David Pedersoli Shotgun Question

[Razorx]

Hello Everyone,

I am knew to muzzle loading. I have been looking at getting into it and thought about doing muzzle loading shotgun. I have found a shotgun that I like but wanted some opions on it and the gauge I should go with. I have been looking at cabelas and found the double barrel one made by DavidePedersoli. I call the one closes to me(East Grand Forks,MN) and he has the gun in a 10ga, 12ga and 20ga. I am just not sure which one to get. I was planning on upland, goose, and duck hunting with it. Wanted some opions on which gauge to get. Also he believe that he had everything for the starter kit. Is it worth the money to get the starter kit with it. Thanks for your time and imput.

Nolan

 

[Mike Brooks]

10 bore would be good. If I were going to spend that kind of money on a shot gun I'd go to a couple guns shows and buy a good solid original. They're in the same price range.

 

[ian45662]

Dixie gun works sells them also. they dont have an adjustable choke but they are cheaper. Mine is a 12 and has fixed chock. I have heard that the fixed choke ones are not as heave and for that reason handle better. I like mine it is pretty light and throws out some good groups

 

[Rebel]

If you aren't in a hurry double barrels show up on the gun auctions pretty regular. I think there is one in the classifieds section here too. It was a new in the box kit in .12 ga. If all you plan to hunt with it is ducks and geese then the .19 ga would be good,but they are heavy. I had a Navy Arms double .12 ga for years that i really liked. It was light, easy to handle and i took a lot of ducks, geese, quail, doves, rabbits and other stuff with it. It had cylinder bore barrels. I don't think the starter kits are all that great, but they will work to get you going.

 

[CoyoteJoe]

ML shotguns are great! If you get a choke bored gun they will do anything a modern shotgun can do. Either the 10 or the 12 will do fine on waterfoul if you can find some legal non-toxic shot, which ain't always easy to come by.
I've owned probably half a dozen 12 gauge Pedersolis over the years and find their bores always run a bit tight, like .718" to .720", while the 12 gauge standard is .729". For that reason, I'd suggest you get online with Circle Fly and order wads in 13 gauge, which measure about .738", still plenty tight even in a true 12 ga. bore, but are much easier to get down the tight Pedersoli bore.
I had several of the early Pedersoli double 12s which weighed only 5 1/2 pounds. My current Pedersoli scales 7 1/4 pounds and the difference of nearly two pounds is all in the barrels. That makes a very muzzle heavy balance. I much prefer the old light weights for a general bird and bunny gun, both for ease of carry and for quick snap shooting. But the newer and heavier guns are great for trap shooting. :grin:

 

[TANSTAAFL]

10 bore would be good. If I were going to spend that kind of money on a shot gun I'd go to a couple guns shows and buy a good solid original. They're in the same price range.

I ditto that, some good quality ones out there at a fair price. Thought I had a fine Belgian 12 bore double sewed up, but the seller backed out.

 

[FishDFly]

Since you said you were interested in ducks and geese I would choose the 10 gauge. With ducks and geese you are going to have to shoot steel shot, which is going to require the screw in chokes or you are apt to blow the choke out of the barrels when shooting steel shot.

My only complaint on the Pedersoli is the left lock on mine was very difficult to pull the trigger. It was so difficult that I often would take it down to see if I had cocked it or not.

Otherwise, a nice shotgun and well made.

RDE

 

[ffffg]

greater canada Geese are very tough customers unless your close..Snows, blues and the smaller geese i dont know about,, but if your after the big heavily winter plumed geese id go with the 10 gauge.. Mine has chrome lined bores, and you could use shot cups(ICK) and bb heavy shot or tungsten matrix.. With a double barrel it will break the bank.. I dont recomend shooting geese with steel and black powder.. Even bismuth bb is not big enough in my opinion, unless using decoys and your up close in my opinon 30 yards max.. I think bb heavy shot would work fine for geese at 40 yards but have had poor results with anything else.. I have not used the heavy shot but its density is alot more than bb bismuth, and my loads is just slightly a little under what I need.. If using heavy shot you will need shot cups which i dont like, but I would be able to live with if the bb tungsten would work and it wouldnt scratch my barrels.. .. dave..

