Herter's Shells

[Walks]

WOW !

You guys are bringing up some old Guns.

I have a "Wards Western Field" in 20ga. To me it breaks down better then the M12/M1897. The "Western Field" is a model Savage 520/620, no "middle" hump. It rides in a Leg "O" Mutton case and was My Paternal GrandFathers favorite Shotgun. He did use a M12 3" for Geese & Ducks in his later years. I have that and My Dad"s M12 20ga. And there is a M1897 16ga Mod. 26" bbl too.
These are all "Family" guns.
And I have a 12ga '97 that I bought for Cowboy Shooting in 1989, it was cut to 20", refinished and "choke tubed" before I i got it. It does make it a heck of a fine Dove gun.

Interestingly enough all these Guns plus 1/2 doz more (ex. 12ga '97) were stored at My Maternal Grandfather's house. My Dad needed the storage room in His hidden secure attic storage in 1974. The burglary in Aug '74 wiped him out with the exception of the Colt Woodsman in the bedroom under His pillow and the Colt 1903 in His desk at the office.

He sold the 16ga & 20ga loader's shortly after. Winchester West - Watson Trap & Skeet Range closed in early 1975. The land was sold to build the container facility for the Port of Los Angeles. Then the Golden Valley Trap & Skeet range Closed a couple of years later.

That sorta killed off our places to shoot shotgun.

I tried estate shells when they first came out in the early 1990's. Thought they were made off-shore. Bought a sealed case of 10 boxes of 12ga. Found a 20ga shell in 1 box. Haven't bought any since.
Only loaded Winchester AA hulls since 1975, with few exceptions. The old REM RXP's and Active hulls were pretty good. REM Blue Magic's were great. And the Rem Premier hulls.

Just found that loading the best hulls produced the best loads.

Having a paper base wad getting stuck in your bbl is no fun.

[Hamish]

Walks,

The 520 I just bought is a Western Field too. The break down design is the coolest thing about it. I'm considering making a hard case for it. I have a real soft spot for "hardware store" guns.

My model 12 was the first shotgun Dad bought. It still has streaks of white paint on it where Mom dripped on it while painting the. closet it sat in, in the '60's. I just never could bring myself to clean them off.

AA's and Remington's in 12 for me too but I will load just about any hull I can get a good crimp on,,,,,,




Thanks for sharing a little family history!

[rking22]

Another dumpster diver here too! Sadly the new “improved” AA are not what they used to be. My son shot lots of factory AA and I sold the hulls until everybody figured out the Rem Gun Club was a much better hull.
All the talk about the 520 now has me wondering if I “need” one, thanks guys.

[Duckiller]

For those that have a Model 12 16 ga stamped 2 9/16 don't be in a hurry to buy short shells. My father had a Model 1 stamped 2 9/16 that he bought before I was born (probably in the 30's) When 2 3/4 shell came out he had his gun measured. It was chambered for the longer shells. This wasonly one gun and may have been a fluke. I missed getting a Parker double that was marked for shorter shells that the previous owner said he always shot longer shells with no problem. I am suspecious that there are a bunmch of16 ga gun stamped with 2 9/16 have 2 3/4 chambers well before the longer shell came out.

[rking22]

With the M12 the chamber length isn’t the problem, it’s the length of the ejection port. They eject black Remington game loads just fine. With the thinner plastic hulls of today, vs the paper of the “old” days, I don’t worry about the actual chamber length. Just me, others feel differently.

[richhodg66]

I just went and checked that Model 12 I bought recently, clearly states 2 3/4" Full choke. Kind of relieved.

Dang that's a nice gun. Model 12s never really tripped my trigger much before, always seemed big and clunky compared to an Ithaca 37, this one doesn't. Might have to take this one to the range Tuesday instead of the little Stevens 5100.

[rking22]

My 16ga M12 is lighter than any of my 20 ga pump guns, except the tiny M17. The 37 is very closely modeled on the M17, to the extent Ithaca had to wait for the last pattens to expire before going to market.
I agree with you on the 12 ha M12 , too big and heavy, but the small frames are sweet. Keep your eyes open for a M17, I have been buying every one I find.