As an older turkey hunter, I have been consistently successful with almost ancient shotguns
along with some different perspectives on LBs and earlier Winchester XX shells.
I actually hunt with 2-100-yr old LC Smith Long Range 3-in guns and an AH Fox HE grade 3-in Super-Fox.
The Fox had been re-stocked before I owned it, but it patterns well with both lead and NT shot.
The issue with really older shotguns is their barrels were built before plastic wads were even thought of.
Card wads and roll crimps were the order of the day. Even though John Olin and Western Cartridge came out with 3-in shells in 1924-25,
promising short shot strings with their Super -X shells.
So as in many cases, lead or copper-plated lead shotshells pattern differently in different shotguns. The beauty
of double guns lies in balance and style. Then there is the practical aspect of having two separate barrels with the potential
of using two different sized shot in the same gun. Very handy with a gobbler who may decide to hang up between 40-45 yards away.
This may be prime LongBeard territory if the gun pattern shows it is up to it.
{Nash Buckingham and Charles Askins put Fox on the duck hunting map with the HE Grade in 3 in, making duck and goose
pass shooting at 50-60 yards consistently possible}. Those were coppered Super-X #4 shotshells that Mr. Buck used on distant shots.
Turkeys and geese are different birds, and I don't take chances with a gobbler that I may have worked hard for. Fox with Bert Becker
in Philadelphia perfected tight chambers, and long highly-polished Extra Full choking along with back-boring in the HE Grades. It worked.
The Winchester M-12 Heavy Duck gun also joined the 3in shotgun movement in the 1930s and my Model 12s pattern well with
Winchester XX Magnum 3 in shells with #5 and # 4 shot. My perception is that No. 6 shot patterns well, but #5 and #4 shot penetrate
a bit better if the range is a bit longer. It all depends on the gun.
