Tradex makes me drool...

thehunterman

thehunterman

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Well gentlemen I appear to have a problem,first it was lever guns and now I have this terrible urge to own a side by side so I'm selling one of my lever guns! but only one :p(I'm not that crazy) ofcourse my lust for SxS shotguns brought me to Tradex to salivate over the fine selection of doubles there(I'll be damned if I can pick one) however when I buy a gun I buy it to use it not just look at it so I'm wondering about how these guns would handle steel shot? ofcourse they are all different but I shall link the main ones I am looking, at this one http://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/janssen-fils-co-liege-sxs-12ga oooooor this one http://www.tradeexcanada.com/content/spanish-manfield-sxs-12ga anybody know anything about these and if they could handle steel shot? not a dealbreaker if they don't but it would be amazing if they did, AND YES I did use the search function and spent an hour looking but could not find an answer to my question.
Thanks in advance for any help,
Hunter.
 
J.P. said:
no steel

That's part of the reason they are so cheap...
Click to expand...
'
That seems a rather broad statement considering that tradex seems to have about 20 different styles and brands of SxS shotguns available, can anyone else give me some information of what brands might be steel shot proofed? seems like the Merkels,simpsons and Husqvarna's might be suitable for steel but does anyone have some information about them? personal experience?
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
one could always have the chokes bored out and use steel shot and see how it goes. keep in mind though that when a lot of these guns were being made, lead shot was being dropped from towers and i doubt that in the DDR they ever considered steel shot.
 
MiG25 said:
one could always have the chokes bored out and use steel shot and see how it goes. keep in mind though that when a lot of these guns were being made, lead shot was being dropped from towers and i doubt that in the DDR they ever considered steel shot.
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yeah I got the feeling most of them were of that age however why would i have to bore out the chokes? I have found plenty with Improved cylinder and modified chokes, if the constriction is what you are talking about?
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
If the chokes were full, then you would have to have them opened up. Also, some European choke designations are tighter than North American standards, so a modified choke could really be closer to full choke. You would really need to have them measured to know for certain. I would not hesitate to use steel shot in a older SxS providing the chokes are open enough and the barrel walls have suffcient thickness. Some double barrels have very thin walls, particularly english field guns. But I think something along the lines of a Merkel or Simpson would be fine. I had a Feg that I opened the chokes up on and used steel shot.
 
thehunterman said:
'
That seems a rather broad statement considering that tradex seems to have about 20 different styles and brands of SxS shotguns available, can anyone else give me some information of what brands might be steel shot proofed? seems like the Merkels,simpsons and Husqvarna's might be suitable for steel but does anyone have some information about them? personal experience?
Thanks,
Hunter.
Click to expand...

Old doubles made before steel shot was in use are not rated for steel shot. Can some of them handle it? sure. Which ones? Nobody can say. Depends on age of gun, barrel steel, wall thickness, and choke restriction. How many steel shells before you ring a barrel or crack it? Who knows....

You asked if they can handle steel shot, technically speaking the safe, correct answer is no.
 
That Janssen gun looks like a nice upland bird gun. And that Mansen. If that's your game, no worries about steel.

Watch out for chambers shorter than 2-3/4" (70mm).

If these guns were made in the '60s or earlier, that was before the advent of the plastic shot cup. Bores could have been a little tighter then, and chokes could have been a little tighter as well. Look for '18.5' stamped on the flats for a nominal 0.729" bore.

And if you really want to, you can buy some of that specialty shot for waterfowl. But it's pricey.

But for steel? No way would I try it.
 
Yes, it depends on the barrel wall thickness of older doubles. I would not use steel in my vintage english doubles because the walls are very thin as these guns were made light for carrying afield. However, old doubles that have thick barrel walls are a different matter. And as I said before, if you are using something such as a $200.00-$500.00 tradeex gun, does it really matter if the barrels develop a ring near the muzzle or the walls get scratched after who knows how many shots. But this doesn't only apply to old double barrels. Browning (and others)says not to use steel in many of their shotguns that were not designed for steel shot, yet many people are. A gun that is sitting in the corner collecting dust because it was made before steel shot was mandatory isn't much use to anyone either. Unless it is some gun that has collector value, the guns might as well get used as long as the chokes are open enough . You might be surprised at how many more years of waterfowl hunting you get out of your "old gun".
 
Ok fair nuff' gents,thanks for all the info_One last question,how do I tell before purchasing if the chamber length is shorter than 2 3/4? does tradex always note if the chamber is 2.5?
Thanks,
Hunter.
 
They usually specify chamber length. However, I don't know if they just go by what is marked on the gun or if they actually measure them as a gun that is marked with short chambers could have been lengthened at some point.
 
thehunterman said:
yeah I got the feeling most of them were of that age however why would i have to bore out the chokes? I have found plenty with Improved cylinder and modified chokes, if the constriction is what you are talking about?
Thanks,
Hunter.
Click to expand...

You might not have to bore out the chokes. Shoot a few rounds of steel and they open up themselves. You don't mind a shotgun that looks like the "after" pictures in a Bugs Bunny cartoon, do you? :)

Almost all the makers form the European countries marked their chamber sizes on the underside of the 'lump', the block that forms the chamber end of the barrels.
Typically in MM, but they used inch sizes on export stuff too.

My Kent Pure gold shells (2 1/2") are marked 65mm, my 2 3/4" roll crimped buckshot are marked 70mm, if that helps.

Cheers
Trev
 
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