There have been exhaustive discussions about which is most detrimental to vintage guns high chamber pressures or excessive repeated recoil. To be on the safe side I follow the following rules of thumb for steady diet of Factory ammuntion in my vintage double guns. 12 gauge 1 1/8th ounce maximum at 1200 fps, 16 gauge 1 ounce at 1200 fps, 20 gauge 7/8th ounce at 1175 fps. These loads stay within safe (SAAMI)chamber pressure range and the recoil is not overly abusive. For lighter guns such as Parker "O" frames, Foxes with #4 weight barrels and Ithaca Flues models or guns made before about 1925 I would strongly recommend dropping the shot charge down by 1/8th of an ounce and the MV to 1150 fps.
Last edited by TwiceBarrel; 09/03/09 12:43 PM.
