shooting old guns
I recently aquired anumber of old but not abused winchesters, a colt lightning pump, a couple of old Marlins and a whitney kennedy. I would like to shoot some of these guns, they all range around 115 to 125 years old according to serial numbers and dates of manufacture. What and where should I go for ammo......black powder or smokeless???????
load my own or buy????????
load my own or buy????????
0
-
are you sure you want to do that? have a smith check them out first. please.[:0] 0 -
Assuming the guns are all clean and in good shape,the Lightning can shoot today's factory or "Cowboy" loads. Do not shoot any high speed loads in it. Cowboy loads are preferrable because they have lead bullets.
You didn't say what model Winchesters you have and what the calibers are. If in good condition, Models '86 , '92 and '94s can shoot modern ammo.
I don't like to shoot black powder in repeating rifles because the corrosive flash gets into their mechanisms and you have to take them apart to properly clean them. As long as you stick to black powder velocities you're ok with almost any old gun in good condition.
Tell us what you have and their calibers0 -
after having a gun inspected or "checked out" by the in house gunsmith here at the shop i shoot it. even the older, oddball, and obsolete guns.
that is not to say i sit at the shooting bench every week and crank a 100 or more rounds through these guns, but i try my best to lay in a supply of ammo, and at the very least test fire a few boxs through the gun.
currently i own quite a few older guns in obsolete chamberings. 8MM LEBEL, .33 WINCHESTER, .38 MERWIN AND HULBERT, 9MM LARGO, .32 WINCHESTER SPECIAL, etc...
you are correct to take care in ammo selection, or to be cautious in handload selection. while most AMERICAN made rifle ammo is seriously underloaded, you need to be vigilant in your care and feeding of these older pieces.
a good point in case is DAMASCUS BBL`D shotguns. not only should most of these guns not be fired, chambering a modern shell with modern powder in these guns can result in disaster.
there are a number of companies wich will tailor a load to safly function in your gun. we do this here at the shop every day. you should be able to obtain what you need localy, but if there is a cartridge you can not find, in a loading you consider safe for your gun, email me at the shop at waltsgun@aol.com and i will try to provide assistance. best regards, mike.
What other dungeon is so dark as ones own heart, what jailer so inexorable as ones own mind.0 -
DONT SHOOT THEM YET! you must bring them to a Good gunsmith to run some safty tests before thinking about busting a shot. I have seen
a man blow part of his jaw off when an old gun exploded
in his face. PLEASE check them out first.
0
Please sign in to leave a comment.
Comments
4 comments