Rockdoc,
"with a 1-1/8 ounce shot and 6 dram black powder load" sounds like a pretty hefty load. Is that to proof or was that a regular hunting load?
With my 9/10 gauge Manton I was planning to shoot it at pen raised pheasants using a standard *12 gauge 3 dram BP and 1-1/8 ounce shot load (and very light for a 10 or 9 gauge gun). It's very easy in the field to get distracted and mis-load the gun. I did it once with my 12 gauge Pedersoli, I put a double BP load in one barrel and a double shot load in the other! Fortunately, I tried to fire the shot loaded barrel first and of course nothing happened except the primer fired. If I'd fired the double BP load barrel it would've been like a BP blank going off. Nonetheless, I figured with the Manton that there was the possibility that I could put in a double BP load with a load of shot on top. Hence the "safety test" using the 6 dram load. Normally with the light 12 gauge load I was using I wouldn't have been so concerned but I'd measured the Manton barrels and over the years it'd been honed so that it was a 8.5/9 gauge gun by the time I got it.
*according to Circlefly wads the standard 10 gauge load is 4.25 drams BP and 1-5/8 ounces of shot.
Steve
