Buying an old shotgun

[Elmar]

Greetings

I want to buy an old side by side shotgun. I have two new shotguns but want something old and handmade, preferably with external hammers. Last year I wanted to buy one at huntex that looked good, but what do you do if anything breaks and a part needs replacing?

[Cockroach]

Greetings

I want to buy an old side by side shotgun. I have two new shotguns but want something old and handmade, preferably with external hammers. Last year I wanted to buy one at huntex that looked good, but what do you do if anything breaks and a part needs replacing?

Hopes, prayers, essential oils and healing crystals.

Or a good gunsmith.

Sent from my SM-G970F using Tapatalk

[Ds J]

Hopes, prayers, essential oils and healing crystals. Or a good gunsmith.

And the correct ammunition. Hammer guns are very often BP proofed. Shooting nitro powder would be downright stupid and dangerous.

[Elmar]

How available is BP shells?

[BBCT]

How available is BP shells?

You'd have to load your own BP shells.

I use nitro shells with light loads and fibre wads but get the gun checked out by someone that knows old guns before doing this.

Fibre wads are important for 2 reasons:
1) Modern plastic cartridge cases have thinner walls than old paper cases. In turn this means that the wads from plastic cases have a greater diameter than wads from old paper cases.
2) Old guns have a much sharper "step" inside the barrel in front of the chamber than modern guns

Both the above factors lead to modern ammo causing increased pressure in old guns. Fibre wads are more compressible than plastic wads thereby reducing the pressure spike.

Hull & Eley both manufacture ammo with fibre wads suitable for older guns that is generally available here in SA although you may have to look for it. There are probably other brands available too. Here in Cape Town Suburban Guns nearly always has suitable Eley ammo and in Gauteng I'd try Entremarc, who I think are the Hull agents but I stand to be corrected.

[Elmar]

How can I tell if the gun is nitro proofed? I looked at one a while back but it had little markings on it and the gunshop could not give me a answer.

[Fire-stick]

Strip the shotgun.

On the underside of the barrel usually under the chamber section there will be a wide variety of markings.
The marking NP will indicate that it is Nitro Proofed.
BP indicates Black Powder.

Some shotguns have both, depending on when and where is was proof tested.

[Fire-stick]

PM me your email address with some info on the shotgun ie make etc
If you can get clear photos of the markings it will help.

Depending on where the shottie originates from, I have a breakdown of the Birmingham and London proof house marking and stamp indicators when I was busy with my shotgun proof stamps a while back.
I can mail you some of the relevant info if it is an English build.

Each stamped marking is an indicator of sort.

[treeman]

And once you get into reading researching markings - stamps it a whole new set of thrills. Bit like learning a new language.
The old .303 Lee's for instance have stamps that will tell you - when manufactured - where manufactured - where and when proofed, then there is a stamp for refurbishing and another for when it was sold off to the public, decommissioned - and then numbers for private licencing. After that there are stamps that tell you when it was recommissioned by the military and where - then another stamp to say it was re barrelled and another to decommission it back to non-military use. You may even have another stamp telling what outfit it was assigned too after military use.
Shotguns not so exiting, but some still have lovely stories stamped into them.

[shooty]

Dont you also need paper hulls for GP loading. Ive got a friend who has got old Shotguns. I almost recall him saying he uses old Swartklip paper hulls in it only.