The 36 Gauge Revisited

[kudu]

Well, since seeing that 36ga shotgun at Gander Mountain last weekend and turning it down, it's been working at me. I did quite a bit of research this past week and decided to go back and see it again.


Since I haven't bought a gun for a while my wife granted me permission to get it if I really thought I needed it. Seeing how I didn't have a SxS, I really needed it. I hazarded my way through thick fog to Gander Mountain and did the deal.

Here is a pic of the Armsco/Huglu 36ga SxS shotgun with a 12ga shell for reference size.

 

[Fred Fuller]

kudu,

A nice looking double- how long did it take your wife to extend eminent domain, pray tell? Or is she still allowing you to believe it's yours?

8^)

lpl/nc

 

[kudu]

Lee, I would gladly give it up to her if she were so inclined to come shooting with me. She has done the occasional plinking with .22's and shot a few clays from skeet 7 low house with the Red Label 28ga, but she is content to watch me shoot on occasion. Perhaps when I get the kids started shooting when they get old enough.

 

[sm]

kudu, I knew you would go back and get it - I just knew it.

That is really nice looking! I like the Semi-Pistol grip and fore-end. Wood looks great.

So give us the particulars if you will. And yeah - we expect a report.

Lee- kudu has his daughters wrapped around his little fingers - he hung the moon don't you know? Momma gonna have to get past the daughters to get to daddy.

Of course daddy's gun fund goes for bribe money to the daughters ...

Oh I just bet the little darlings think this gun is too cool. Give the gals a hug for me kudu.

 

[kudu]

So give us the particulars if you will. And yeah - we expect a report.

36gauge/.410 3" capable. 28" barrels with turkish dark walnut, nice grain and a little figure to it. Looks to be hand cut checkering on the forearm and button pistol grip. A decent smooth rubber butt guard with just a hint of give to it. Very finely fitted wood to metal everywhere. Color case hardened receiver. Single selective trigger, manual safety, right side improved cylinder, left side modified. Extractors, no ejectors. Very tight action, good metal to metal fit. DEEP dark blueing of all blued surfaces. Chrome bores. In short, I am very impressed with the quality of this turkish made imported SxS shotgun.

As for the report Steve, I am going to try to shoot skeet tomorrow, but I need to go load some shells.

Steve, the sad thing is when I got home today with it my dad stopped by to show me an auction flyer that is next weekend that had many fine guns in it. Including 2 M42's one a skeet grade, the other a modified field gun. Oh how I want a M42.

 

[TrapperReady]

Oh how I want a M42

Seems to be catching. Personally, I can't wait for dove season to start. Only 8 more months or so.

BTW, that 36ga looks really nice.

 

[sm]

If Grandaddy really cared for his Three beautiful granddaughters - he would buy those two 42's for the twins and the other Field gun for the elder sister.

Okay so the granddaughters are not big enough to shoot them - their daddy is big enough to ...err...I mean keep them preserved.

Shame, guilt, deciet, whatever it takes kudu. Notice how he dotes on them and didn't dote on you growing up?

Your welcome!

Well I'm happy with the info on the report. I like the way it is choked btw - sounds good to me. Pic sure showed some deep blue and fine grains.

Dust them birds and report back.

Trapper - ya think semi-worthless dog will be ready 8 months from now?

 

[TrapperReady]

Steve - It's semi-USELESS dog. He's worth quite a bit... I've got the vet bills to prove it. Actually, he's ready right now. For doves, all he does is walk out there with me and then lie down. It's not like he goes and gets 'em or anything.

 

[sm]

Trapper, oops! SEMI-worthless - got it.

Back when I had a dog - the vet and his lovely assistant / daughter..." had considered med school - vet school was just as tough, this way I/ we can afford to keep our pets healthy. Oh - we swap out favors with our personal physicans too..they always end up owing us"

Semi- worthless ain't sleeping - he is keeeping tabs on shells to bird ratio. Chack the ground for hash marks...

kudu verify / clarify the difference in .410 and 36 ga again for us in this thread. Share your recipe tips - this is fun and educational.

 

[Smoke]

For doves, all he does is walk out there with me and then lie down. It's not like he goes and gets 'em or anything.

Still better than a lot of dogs I've seen. I had an Australian Shepherd that taught himself to be a fairly good dove retriever. He would just eat evey fifth one or so.

Plays hell with keeping up with your limit... possession was never an isuue.

