Hello All,
anyone here hunt and reload for the vintage LC Smith and Parker shotguns? I have taken turkeys with my 11-87, but would like to try with the vintage guns. I would like to achieve a decent pattern at 40 yards, but I am coming to the opinion that these are 30 to 35 yard guns. the patterns that I am getting now are ok at the shorter ranges but would like to do better. Anymore I exclusively hunt pheasants with these old sxs over my own dogs and for me it adds a little more fun to the hunt. My guns have F/M, F/F, and Imp/M chokes in the barrels. Thanks for any advice coming this way.
I have an old LC Smith 12 gauge. I just use good pheasant loads in it. Copper plated with 1.25 or 1.375 ounces of 7.5's. It'll smoke one at 35.
Check out RST Pigeon loads. 1 1/4 ounce of number 5's. Its a 35 yard load out of a vintage full choke. Really easy on the old gun as pressure is low.
I agree with RST. They make shells for old guns.
I've got two 12 gauge hammer shotguns, one a Remington (steel barrels) as well as a L.C. Smith (twist barrels) for which I load 80 gr. of FFg black powder and 1 oz. of shot in shotgun shells. I only reload a once-fired plastic hull one time before discarding. Both shotguns have shiny bores with no pitting. Twenty yards is the most distance I've taken gobblers since I'm hunting over decoys and they come on in. I've used this same black powder/shot load in my flintlock smoothbores with success on turkeys.