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BarnabyWilde
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 5:06 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Dec 2021
Posts: 5

Hello from Canada. Been trying to get a 20ga double choked for grouse hunting (IC/Mod) around here without spending a ridiculous amount. I see people snapping them up at auctions at more than blue book then trying to resell them at double that.

So I'd almost given up...I was looking at an Iver Johnson 20ga at an auction here but I wasn't sure about it, there seemed to be conflicting information about the chokes. They also has a Savage era (1941?) Sterlingworth 16ga, chokes seemed more to my liking.

When I got outbid on the Johnson I decided to bid on the Sterly and I ended up getting it for less than I thought it would go for.

I finally arrived yesterday. There seemed to be a crack in the butt stock and the recoil pad, which I had planned to replace with a proper butt plate anyway, was glued on. After removing I was delighted to find the stock is not hollow and the crack seemed superficial.

Hoping to get it out tomorrow (last day of Grouse season) to test fire it with some low pressure loads.

Will post some pics when I figure it out...
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nj gsp
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 5:30 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 09 Aug 2007
Posts: 437
Location: WI

Congrats on the new gun, and welcome to the world of 16 gauges!

I will warn you, 16 gauge guns are addictive for reasons I do not understand...
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skeettx
PostPosted: Thu Dec 30, 2021 5:59 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 15 Apr 2007
Posts: 9455
Location: Amarillo, Texas

Hello
and
Welcome on your first posting
Wonderful addition
Good luck on tomorrows hunt
Mike

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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 8:12 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
Posts: 1550
Location: Minnesota and Florida

Congrats Mr. Wilde, and All The Best in The New Year.

You certainly don't need low pressure loads for a Fox Sterlingworth. If your low-pressure idea is about taking it easy on the wood, you don't have much to worry about there. After all, it isn't an L. C. Smith when it comes to the design of the head of the stock. The Fox guns are much stronger there. If you want to take it easy on any gunstock, reducing the weight of the shot charge and keeping velocities lower does the trick, and recoil energy has nothing to do with peak pressures in the shell. Recoil energy, a large portion of which must be routed through the buttstock, is proportional to the square of both the velocity and the shot charge weight. It's easy to see how hot and heavy loads can raise recoil energy to levels potentially destructive to buttstocks already compromised by design, poor grain orientation or mishandling.

If your Sterly 16 is as light as mine, for comfort reasons you might want to limit your shot charges to one ounce. The old light field load, for instance, which in 16 gauge is 2 1/2 dram equivalent and 1 ounce of shot, with nominal velocity of 1165 ft/sec is fine for upland shooting at reasonable ranges. It is more than adequate for woods grouse. One ounce at around 1200 ft/sec would be plenty. If you're reloading, as it sounds likely, some of the 7/8 ounce loads would work quite nicely at typical upland bird ranges. It's those 1 1/8 and 1 1/4 ounce loads you might want to think about avoiding for comfort reasons, but the Fox guns will take those all day long.

Cheers!

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fin2feather
PostPosted: Fri Dec 31, 2021 9:01 am  Reply with quote
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Joined: 06 Aug 2004
Posts: 2171
Location: Kansas High Plains

Congrats on a great gun! You will love it! My Savage-era Sterly weighs 6-1/2 pounds on the nose, and while I usually limit it to 1oz loads at around 1200 fps, I shoot 1-1/8 oz on late season birds and I don't notice any appreciable increase in recoil. The gun will handle it just fine. Enjoy!

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I feel a warm spot in my heart when I meet a man whiling away an afternoon...and stopping to chat with him, hear the sleek lines of his double gun whisper "Sixteen." - Gene Hill, Shotgunner's Notebook
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BarnabyWilde
PostPosted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 8:36 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Dec 2021
Posts: 5

Thanks everyone for the warm welcome.

I am trying reloading for the first time in years mainly due to the lack of availability and/or high cost of ammunition, particularly with #7.5 shot. It also seems there is a lack of components as well.

Was able to buy some primed Cheddite hulls and universal powder and CB100 wads to follow the recipe on Hodgdons site for 1oz loads @ 7100 PSI and 1165FPS. Had to also add an overshot card or else could not get the crimp right.

I am interested in lighter and lower velocity loads for less wear and tear on both the gun and my shoulders and if I can do that with lower pressure as well then so much the better, this gun is older than I am.

I did (barely) see 2 grouse yesterday but did not get a shot at either. Went after them but couldn't find either.


