doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Favorite RST 2 1/2" 12 bore grouse/pheasant load

I picked up an old English 1880's hammer gun at the Southern this year with 2 1/2" chambers, Damascus barrels, black powder proof, no nitro proof, good walls, no pitting. I have no experience with the 2 1/2" cartridge.

I picked up 2 flats of the RST #7.5 ultra lite 3/4 oz. to shoot at the range to get used to the thumb lever. I was astonished by the number of load choices in 2 1/2" 12 at RST. I count 19 products in this shell specification. My goal is to have the old girl in the field this fall, shooting grouse and pheasant. Advice is requested as to appropriate, favorite/most effective loads to pattern and eventually use this fall.

I would contact RST

Email Address: info@RSTShells.com

Phone: 570-553-1651

and get their information on pressures and which shells to use for a damascus black powder proof gun.

I have used handloaded 1 ounce loads on wild pheasants successfully, and grouse fall to my 7/8 once 2-1/2" handloads. But, I haven't used RSTs for a few years...

Some of the other members of this board may have used RST shells in damascus guns and may know which to choose...

For Ruffed Grouse, I use the 1oz 12ga loads at about 1150 fps from RST. pretty much exclusively. One of the loads I tried previously was pretty anemic, I can't remember if it was the Falcon Lite, or Ultra light. They work on thin skinned birds, but I just have no confidence in them.
I hunt over dogs, and most of my shots are close, and my chokes quite open. I don't like shot up birds.

For PHEASANT, I exclusively use the "Best Grade" 1oz #5 load, at 1175fps A little bigger pellet, I use a mod/full choke combo, and try to hit them in the head.
I can kill them cleanly as far as I can hit them with that cartridge.
As they say, they are "Just Right".

And I've killed bushel baskets full of birds with that load out of a variety of early American doubles.

You pick those two loads, and you'll be set.

I should also add, I detest blown up birds, and work to eliminate them.

If you're looking for something a bit heavier from RST and your gun is 2 3/4", they make a great 1 1/4 oz pheasant load at 1200 fps. None of this crazy 1500 fps nonsense. Hard to find a quality 1 1/4 oz load at that velocity these days. Shells like that killed about a bazillion pheasants . . . before someone in the ammo industry decided that roosters must be wearing Kevlar these days.

Owen,
I've settled on RST's in #5 & #7 at 1175 fps for pheasants and grouse as CZ and found them to work great. I'll sometimes switch out to #8 or #81/2 if it's a woodcock only day. I enjoy RST paper shells so much that I use them for hunting in all my 23/4 chambered guns. I don't have any Damascus barreled guns, so I can't comment on their suitability for those guns. With RST's variety of loads, I'm sure they have something for everyone.
I feel that if using a 1 ounce load, #5 & #7 provides a suitable pellet count, something that is often overlooked.
Karl

Larry do you know the pressure of that load?

In the 2 1/2" shell I had a lot of difficulty finding an RST shell to use in my tightly choked gun. The barrels are stamped modified and full on the bottom near the flats. So, in the tight tube I had no problem I just used a 2 1/2" #5. However, I wanted to use a spreader in the modified tube to open it up as I hunt over a pointer. The best that RST could do for me was #7 shot in a spreader load. They are a quality company and sent me a box of the #7 spreaders for free to try. I tried the #7s but was not happy with them as I had to many cripples. I ended up going with Polywad spreaders in #6 and the problem was solved. I had very few cripples and runners. So, now my standard shells for my sxs are RST #5 in the tight tube and a Polywad spreader in #6 in the open tube.

I don't, off the top of my head. And RST doesn't list it on their website, although they'll tell you if you ask. Judging by similar formulas for reloads, I think somewhere in the 9,000 psi range, or less. I don't worry about it, because it's a load I only use in 2 3/4" 12's that post-date the advent of the Super-X, which is a 1330 fps 1 1/4 oz load.

Owen,

I use the RST 2 1/2" Lite load in 5, 6. and 7. This is their 1 oz load at 1175 fps. I hunt over a setter on wild pheasant in KS. The 5s are used towards the end of the season. The 7s are used in the first barrel because I run into quail now and then. My guns are nitro-proofed. As Larry said, call and ask RST on the pressures.

Ken

12g 2 1/2' and 2 5/8' chambers were proved for a maximum service load of 3 1/4 Dram with 1 1/4 oz. shot. (1220 fps); the "standard" load was 1 1/8 oz. 3 Dram

12g Black Powder pressure
1 1/8 oz. 3 Drams (1200 fps) of DuPont FFFg (82 grains) was about 5000 psi.
1 1/8 oz. 3 Drams Curtis & Harvey�s No. 4, T.S. (82 grains; somewhat similar but not equivalent to medium grain FFg) was about 6500 psi.

RST 12g 2 1/2" shells; fps and psi
Ultra Lite 3/4 oz., 1125, 4400
Falcon Lite 7/8 oz., 1200, 5400
Maxi Lite 1 oz., 1125, 5700