How much weight can be removed?

[Sparkitoff]

This question is not so much about "building" but more about modifying a kit. In particular, the Pedersoli 10 gauge percussion shotgun happens to weigh the same as their finished 20 and 12 gauge percussion guns. They're too heavy in my opinion at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. How much weight could you possibly shed by thinning the stock, maybe sanding down the barrels extensively, eliminating some of the hardware or reducing it? A good -sized hole from the butt (I'm thinking an inch round and maybe 3-4 inches deep)?

Is there a whole pound of weight somewhere to shed? How would you go about it?

Thanks

 

[david58]

guessing here...but most likely your weight is in metal, not wood. Might be tough to find a pound.

 

[excess650]

probably tough to remove 1/4# of wood

 

[deerstalkert]

not a fan of the wood Pedersoli uses. i would think carefully about weakening it.

 

[Sparkitoff]

There are some obvious ways to reduce weight, like cutting the barrels shorter - but I'm not trying to start a whole new project. One thing for a few ounces is to turn the buttplate into a heel and tow plate and eliminate the middle. Thin the stock, maybe substantially in some areas. Is there another spot to take weight from? Reduce the exterior profile of the barrels? Create a hollow cavity in the stock? For what I'd like to accomplish, a whole pound of weight would be nice. Anything less would not accomplish much - I'd still have a shotgun that was heavier than I want.

 

[excess650]

it isn't just about weight, its about balance too

 

[Rifleman1776]

Removing metal on a thin walled shotty would be a dangerous thing to do. You will not gain (lose) much be the wood removal you asked about. And, you would change the balance of the gun completely.

 

[stikshooter]

Perhaps sell and look for what you (really want) ! I'd buy but I like mine and can't buy two /Ed

 

[Sparkitoff]

Yeah, I guess instead of trying to cut weight off this kit I will get an already-lightweight gun and re-do it to my liking. Instead of taking weight off, finishing and putting together I will do the opposite. Take apart, remove finish(es), re-finish to liking and re-assemble.

 

[SOLANCO]

At 7.5 pounds my Pedersoli is overweight. I think most of it is in barrel walls that are noticeably thicker than the barrel walls of my unmentionable SxS guns.
Are there any SxS ML reproductions that weigh 5.5 or 6 lbs?

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

Good heavens, how thick are those barrels? Even if you don't get a pound off, you'd be surprised how light a more butt-balanced gun can feel in hand. So long as you can maintain .04" wall thickness at the thinnest point (just prior to the choke) and .2" at the breech, you should be good for reasonable shot loads (no 200gr charges with 3oz of shot or the crazy loads some on the forum are using to get around the fact that they have cyl. bored guns lol when hunting at modern shotgun distances). That would mean each of your barrels would taper from 1.18" down to .855" at the muzzle. Personally, I would go with a 1.2" down to .89" barrel, to add a little more durability.

You would basically have to remake the gun, in order to not have it look weird (stock fit, lock fit, excessive material between the barrels, re-soldering barrels, ect). Sell the Pedersoli, get a custom piece that fits what you want, in my opinion. They shouldn't cost any more than a Pedersoli for a basic one (or you can go crazy with the gold inlays, engravings, and carvings ).

 

[rdane]

Getting below 7# with any double muzzleloader would be tough.

 

[fleener]

Get rid of it. Your due for a nice old English side by side. Goes well with a great dog. Pedersoli shotguns serve a purpose but you can do much better with an original. I have a Greener 20 ga SxS that checks in just over 5 lbs. I should go weight some of the other doubles, not sure what they check in at. I got one old English gal that someone along time ago took a set of stamps and stamped in the stock, "big bertha". She is not the prettiest gal in the safe, but I like her.

Fleener

 

[Sparkitoff]

I've been looking for a lightweight English percussion double. A lot are in the 7-pound range. I found one yesterday that was 6 pounds 7 ounces. That a whole pound more than my vintage Pedersoli 12 gauge percussion gun. I found a Purdey that is a .52 winged conical rifled on one side and .56 smooth on the other. I might get it and make both barrels .58 smooth. It would go nicely with my Purdey SOSLE, hammergun and rifle. This one weighs 5 pound 12 ounces in the current configuration. I just don't know who will ream the tubes out to .58 for me.

