Pedersoli SXS 20ga flint shotgun review

[hatman]

Recently, on a lark and a "dare" I bought two Pedersoli SXS 20 ga Standard Model flint shotguns for us "3 Amigos" skeet buddies to share to see if we could hit some skeet with them. I was a bit skeptical as I've had less than stellar results with Pedersoli flintlocks, but I'm fortunate enough to have the money to splurge even if this doesn't ultimately work out.
After two short sessions on the skeet range here are my comments.
The Good:
- Nice looking with decent fit and finish.
- They have nice standard checkering unlike the 'basket weave' on the Deluxe model.
- They have nice looking case-colored locks different from the bright on the Deluxe.
- The chrome barrels clean up nice and quick.

The Bad:
- The frizzen springs are REALLY heavy.
- The trigger pulls run from an estimated 9 to 16 pounds. Ugh.
- They require a very small flint just to get the flint to hit even 1/5 of the way down the frizzen face.
- The touch hole seems to be a bit low so if you're not careful it's easy to cover the hole with priming powder.
- Given all the above the lock time is REALLY slow which makes hitting the targets even more problematic. So far we're about one hit out of 10 birds.

The Ugly:
- The right lock comes out by removing a screw in front of the hammer and one in front of the frizzen spring, HOWEVER the left front lock screw is partially covered by the frizzen spring so the spring has to be removed to remove the lock. Both shotguns have this problem. I can't believe Pedersoli designed it this way on purpose.

We're discussing what we need to do to solve the heavy spring issues to give us better results. We'll see. As I stated above I'm lucky that if it doesn't work out the money spent won't be a huge deal.

I'm curious if any others have experience with this shotgun and what fixes, if any, you implemented.

 

[Britsmoothy]

I have reduced the frizen spring width before now (removed) and also warmed the spring still in the lock with a small torch. Be gentle with the heat, you only want it to yield a little set. Both methods worked.
The trigger weights are typical of Pedersoli. Maybe the sear bar spring is to long and crammed into the sear bar. Maybe the sear needs stoning.
The pans can be ground and polished deeper some.
Flash hole opened up to 1/16".
Once fixed, grease the locks with beeswax and olive oil grease and leave them be.

 

[Comfortably_Numb]

I don't know what you expected.

 

[Lorne Johnson]

Recently, on a lark and a "dare" I bought two Pedersoli SXS 20 ga Standard Model flint shotguns for us "3 Amigos" skeet buddies to share to see if we could hit some skeet with them. I was a bit skeptical as I've had less than stellar results with Pedersoli flintlocks, but I'm fortunate enough to have the money to splurge even if this doesn't ultimately work out.
After two short sessions on the skeet range here are my comments.
The Good:
- Nice looking with decent fit and finish.
- They have nice standard checkering unlike the 'basket weave' on the Deluxe model.
- They have nice looking case-colored locks different from the bright on the Deluxe.
- The chrome barrels clean up nice and quick.

The Bad:
- The frizzen springs are REALLY heavy.
- The trigger pulls run from an estimated 9 to 16 pounds. Ugh.
- They require a very small flint just to get the flint to hit even 1/5 of the way down the frizzen face.
- The touch hole seems to be a bit low so if you're not careful it's easy to cover the hole with priming powder.
- Given all the above the lock time is REALLY slow which makes hitting the targets even more problematic. So far we're about one hit out of 10 birds.

The Ugly:
- The right lock comes out by removing a screw in front of the hammer and one in front of the frizzen spring, HOWEVER the left front lock screw is partially covered by the frizzen spring so the spring has to be removed to remove the lock. Both shotguns have this problem. I can't believe Pedersoli designed it this way on purpose.

We're discussing what we need to do to solve the heavy spring issues to give us better results. We'll see. As I stated above I'm lucky that if it doesn't work out the money spent won't be a huge deal.

I'm curious if any others have experience with this shotgun and what fixes, if any, you implemented.

I've never even seen the Pedersoli Flintlock shotgun, but I do have experience with the percussion versions. On the percussion locks, if the bridle screws are tightened right up, the trigger pulls get very heavy. Backing them off helps that quite a lot. It's more or less a form of adjustment for trigger pull (not a very good one). The bridle scews are in held in place by the wood of the stock behind them, not so much by torque.

Thank you for your review! Much appreciated.