DutchmanDick
Inactive
Hi, all. I have an old Belgian SxS shotgun I'm trying to find out more about. It is a side-lever opening gun, with half-cocking (not rebounding) backaction locks. The markings on the underside of the barrel are: the Belgian definitive blackpowder proof WITHOUT a crown over the oval/ELG/* (which from what I have found for info, places it at 1893 or older); a tower-looking thing; a * over a letter X; a * over a letter s; two provisional proofmarks (looks sort of like a stylized backwards E); the number 18.0 (I think this is the bore size in millimeters. 12-gauge, I think? Measures .720" at the muzzles); a badly stamped mark that could be FDE, EDE, FDF, or EDF; the right barrel has the number 22566 and the left barrel is stamped 1947 on their undersides; and the under-rib is stamped 81 and CR. The top rib says "STEEL BARRELS". Barrels are 30" long and cylinder bored on both sides. The stock is straight-wristed, with no pistol grip. The buttplate, which appears to be original, is just a thick piece of leather nailed onto the stock.
First question: Just how old is it? I know, based on the style of the blackpowder proof mark, that it can't be newer than 1893, but can that be narrowed down?
It was obviously a cheap gun when new. The action was loose and sloppy when I got it (I've tightened it up and made repairs so it locks up good and solid again). The barrels, though somewhat pitted inside, seem to be sound enough. There was evidence that it might have been fired with a hot smokeless shell at one time, as the solder holding the locking lug onto the barrel was cracked, and the locking bolt was slightly bent upwards. Repairing these two things allowed the gun to lock up properly again. There was ZERO finish left on the gun, and a lot of surface rust to clean off. I'm guessing that, even in its now mechanically functional, repaired state, that it has no collector value. This leads to questions two and three:
Question 2: loads. The gun was proofed for blackpowder. Would it be OK to shoot some of the Winchester ultra-lightweight target loads in this gun, or should I stick to loading shells with blackpowder or a substitute? Anybody load any of the Magtech brass shells, and if so, with what load combo? I think that by buying some of the Magtech brass hulls, I can instantly tell what loads are for this gun.
Question 3: To cut, or not to cut? I want to use this gun for CAS, but the 30" barrels are somewhat ungainly. Would it hurt to have them professionally cut down to 20"? I won't be losing any choke, as it's already a cylinder bore. I assume there's no collector value to the gun, but am I right or wrong on this? And would I lose too much velocity to use it on reactive targets? I know that with blackpowder, a longer barrel generally means better performance.
Anyway, any input would be appreciated. Thanks!
First question: Just how old is it? I know, based on the style of the blackpowder proof mark, that it can't be newer than 1893, but can that be narrowed down?
It was obviously a cheap gun when new. The action was loose and sloppy when I got it (I've tightened it up and made repairs so it locks up good and solid again). The barrels, though somewhat pitted inside, seem to be sound enough. There was evidence that it might have been fired with a hot smokeless shell at one time, as the solder holding the locking lug onto the barrel was cracked, and the locking bolt was slightly bent upwards. Repairing these two things allowed the gun to lock up properly again. There was ZERO finish left on the gun, and a lot of surface rust to clean off. I'm guessing that, even in its now mechanically functional, repaired state, that it has no collector value. This leads to questions two and three:
Question 2: loads. The gun was proofed for blackpowder. Would it be OK to shoot some of the Winchester ultra-lightweight target loads in this gun, or should I stick to loading shells with blackpowder or a substitute? Anybody load any of the Magtech brass shells, and if so, with what load combo? I think that by buying some of the Magtech brass hulls, I can instantly tell what loads are for this gun.
Question 3: To cut, or not to cut? I want to use this gun for CAS, but the 30" barrels are somewhat ungainly. Would it hurt to have them professionally cut down to 20"? I won't be losing any choke, as it's already a cylinder bore. I assume there's no collector value to the gun, but am I right or wrong on this? And would I lose too much velocity to use it on reactive targets? I know that with blackpowder, a longer barrel generally means better performance.
Anyway, any input would be appreciated. Thanks!