doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Handloading heavy charges for 10 gauge 3.5" magnum

Anybody have sources or data for handloading the 10 ga. 3.5" mag. to around 2 1/2 to 3 oz shot? This is for the Ithaca, NID (New Ithaca Double) magnum, serial number series of 500,000, made in 1932, to 1942, with 887 made, along with 87 in 12 gauge 3" mag. in series. Elmer Keith had the first one made, serial 500,000, originally owned by Charles Askins. He convinced me to buy one, in 1966, so I did, but later traded it as part payment on a Westley Richards double barreled rifle. Later yet, I bought another Ithaca NID 10, and still have it. Both of the ones I had (have) are in #2 grade.

The Lyman shotgun hand-loading manual has everything you need.

Hi double rj,
I've always fancied a 10 bore...but being a wimp,I'd like an old 2 7/8":)
What weight is the gun throwing the 3oz load ?,that's could hurt on both ends .
I bet you can find some lowish PSI if you look @ all the powder makers sights.
Lead shot right?..Turkeys?
What do you figure the service load psi was supposed to be for that NID mag ?
I have no idea, but am interested. Good luck finding a`good load
Franc

Ballistic Products publish a booklet called The Mighty Ten Gauge that has various revisions that update it. I recall seeing a 2,1/2 oz recipe in one of the older ones. Keep in mind that, these overloads usually don't put more pellets in a center circle than, say, a 2oz load because the wad column has to be shortened to allow the extra shot. That means it has less cushioning, the shot sustain more recoil damage and hence they pattern less densely. You can instead use buffer and/or copper or better still nickel plated pellets to up the density to get, for arguments sake, more hits on a target like a turkey's head. I've not heard of a 3oz load except in an 8 gauge.

I have used heavy loads in old doubles, but I usually drop the charge a few grains. It's still not good practice and not something to do very often, for the gun's sake or for yours. If you end up with a flinch, you'll have a 2,1/2 oz miss instead of a 2 ounce hit.

I'd suggest doing some patterning until you have a good load you can trust. Try using a Ballistic Products BPD wad rather than a SP10 Remington one. You can alter the slit of a BPD (Ballistic Pattern Driver), wad to get denser patterns. You'll also see how your 2,1/2 oz compares on paper. Draw a 20" circle around the densest part and count the hits.

Jack, I experimented 30 years ago with the BPD and loads for my NID 10 3.5". In altering the slit of the BPD, I tried 2 and 3 petals rather than 4 or with 4 shallow petals in efforts to tighten patterns after reaching max denisity with buffer, etc. The loads would sometimes suffer "wad flip" wherein the wad would flip over in flight with a partial load of shot inside the wad and imbed itself in the patterning board leading with the gas seal. I found it best to slit the wad as described by BP. The BP booklets had the best published loads back then for the BPD.
If you can, post photos of your brute, we'd love to see it. Gil

I believe it was Bismuth Cartridge Company that loaded a 3 1/2" 3 ounce lead load in Remington cases. They were on closeout for quite some time, but I never bought any. I still have some of the 2 7/8" ten gauge Bismuth loads that I bought for about ten bucks a box of 25 when a company I worked for was a dealer of BCC. The were loaded in Remington cases and roll crimped, a very nice package.