Last edited by BarnabyWilde on Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:31 pm; edited 2 times in total
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16gaDavis
PostPosted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 11:20 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 24 Jun 2013
Posts: 2062
Location: canandaigua - western n.y. (formerly deerhunter)

remember , if the gun fired , what looks like a lite strike is the recoil rebound force , not the actual firing pin hit . Could be the headspace is just a little looser on the right barrel - was probably shot 10-20 times more frequency than the left . My right barrels hardly ever get fired . The Davis is like a 14ga on the right- much looser !

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MaximumSmoke
PostPosted: Sat Jan 01, 2022 1:50 pm  Reply with quote
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Joined: 01 Dec 2005
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Location: Minnesota and Florida

@ BarnabyWilde --

Avoid putting stuff on top of the shot to true up your crimps. Instead, put things under the shot if you need to raise the level. I believe this creates less disturbance to the pattern than things like overshot cards. Overshot cards can also interfere with the folds of a crimp and cause the crimp to pop up or open later. The crimp folds have to penetrate down into the shot, and the shot needs to be free to get out of the way.

To raise the shot level, use a portion of a filler or card wad of whatever size fits inside the shot cup -- 20 or 28 gauge size will usually fit in today's 16 gauge shot cups. If you don't have that, use little disks or squares cut from foam trays used to package things like frozen foods or meats, or even cut from the cardboard backing of a writing pad. Cut to whatever size you can easily ram down to the bottom of the shot cup. Some folks even put things like a dried bean or two, old coffee beans, Cherios, puffed rice, etc. in the bottom of the shot cup to take up more volume -- use whatever you've got around the house that is light weight and is strong or resilient enough not to crush and disintegrate too much under the pressure of making a good crimp.

The only time I'll put anything over the shot is when I load with a buffer and the hull is a type that cannot be made with a "buffer-proof" crimp. In those cases I put a very thin piece of Tyvek on top to keep the buffer from leaking out -- just enough to not interfere with the crimp folds and still cover the sometimes unavoidable center "hole" in the crimp. Buffers often flow like water and will even leak out of crimps that look really nice. If I don't have Tyvek, I try a drop or two of wax melted from a candle to seal the crimp center. That has turned out to be more of a PITA for me, however, and the wax does not always hold up to handling in the hunting environment -- the wax doesn't always adhere to the hull material, and of course if there is any flexing or impact to the hull mouth, the wax will sometimes flake off.

I might have digressed a little, as usual, so I think it is now time for me to flake off.

Cheers!
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BarnabyWilde
PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:15 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Dec 2021
Posts: 5

16gaDavis wrote:
remember , if the gun fired , what looks like a lite strike is the recoil rebound force , not the actual firing pin hit . Could be the headspace is just a little looser on the right barrel - was probably shot 10-20 times more frequency than the left . My right barrels hardly ever get fired . The Davis is like a 14ga on the right- much looser !


Thanks!


Last edited by BarnabyWilde on Wed Nov 16, 2022 2:40 pm; edited 1 time in total
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BarnabyWilde
PostPosted: Mon Jan 03, 2022 9:20 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 11 Dec 2021
Posts: 5

MaximumSmoke wrote:
Avoid putting stuff on top of the shot to true up your crimps. Instead, put things under the shot if you need to raise the level.


I can see where an overshot card may have an impact on the shot pattern. My brother had actually suggested I put a cheerio in the bottom of the shot cup, I just didn't have any at hand. But I will definitely try this.
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jswanson
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 5:16 am  Reply with quote



Joined: 03 Feb 2008
Posts: 830
Location: Adirondak Mtns

Cheerio's work but Puffed Wheat or Rice seem to stand up a bit better and do compress a bit rather than crumble when crimping.

For what it worth.

Joe

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Interested in older US made SxS and upland hunting. New to reloading shot shells and looking for info and advice.
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3drahthaars
PostPosted: Fri Jan 07, 2022 3:39 pm  Reply with quote



Joined: 21 May 2015
Posts: 127

X2 on the pressure/velocity ... 7.5kpsi/ 1100 ± was about average turn of century values for 1oz charges...

For spacers I purchased a 5/8" punch and (3)cork sheets (.10", .11", .055") from McMaster-Carr to adjust the shot column height. They'll last me literally for years.

I have one recipe that I've patterned using 2-3/4" Chedite, 21gr WIN 572 powder, 1/8" nitro card, (1) 1/2" fibre wad + .26" cork spacers, 1oz #7-1/2 lead shot, 6-pt crimp... 1194fps/ 6kpsig

Good luck, my 16ga got me back into reloading, and I'm enjoying it immensely.
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