doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com My new French 12 gauge

Steve - I was actually referring the action, where it meets the stock head. The Brits also call that fancy-back I believe. I have some V-C catalogs and they show both boxlocks with sideplates and ones with scalloping with a similar pattern to yours. I will try to post a couple examples if time permits.

Steve I really like your Frenchy. Maybe there will be some pheasants for us to chase in Kansas next season and I can show you how to shoot it.

Very nice.

who will you hire to teach him? As I recall...never mind...

Looks like a heckuva buy at that price. The Winchesters will work, but they're often "poofy" in cold weather--although that's more of a problem for us up here in the north country than it would be in TX. If it were mine, shooting targets, I'd reload 7/8 oz. Not too much of a pressure concern with the double proof, just keep the velocity at a moderate level. Maybe even 3/4 oz if you're shooting skeet with it.

Hello Steve,

What a great buy! Congratulations!

JC

Thanks guys, for a bottom feeding upland hunter such as myself finding this gun was like finding the Holy Grail of upland guns. Just like my 16's it's lighweight, yet I don't have to feel I'm getting screwed every time I buy ammo and I have a huge selection of 12 gauge loads to choose from right off the shelf. Like I said for me it was like finding the Holy Gail.
Steve

Steve, re your last sentence: double proof aside, it wouldn't be a good idea to run standard American 2 3/4" factory ammo through that gun. You'd be OK with the low noise/low recoil Winchesters, but even "light" American target loads are not necessarily light in terms of pressure. (Particularly true of the cheap stuff at places like Wal-Mart.) And most factory 7/8 oz loads for the 12ga are pretty fast because they're made for international competition where the shot charge is limited. And any 2 3/4" hull fired in a 2 1/2" chamber will raise pressures, anywhere from a few hundred to over 1,000 psi--which is why those of us that reload light 2 3/4" loads for 2 1/2" guns build in a significant safety margin in terms of pressure. If you're talking about availability of 2 1/2" 12's from people like RST and Polywad, plus foreign-made shells, you do have an advantage there over what you can find for the 16. But I think most of us who shoot a lot of targets with 2 1/2" guns would recommend going the low pressure reload route. You'll save a bunch of money, components are readily available, lots of good 12ga target hulls for multiple reloads, and easy to keep the pressure very low.

Larry,
I appreciate your concerns and I certainly didn't mean "Whoopee, magnum loads here I come!" I found standard field loads with off-the-shelf Wnchester and Federal 1-1/8 ounc standard loads work just fine, I prefer 1 ounce loads when I can find them. What I was remarking at was being out in the boonies somewhere with my 16 gauge and being stuck having to use "magnum" 1-1/8 ounce 16 gauge loads, take it or leave it, and having to pay a premium price for something I didn't really prefer to begin with. As far as the 2.5" chamber, I've found that simply lengthening the forcing cones makes digesting 2.75" shells much easier for the gun. After all we're only talking about 0.25".
Steve
PS as far as reloading, I purchased a 16 gauge reloader several months ago and still haven't used it. I'm hoping within the next 6 months to leave my sticks & bricks Texas home and move into a large RV and begin a mobile lifestyle with my falls/early winter spent up north in pheasant or ruffed grouse country. With that type of lifestyle you have to keep extra baggage (such as reloading equipment) to a minimum.