The first thing I did was call Mike Orlen from the road when I purchased it to see if he could extend the forcing cones in a 28g. He said no problem. When I got home I measured the chambers and came up with 2 5/8" so I decided 2 3/4" shells in a modern steel gun should work fine. Thanks to the members here being able to date it as a 1963 gun. I would have guessed more like 1910 or 1920 without their help. After all, it is a back action hammer gun as Yeti points out. So I saved the cost of extending the forcing cones (and the risk of cutting inside the barrels and changing the wall thickness) and the RST shells are great but will cost more than the gun after a few cases.
I had to run up to the local skeet range near here to drop something off and the sun came out so I shot a round of skeet with it using shells I had loaded a couple of years ago. I shot it really well which was a surprise for a sub 5 pound gun. The only misses were with the left barrel. The trigger pull was long with a very hard pull, so hard that I was literally pulling the gun when I pulled the second trigger. It also did not fire a couple of times in that barrel and I pulled the hammer back again and it fired on the second drop of the hammer each time. I guess when I have a little time I will pull off that lock and see what I can do with it. If I can't fix it off it goes to Dewey Vicknair for adjustment.
When I saw the gun at the gun shop I was thinking about my Grandson in a couple of years and maybe the kid in me was coming out a bit too. It was so light and cute. I measured a 14" LOP to a case colored steel butt plate so it was not designed for a kid. The spray on finish on the stock that is peeling a bit hides some fiddleback that I saw the next day when it was on my desk and the sunlight was shining directly on it. I guess they used a semisolid stain on it before spraying on the finish.
Using my Stan Baker bore gauge (the one with the three little balls on it) I measure the right barrel as .555 and the left at .553" with cylinder choke. When the dealer measured it with me he used one of the bore gauges that you turn a knob and three or four fingers expand more like a micrometer. I watched him and he came up with .05 choke in both barrels but only the last quarter to half inch so I figured there was an inch or so missing, besides the barrels do not touch at the muzzle. My gauge may not be able to pick up the small change because the balls are ready to slip out of the bore when you get that close to the end. I don't think the dealer was trying to pull something over on me since I have purchased from him before and I was watching him do it. The tag on the gun said .04 choke in both barrels. It also said $900 but after checking the consignment gun over with me he said I could have it for $600. Out the door it went.
The barrels are 24 15/16" long exactly.
