doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Proof shot weights ?

Trying again on this one:

Drew, in Vic Venters' "Gun Craft" (p. 207), he reproduces a service pressure chart provided by the Birmingham Proof House. That chart shows that a 3" 12ga, 1 1/2 oz proof under the 1925 rules is a 3 1/2 ton gun under the 1954 rules. Service pressure converted to radial transducer: 10,427 psi. (Quite close to Burrard's 10,640 psi service pressure for a 3 1/2 ton gun.) The 4 ton guns are 3" magnums, which didn't exist under the 1925 proof rules. They're the ones with a service pressure of 11,913 psi--which means they'd be OK with any Brit or US 2 3/4" or 3" load.

Moses, you'd want to stick with loads under the mid-10,000 psi range. If you want to stick with factory loads, I'd suggest something like RST's 2 3/4" pheasant load (1 1/4 oz in 4-5-6) if you're looking for something on the heavier side. The RST chart does not list pressure, but they'll provide that information if you call them, and I'm pretty sure it will be under 10,000 psi.

The other option is to work up your own 1 1/4 oz reloads. Using Win AA's or Rem STS/Gun Club or Fed Gold Medal, there are several options using Unique powder with velocities in the low 1200 range, pressure mid-9,000 range. The British say that the Alphamax (and any other British 2 3/4" shell) is OK in a 1 1/2 ton gun. However, with near 1300 fps velocity, you'll get a fair amount of recoil. Either the RST or the reloads will reduce that, which in turn makes those loads a bit easier on old wood.