 

[skwerl-eater 1]

the pedersoli shotgun in 10 guage is very nice. ihave one of the older ones, its light and handles well. i originally bought the 10 ga because the stock (curved pistol grip, i think thats what its called) fit me much better than the straight style that was offered in the 12 ga. it performs well with heavy charges for turkeys and is a pleasure to carry for rabbits and squirrells.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I currently own the 12g and love it now. I had to do some work to the stock to get it to fit me and file the cylinder muzzles to get it to shoot straight. I also had to fiddle with the triggers. Mine was made circa 1985.
I have owned the 10g and that was of later production and much better. It had fixed chokes and did not need any alterations. It had sling loops fitted too. I used it for anything but it was a little heavy. I do sometimes miss it!
Don,t just grab one . You must shoulder them and try the locks!

 

[BrownBear]

I've handled and shot the 10, and for me it's pretty limiting for fast upland work. Fine for waterfowl, but you won't be happy in tight quarters or on fast flushes.

I owned and hunted extensively with a Navy Arms 12 for a little over 10 years. Before steel shot requirements came along, I even hunted ducks and smaller geese with it exclusively. Yeah, it was a little range-limited compared to a cartridge gun, but that's why decoys are so easy to move. Just set them closer and go back to work.

The NA 12 was so light and fast handling that I didn't feel any harship using it for upland, whether fast flushing ptarmigan or snowshoe hare in front of beagles. Always wanted to take it on a pheasant/quail hunt, but never managed to do it. I think it would have been dandy for those uses.

I'm looking seriously at getting back into BP shotgunning, and I would use it lots. Just too much fun to do in small doses, in my book. My biggest hangup right now is what to buy. I boil it down this way- If I can find the right NA 12, I'll go right back to that. Barring that, I'm going to pick up a Pedersoli 10 and a Pedersoli 20. In my book, and for my tastes in handling the Pedersoli 12 would be okay for both, but not as good as the NA 12 and not ideal for either type of hunting. Even at more money I'd be a lot happier in buying the Pedersoli if I specialized for the two types of hunting and got a gun for each.

 

[Razorx]

Hey Everyone,

Thanks for all the responses. I went to the closes Cabelas it look at the 12ga. I like the feel and the the way it shoulders. The only thing that would take some getting use to is looking throught the hammers. I am keeping an eye on an auction right know for a 12ga. Looks like it is an orginal one. Going to try that but aslo going to try to get ahold of peashooterjoe. He had a kit list but it was gone figure I talked to him and see if he still had it. Just can't find if the kit he has can handle steel shot.

Nolan

 

[Rebel]

If you get one that has cylinder bores and no choke you can use steel shot as long as you ALWAYS use the special heavy plastic Steel Shot Cups. I used it in my Navy Arms double for years with absolutely no sign of problems from it. I called and talked to the folks at N.A.'s before using it though and they said it was fine in the cylinder bores with the cups.

 

[Razorx]

Hey Everyone,

I wanted to let you folks now that i just got a 12ga. I got it from an auction site. I beleive it to be an older model. 28" barrels and 5 1/2#. Can't wait to get it. Paid half of what a new one is. Can't wait to get it. When I do I will be asking for load suggestions when it comes in.

Nolan

 

[44-henry]

Hello from Grand Forks. I've hunted a lot of ducks and geese with the Pedersoli 12 and 10's. In my opinion the 10 is the better choice for geese, the 12 works fine on ducks. I ended up selling my 10 some years ago and now only have the 12 with the screw in chokes. I will admit that it is not as traditional as my tastes would like and I have two original english 14's that I like much better; however, since the powers that be, in their infinite wisdom, have decided on steel shot I suspect I won't be getting rid of the 12 anytime soon. Bismuth is almost impossible to find nowdays, so steel is the only real legal option. I would never shoot anything but lead or bismuth in my originals.

I shot most of my geese with the 10, but the 12 should work if you decoy them in within 30 yards and are a good shot. About 75 grains of 2f and 1 1/8 to 1 1/4 oz of shot should be fine and is typically what I use. With lead I typically load equal volumes of powder and shot, not a good idea with steel though. I wouldn't recommend shooting the steel shot through anything tighter than an improved cylinder and I believe that is what Pedersoli recommends. I would load a 1/8" card wad over the powder charge and than a thick fiber wad (or two wonder wads) and follow that with your shot charge and a thin overshot. When you are using the tighter chokes the wonder wads are a lot easier to load. Hope you have fun with that double.