Smoke

 

[popplecop]

36 guage = .410?

If a lead ball fo .410 diameter weighs approximately 110 grains that should mean a .410 is a 64 gauge. A 36 guage lead ball would be closer to 195 grains. Oh well, I think they should just stick to marking them ...410s.

 

[kudu]

Range report.

I shot 2 rounds of skeet today with the little gun. Triggers are quite heavy and I had some misses because of this. Broke a 17 on the first round, and a 22 on the second round. This gun shoots tight patterns. I have yet to put it on a pattern board but I shot into a snow drift at 20 yards and the pattern there was about 10".

I followed up with a round of skeet out of my Beretta tubed gun with 28ga and smoked a 24. Little different going from a 5.8lb gun to an almost 10lb gun. Yes the 36ga/.410 weighs exactly 5.8lbs.

I could of probably sold the gun 5 times today, had a bunch of people drooling over it. A good friend who I shoot with who goes to Italy every year says the 36ga and the .410 are the same.

I took a micrometer and measured the chamber where the brass sets and it mics at .478+or-. Two different .410's of mine mic at .480. The barrels are supposed to be improved cylinder and modified. The one side says .393 and the other was .396. Compared to a .410 topper I have that says it's full choke at .393, and a tube out of my Kolar set marked Mod at .401. When I centered a target it was an ink ball.

It shoots about a 60/40 pattern by the way I was breaking targets with it, about where I like to have my guns shoot. It needs a trigger job badly and the ejectors are a pain to get the fired hulls out of the chambers. Other than that the gun shoots very well and I am extremely pleased with it.


Couple of more pics

 

[Dave McCracken]

Glad it went well. A trigger job should fix you up nicely. Do pattern and see where it 's hitting.

A nice project sometimes would be to do a 410 like we do 12 gauge target guns. Long cone, overbore, extended choke tubes, all to deliver as many perfectly round pellets as possible. Using hard 8.5 shot and moderate velocity with a full length shot cup, we should have a very efficient load for the tiny 410..

 

[kudu]

Put up the pattern board this afternoon. Shot 1 shot from each barrell. 21yards I had virtually all the pellets in an 18" circle. #9 hard shot from my handloads with 1/2 oz of shot. Fairly even pattern about 60/40 like I suspected. The majority of the shot was in about the center 14" with an even scattering in the additional 2" to either side. Both barrels are patterning about the same size, within an inch and both are centered left to right. An outstanding job of regulating for such an inexpensive shotgun. To get a true test of the regulation I need to set it on a bench and put some slugs through it to see where they meet. Mighty close to full and full chokes.

I installed a Bradley 1/16 brass center bead on the rib yesterday mainly for reference, as I'm not yet used to shooting a SxS, and it goes to a friend tomorrow to see about a trigger job.


...now I just need to get a tweed gentlemens shooting jacket and a snooty attitude....

 

[Dave McCracken]

Snooty attitude? Oi vay ist mer....

Next, you have bought another one to have a matched pair and be dragooning the kids into loading for you and calling you Milord......

 

[kudu]

Update on the 36 gauge/.410.

My friend said he wasn't going to tackle the trigger on this gun, which is fine as I respect his work that he knows when not to do something.

I had shot about 10 rounds of skeet with this gun now, and the worst I have done is a 17 on the first round ever, and the rest hover around the 21-23 mark. The triggers are making me work for every target.

So I called up Gander Mountain and talked to their 'gunsmith'. He said "yes bring it in, should be no problem." I dropped it off on a Saturday morning and he called and left a message on Wednesday that he couldn't do anything for it. I picked it back up on Friday afternoon and talked to the 'gunsmith'. He said "I can't work on this gun's trigger for liability reasons." I was kinda disgusted and left.

I went and shot early this morning at the club, after helping todays worker shovel 4" of snow off the sidewalks and range. he had a snow blower, I had a shovel I started off with a 23 in quite a nice little snow storm then went back out a bit later still snowing and smoked a 25. At least I knew that the gun would do it now. I got a bit smug and missed the first 2 high houses right off the getgo, I finished up with a 21.

 

[sm]

I see daughter is still letting daddy shoot "her" gun.

Patterns sound good to me , gun seems to fit you well.

What about taking some Happich Semichrome and powdered jewelers rouge and putting this 'slurry' in the works to polish and smooth the triggers? Flush it out with Brakleen later. Might work.