16ga.com ~ View topic

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Hi. A friend just let me know about this site because I just bought a Model 12 in 16 gauge. Great site!

I'm not a big shooter, kind of getting back into it as I shot skeet as a kid and hunted with my Dad (dove, mostly), then took about thirty years off after he died. His favorite shotgun was the Model 12, and after some searching I finally decided on and purchased this one.

I shot it for the first time this past weekend and LOVE it!! I've never fired a 16 ga. before, but this is a great size. Light gun, looks beautiful, functions flawlessly. I am quite rusty but a few rounds of wobble trap got my juices flowing again and I can't wait to go back out.

Can someone recommend products to get/keep this gun looking great? Most of my guns are stainless handguns, I have little experience with blued guns and want to preserve the remaining blueing on this as much as possible. Also, what kind of oil is best for the wood, and can I use a product like simple green to clean the bolt and other areas that have some accumulated grime?

Thanks in advance.

Welcome to this website, Eddie. You have a nice, crisp looking M-12. I have one as well from the early 60's with a Simmons rib and cutts. I do shoot a lot of clays with mine as well.

I have found that by loading the black Remington cases, I can get a laod that works well on clays. Hard to find factory stuff at a reasonable price.

Good luck.

PS-I usually just wipe mine down after shooting with a gun rag.

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thanks Hal. I forgot to mention mine is from 1952.

Welcome Eddie. For clean up suggestions (but your's looks very nice!) see http://www.lcsmith.org/faq/cleangun2.html

Member Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 230 Location: SW Idaho

Welcome and welcome back to the sport. You have a beautiful gun. Keep it oiled and cleaned and the wood waxed and oil free and it will last another 55 years without problems.

I am sure your pictures have several members here lusting after your gun!

Mitch

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thanks! The novelty has not worn off, I take the gun out just to look at it.

Wax on the wood?? What type of wax?

Member Joined: 15 Jul 2007 Posts: 230 Location: SW Idaho

I use trewax as do several others. I have also used Johnson"s furniture paste wax (temporarily spots in the rain) and Casey's gunstock wax.

Link to trewax: http://www.trewaxdirect.com/cgi-bin/category.cgi?item=887101016

I cruise my gunsafe almost everyday and pickup guns I have owned for 40 years just to look at them. I hope the novelty never wears off!

Enjoy!

PS: Don't use simple green on the gun! Use a gun solvent like Hoppes or a CLP (cleaner, lubricant, preservative) like Breakfree, Try to keep it soaking into the wood via the action (drops on the stock - just wipe off).
As you have recognized this isn't a stainless gun and you can remove blueing and stock finish with harsh chemicals.

I have also been trying out Clenzoil ( http://www.clenzoil.com/ ) the last few months and it seems to work fine. I am just leery of a product that claims to do it all......It might but it surely is a compromise and does it all average, instead on one thing well. IMO, of course.

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thanks for the great info and links, I appreciate it.

One more quick question for you: Being new (again) at clays, I've shot a little skeet with a 20 gauge before I got this M12, and it can be done I just need practice. But is this modified choke 16 ga. appropriate for trap? Or is it the wrong gauge/choke combo? With the wobble trap the clays are pretty close and slow, and the ones I shoot down at let me see a fairly tight pattern on the ground. But I don't know if that's enough to reach out at those trap targets. I've never shot regular trap before but there are more trap opportunities for me nearby than anything else.

Thanks again.

Joined: 05 Jan 2008 Posts: 31 Location: Wisconsin

Eddie, I'm very new to the 16 gauge myself but maybe I can help with the trap question in any guage. Whether you can use it successfully depends on about 3 things.
1. What yard line do you plan to shoot from? Obviously the farther back you are the more open the pattern will be when it gets to the bird.
2. How fast is your target acquisition and reaction time? A fairly fast trapshooter on the 16 yard line can probably break a bird somewhere between 35 and 40 yards from his station.
3. How your gun patterns. Take very large pieces of paper, at least 36x36", draw a 30" circle on it and shoot your gun at it at various ranges. In evaluating the target take a clay bird and holding it flatways evaluate the pattern for holes large enough for the clay to slip through without being struck by pellets. Once you find a pattern with more than one or two places a bird could slip through you've probably identified your maximum range. Shot sizes and shell brands can also have a big effect here as some can be more open than others in your particular gun.
RD

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thanks Rockydog. Hey, really dumb question: Can you break a clay with a single pellet?? Or if you just nick it with one pellet is it just as likely it'll glance off?

I need to find a place to shoot some targets outdoors to do some evaluating. Thanks!

Hello Eddie:

You have a wonderful old gun indeed , YES it will take care of all your targets back to the 27 yard line, So dont worry about your guns choke with Mod your fine , just go enjoy your new aqusition and share her with others .

Regards Charles

Welcome to the site! Very nice looking shooter that you should enjoy for a long time.

Yes, one pellet can break a clay, AND no, it cannot. It depends where the pellet hits and whether it can cause a fissure to cause the clay's rotation to split it. I believe in competition that any discernible chip counts as a score but my more informed 16ga brothers will have to confirm that. On the other hand, a one pellet will usually result in a wounded and lost bird unless it hits the bird in the head which is why we shotgunners obsess so much over chokes.

Your Mod choke should work fine for casual trap and would be tight for skeet, but can make you a better shot.

Hc

Member Joined: 27 Nov 2005 Posts: 258 Location: Nordern MN

I've read that on average it takes 4 pellets to get a good break on a clay pigeon at trapshooting. How they would figure that out is beyond me, but I have picked up plenty of clays from trap fields that have a hole or a nick or two or both and are still basically whole. Ever see a cloud of dust come off a clay bird? That's from a hit, but not a hard enough hit to break it.

As for scoring, dust counts a loss. There must be a visible piece.

You've got a nice gun there, and it should do anything you want to do - trap, skeet, sporting, or hunting.

What geographic area are you from?

NR

Member Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 65

Thanks!

I live in Virginia, very near where Maryland, Virginia and West Virginia all meet. I've been shooting at Bull Run in Manassas, which isn't very convenient but I'm looking for some other spots to shoot closer by.

Eddie-
Your modified choke is a compromise, but should work well for you at both Trap and Skeet for casual shooting.