put back on face ?

Check out the low pressure shells from RST & Polywad.

As Tom stated:



Pete

Hi Postoak:

Yes, I did consider why the gun was off face. I did not know what shells had been fired in it but I did not like the idea of the magnum shells being fired in an old gun.

I doubt if the gun had been fired at a large numbers of game but who knows the history what had been fired in a used gun. I have no idea as to how many shots it takes for guns to become off face. Perhaps this would be a good question for a new topic!

Thanks all for the replies,

Franchi

Your "Gunsmith" is a smart businessman. He is assuring himself of repeat business. Stick with the lower pressure/lower recoiling loads this gun was designed to handle. Considering the number of loose N. R. Davis guns I've seen, even that may be a bit much if the gun will see a lot of use.

It isn't necessarily the pressure, but the recoil of the magnum loads.

You can easily crack the stock.

There is no need for magnums in a gun like this one.