Shooting your older shotguns

[light476]

Today I left the O/U at home and took my 1965 12-gauge Remington 1100 (28-inch mod choke) out for a round of sporting clays & a little 5-stand. It shot 140 rounds and functioned perfectly using 7/8 oz 1300fps shells. Every time I shoot it (about 6 times a year) I'm impressed with how well it points and the softness of it's recoil. Hope others are enjoying their old safe queens as much as I do.

 

[gizmo]

I love shooting old shotguns. I have several Damascus guns I shoot. My son and I shot some sporting clays with our matching Baker’s this last spring. Same make and model, mine is a 16 and his is a 12. We hand load for them and very much enjoy shooting them.
We also shoot several family guns ranging from the 20’s up through the 60’s. We are certainly a shotgunning family and love everything from the old BP guns through modern, in every gauge one can think of.

 

[franzfmdavis]

I have an 1880 W. Richards (not Westley) SxS that I want to take out grouse hunting this year. It’s chambered for 2.5” shells so it should be interesting!

I have to say after reading the post by @Hunter-Habib about the W&S 700’s I want one

 

[Alistair]

I always enjoy the older guns, makes the whole thing that bit more special.

Back in the UK I had an old Joseph Lang 12 bore.

Hammers, 30" damascus barrels, under lever lock up, made sometime between 1852 and 1886 based on the address on the rib. Some casual googling dates it around 1870 and it was likely made as a live pigeon shooting piece. Sadly the only pictures I had of it were on my old laptop, which died shortly after my arrival in the US...

Just like this one:

I bought it off the rack in a local shop specializing primarily in air rifles where it was placed as part of an estate sale. No paperwork, no case, no interest from the owner of the shop who just wanted it gone. Best GBP600 I ever spent.

I used it a couple times a year for walked up pheasant shoots. With light 2.5" BP loads it performed just as well at 150 years old as it did when it was new. I was quite sad to sell it when I moved to the states, but I'm sure it's still faithfully serving the latest in what I'm sure is a long line of owners to this day.

 

[maxtheflyinghorse]

I always enjoy the older guns, makes the whole thing that bit more special.

Back in the UK I had an old Joseph Lang 12 bore.

Hammers, 30" damascus barrels, under lever lock up, made sometime between 1852 and 1886 based on the address on the rib. Some casual googling dates it around 1870 and it was likely made as a live pigeon shooting piece. Sadly the only pictures I had of it were on my old laptop, which died shortly after my arrival in the US...

Just like this one:
View attachment 622910

I bought it off the rack in a local shop specializing primarily in air rifles where it was placed as part of an estate sale. No paperwork, no case, no interest from the owner of the shop who just wanted it gone. Best GBP600 I ever spent.

I used it a couple times a year for walked up pheasant shoots. With light 2.5" BP loads it performed just as well at 150 years old as it did when it was new. I was quite sad to sell it when I moved to the states, but I'm sure it's still faithfully serving the latest in what I'm sure is a long line of owners to this day.

I moved to the states from the UK last year I 10 of my guns with me in my luggage. I wish I bought more guns in the Uk and took it as some guns that are dead cheap in the uk are of highly priced in the US

 

[matt85]

While not a shotgun, I shoot my antique 8-bore often! Antique guns bring another level of joy to the shooting experience.

 

[Ontario Hunter]

My go to every day gun in the field or at the range is a Browning A5 Magnum Twelve. 1961 FN receiver with 1970s trigger group, 1990s Miroku choke tube barrel, and aftermarket plastic stock/fore end. It's a bird killing clay busting machine. My low gun skeet average is 22 (two rounds per week). This is a triple I shot two years ago in 4 degree F weather. That old gun never fails to cycle (I have modified the action).

Here's a triple in this honker limit shot last season (triple is not that unusual for geese).

 

[Hunter-Habib]

My father owns a very beautiful Midland Gun Co. "Super Demon Duck" boxlock ejector in 12 gauge 3" Magnum with 32" fully choked barrels (proofed for 1 1/2 ounces of lead shot i.e the old English paper cased wildfowling cartridges). He purchased it brand new from England in 1960 (right before the firm closed business in 1961) and the shotgun still functions spotlessly (even this season, he racked up a most impressive bag of golden snipe with the grand old gun).

 

[Zinz]

I’m looking forward to taking this 16ga Belgian Guild hammergun afield this Fall

And the W Richards 20ga

Ed Z

 

[Firebird]

Enjoyed seeing the very old shotguns BUT that table in post #9 is to die for!

 

[BB416]

I shoot side by side shotguns exclusively. All mine are hammerless, though I would like to have a hammer gun. I shoot a relatively modern 28 bore Westley Richards (1980s?). But all my other shotguns are older. 1905 Parker V in 12ga, 1937 LC Smith in 16 ga, ? Old Ithaca SxS in 20 ga, 1893 Mortimer 12 bore, 1894 Stephen Grant side lever in 12 bore, 1924 Westley Richards 12 bore droplock. The British 12 bores are all 2.5 inch guns. I reload for the 2.5 inch 12 and the 28.