 

[Wildrangeringreen]

Getting below 7# with any double muzzleloader would be tough.

especially in 10 bore, but I feel a 6.8-7 lb gun is doable (especially if you eliminate a loading rod and thimbles on the gun).

A 12 bore with 26" barrels tapering from 1.12" to .805" (each weigh roughly 2.45lbs), Two locks weigh .5lbs, A Butternut wood stock with a cavity in the butt and a splinter fore end should weigh .5 pound. A thin butt plate and simple trigger guard should weigh roughly .25 lbs. A wood rod should be .125 lbs. Barrel keys, breech plugs, and regulating wedge should only weigh .25 lbs together, and ribs should only weigh .125 oz together. That's 6.65 lbs.

A 20 bore double with 26" barrels tapering from 1" to .7" (2 lbs each) would reduce the weight to 5.67 lbs

a little .40 with 26" barrels tapering from .8" to .48" ( each barrel weighing 1.53lb) would weigh about 4.81lbs (that'd be a nifty rabbit gun)

By way of comparison, a .50 double rifle, with 26" barrels tapering from .9" to .75" (2.79lb each) would weigh about 7.33, but if you could control yourself on the heavy loads and were only going to use the rifle for deer and targets, you could shave the barrels down to .85"- .7" (2 lbs each), you'd have a rifle that would weigh 5.75 lbs (gotta add a ounce for sights). You'd just be stuck with heavy pistol loads ( 55gr and a sub 300gr projectile is perfectly adequate for deer within 150yd). Then again, you could get away with a 20" barrel in that "carbine" configuration (so long as you stuck with 3F or 4F for charges) and still gain quite a bit of velocity over a pistol (not to mention the stability of a shoulder stock). a 20" barrel of the light contour would weigh 1.55 lbs a piece, meaning the double carbine would weigh something like 4.9 lbs.

(before anyone worries about the wall thickness, keep in mind that the chamber wall of a Colt 1860 is roughly .050" thick, and that was meant to be able to be loaded with 30ish gr of powder and a 220gr bullet (A Colt Model that came out about 13 years latter was meant to be loaded with 40gr of powder and a 250gr bullet, and it's chamber walls were .045)) Not going to find guns like that from big MFG's, though, they're worried that you'll use a BP measure to volumetrically load smokeless in it and blow yourself up lol.

 

[necchi]

A point to ponder;
A "double" ML being too heavy is kind of a reality. But they do have a use, right?
First, just re-think what "heavy" means to you.
A guns over-all weight,, and it's "balance" are two different things.
Front heavy/muzzle heavy guns,, can find a better "shooting balance" by adding weight to the butt.
Before you start chopping and shaving, try adding weight to the very back and bottom of the butt, It's as simple as taping a 1# block of lead to the butt heal.
Experiment.
If it works,, take the butt plate off,, drill a hole in the wood and fill it with lead.
I've done it with a couple of guns,, ML and CF.
Proper "balance" helps so much with the hold and shooting.
If I needed a light weight field gun, it sure wouldn't be the gun in question.

 

[ohio ramrod]

Balance or weight is the question. Balance can often be improved by ADDING weight to the rear of the stock. I don't see any way of removing a significant amount of weight from a shotgun safely. Necchi beat me to the post.

 

[frankie]

This question is not so much about "building" but more about modifying a kit. In particular, the Pedersoli 10 gauge percussion shotgun happens to weigh the same as their finished 20 and 12 gauge percussion guns. They're too heavy in my opinion at 7 pounds, 4 ounces. How much weight could you possibly shed by thinning the stock, maybe sanding down the barrels extensively, eliminating some of the hardware or reducing it? A good -sized hole from the butt (I'm thinking an inch round and maybe 3-4 inches deep)?

Is there a whole pound of weight somewhere to shed? How would you go about it?

Thanks

Removing wood does not reduce weight by much at all. I definitely would not advize that.

 

[fleener]

I have a double that someone really hogged out a large portion of the butt stock. So much so that the toe developed a crack. I filled the cavity with insulating expanding foam to give it some rigidity without adding weight.

Fleener

 

[sussexmuzllodr]

Here,s an Idea. Weigh the Rifle. Find a small dumbell that is a few pounds over the Rifle weight. Do daily reps with the dumbell for about a month on each arm. Result...Rifle will not be as heavy as it used to seem. Problem solved and no wood removal.