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Forums10
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Most Online1,335 Apr 27th, 2024
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,116 Likes: 92
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,116 Likes: 92 |
Do you reload? I shoot 1 oz and 7/8 oz in my old guns. Kills both clays and doves fine. If it were mine I’d leave the chokes alone. Pictures?
Last edited by eeb; 05/10/22 10:44 AM.
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Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 14,123 Likes: 198
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2002
Posts: 14,123 Likes: 198 |
Did you buy your new Purdey at the Southern? I saw a couple of Purdey pigeons there, but did not make a deal. How does the bore diameter compare with the proof marks? .044 sounds like the barrels may have been honed a bit.
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,627 Likes: 73
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,627 Likes: 73 |
Although I do not expect to shoot many flyers or Helice with it as there are not any places close by here in central N.C. I would like to maintain the gun as a pigeon gun. I hope to maybe at times use it as it was built for. So shooting 1 1/4 OZ of shot through a 44th choked barrel may result in damage to the gun. Is that assumption correct? I did shoot it this past weekend with a 1250/1oz Clever and it turned the clays to dust.
Mike Proctor
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Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,627 Likes: 73
Sidelock
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OP
Sidelock
Joined: Nov 2006
Posts: 1,627 Likes: 73 |
Bores are 735 /737. Barrels are still pretty thick as I remember. Yes I did get it at the Southern. A pigeon gun has been on my list for awhile. But we will see how long it stays in the safe.
Mike Proctor
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Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Oct 2006
Posts: 2,269 Likes: 521 |
.044 choke is ridiculous, 99% of the time, especially with modern loads. The 1% of the time it might be useful if you’re in the habit of shooting 70 yard ducks or Turkeys & coyotes from across the field…and even that’s dependent on if the gun patterns good with the loads you’re using. It may have worked just fine with fiber wads, etc, but in my experience, those extra full constrictions aren’t worth a crap with modem loads. Most of my experience with guns with copious amounts of choke is mostly limited to older American, German, Italian & Spanish made guns. I’ve owned a few German & Spanish guns with tight bores that were .040+ with choke and almost all of them threw blown patterns with modern(plastic wad) ammunition. Pattern the gun as suggested with the loads you’ll be using and throw in a few loads that you won’t be using just for comparison. Maybe I’m wrong, maybe it’ll throw gorgeous patterns. Im thinking it’ll be one or two things, patterns the size of a small fist or totally blown, both equally worthless.
Obviously I’m in a different camp when it comes to adjusting chokes on a shotgun. Im all for it. If you have a gun with original chokes that don’t do what they were intended to do because of technology changes in ammunition etc, then all you have is an original gun that shoots shitty patterns that finds its way to the back of the safe or cabinet because you don’t like how it performs. What’s the point in that. Make it right so it does what it needs to do efficiently so you, the owner, can enjoy the gun.
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Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,116 Likes: 92
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2005
Posts: 1,116 Likes: 92 |
How would the barrel be damaged by loads it was built to shoot? I understand loads contemporary to the gun used fiber wads but modern plastic wads shouldn’t make any difference, should they?
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Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,136 Likes: 37
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: May 2011
Posts: 1,136 Likes: 37 |
If your bores are .735/.737 then your constriction of .044 leaves the chokes at .691/.693. To me that reads normal full chokes. I don't see an issue. Pattern your gun to see where its at as others have suggested.
Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
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Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 110 Likes: 21
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Apr 2018
Posts: 110 Likes: 21 |
Another aspect for the new owner to consider when he comes to sell it - the nearer to "original" the more desirable will be the gun to a prospective purchaser.
I have some experience of buying and using vintage British wildfowl and pigeon guns. I do not buy guns that have been tinkered with. Bad examples? ---- William Ford chamberless wildfowl guns such as 10G -which were often the equivalent or better performance as an 8G......NEWBIE owner thinks that he can "improve" the gun by re-chambering it to 8G, etc. It never fails to perplex me how some johnnycomelately thinks that he can "improve" a product of a masterful gunmaker and barrel borer such as Ford.
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4 members like this:
Stanton Hillis, mc, eeb, SKB |
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,149 Likes: 1147
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 13,149 Likes: 1147 |
I have a steel patterning plate of my own for checking regulation and patterns with my guns. I own numerous guns that have original constrictions tighter than .040", and every one of them patterns nicely ........... with the loads I use in them. Actually, I've never found a load that delivers blown patterns out of them. I tend to stay under 1200 fps, if possible, but not always........ BOSS bismuth loads pattern beautifully out of my L C Smith 3E and my A H Fox HE, both of which have chokes in mid-to-upper 40 thousandths range. When you kill six big ducks with six shells, and .048" choke, a couple of them long shots, your patterns can't be that bad.
May God bless America and those who defend her.
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Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,377 Likes: 105
Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,377 Likes: 105 |
Those ducks certainly didn't think so!
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