A tall order for old guns - need advice on ammo

H Wally

H Wally

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Looking to find ammo for three different shotguns. I'm not by any means a shotgun guy so I may be barking way up the wrong tree. My intent would be to get at least one of these guns up and shooting for waterfowl, so would need non-toxic loads

1) JP Sauer M3000 drilling in 16 gauge. I suspect this gun isn't set up for steel shot, so I'd need to find something that won't bulge or split the barrel. Gun was probably made sometime between 1930 and 1970 - I'd guess 1960? It's a nice solid well built gun, just need to find the right loads for it.

2) German Cape Gun in 16 gauge - made 1870's. This gun is basically just a fun shooter - no intent to take it out duck hunting, but if there are ultra-light smokeless loads available I'm interested, as I'd prefer to keep it away from black powder. Odds are I'll just shoot it once and put it back in the safe. I'd like to have the option to shoot it though :p

3) United Firearms Manufacturers Belgian Cape gun in 12 gauge with no chamber stamp - cast the bore and it was 67mm or just over (wax cast, sagged and broke around the breech face, so maybe a little more than 67mm) from the chamber face to the end of the chamber including forcing cone. Gun was made in the late 1890s or early 1910. This gun might become a fun gun, so would like to find a load that can be shot without damaging the gun longterm and is available to buy in decent amounts.


Anyways, I'm in no rush to shoot these guns. Figured I'd post and see what people have to suggest. Right now the only stuff I've seen that might work is the Gamebore line, but having trouble telling if their non-toxic stuff is appropriate for steel barrels, or what pressures they are.
 
I think a visit to these folks is in order ht tp://www.16ga.com/ you will find what you are looking for there if anywhere.

For the old 12, beware of lightargetloaditis. A quick peek at a 12ga manual will show you alot of light loads can be very high pressure, even compared to "magnums"

Hope this helps!!
 
What these guns need are shells from polywad or RST. Unfortunately you can only buy them in the US. Kent gold are made for older guns but I believe they are still above 8000 psi. What you really need is to reload your own or find someone who reloads. From the measurement you are getting on the Belgian cape gun, your chambers are not 2 3/4", especially if you are already going a little into the forcing cone. While I have not used them, I have read on different forums that hevi-shot is just as hard or harder on barrels than steel shot. Don't know if it's true or not but still, you want to know what the pressures are.
 
I use Kent Gamebore Classic Upland in my old Sauer drilling. Their 2-1/2" ( 65mm) shells are very good. The 16 ga. society has a low pressure load spreadsheet that can be downloaded from their website. There are numerous smokeless loads listed that can be used in black powder proofed guns.
 
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