Why Vintage Firearms Mandate Careful Ammunition Selection

[Hunter-Habib]

A young friend went duck hunting today, with his 1953 made 12 gauge (2.75”) fully choked BSA (Birmingham Small Arms) Model XII. Those of you who’ve read my autobiography, will know that this shotgun once belonged to my late paternal uncle and I used it extensively for wing shooting during my youth.

The gun’s current owner has been using the weapon responsibly (ever since he purchased it one year ago) and only runs 36 gram loads through it, since the shotgun is proofed for 1 1/4 Oz of lead shot (he is currently using Sellier & Bellot Fortuna 36 gram No. 4s). Despite this, the gun developed a problem recently.

Contrast the gun’s current condition with how it was in November 2024 (when the young man first purchased it).

In my opinion, vintage firearms will always have charm & great character. But when it comes to metallurgical superiority, modern firearms hold the definite edge.

 

[bigborelover]

Sir i have a question. Will a older firearm like this become essentially useless if a manufacture goes bankrupt or stops manufacturing bullets for a particular gun. Something like what happened to english calibers after kynoch went bankrupt.

 

[mark-hunter]

But when it comes to metallurgical superiority, modern firearms hold the definite edge.

This is why I prefer modern OU, steel shot proofed, in 12/76 gauge, but shooting mostly 12/70 loads.
Thank you for report!

 

[Tex .416]

Reading your history with this gun makes this a very sad sight. My first shotgun was a single shot 20 gauge. It was good to learn to make the shot count.

 

[Hogpatrol]

Could be repaired with the knowledge that another failure point may appear.

 

[leslie hetrick]

it could be fixed with some sort welding, but would most likey fail in and other area. it maybe time to hang in on the wall and remember the good times he had a field hunting with it.

 

[grand veneur]

Sir i have a question. Will a older firearm like this become essentially useless if a manufacture goes bankrupt or stops manufacturing bullets for a particular gun. Something like what happened to english calibers after kynoch went bankrupt.

Not in all cases, but anyone using an old firearm needs to be familiar with the ammunition used at the time and adjust their current used ammunition accordingly. It is clear that the iron used for building our modern firearms is superior to those of 100 years ago, but the barrels were also at the time adapted to the burning rates of the powders used. The absolut majority of this powders were fast burning ones. In practice, all of this must be taken into account with older firearms, and if suitable ammunition is no longer available, reloading is necessary to produce cartridges that are as close as possible to the originals. The type of bullets or shots to be used also needs to be taken into account.

 

[Sarg]

That’s a sad sight for sure, Shaiaz will be very unhappy ?

With our new Firearm law changes we are cutting up & scrapping many older firearms not worth the trouble to register & many single barrel shotguns are amongst them !

In West Africa, nearly every Man & Child had a 12ga single barrel shotgun, with some few SxS, almost to the gun Russian Baikals, some in unbelievably bad state having a steady diet of Buckshot !

 

[grand veneur]

My guide in Burkina Faso always carried a single barrel shotgun too. It was 12ga Simplex from Manufrance. Its condition was also a bit questionable. I always bought him, before wie were going hunt buffalo, birdshots N°7 that was safe to shoot in his gun, but I know that he also shot occasionally buckshot and slugs in this rifle.

 

[Sarg]

My guide in Burkina Faso always carried a single barrel shotgun too. It was 12ga Simplex from Manufrance. Its condition was also a bit questionable. I always bought him, before wie were going hunt buffalo, birdshots N°7 that was safe to shoot in his gun, but I know that he also shot occasionally buckshot and slugs in this rifle.

I found a pic of one of the better (lol) ones.

Note the full length kitchen knife attached to calf & rubber taped to the stock !

 

[grand veneur]

In the background of this picture, you can see a bolt action rifle that the same guide also carried at times. The rifle caliber 10,75x68 was quite rusty and had no sights. He also seems to have had very little or perhaps no ammunition for it. I also owned a rifle of this caliber at that time, but on the advice of the local outfitter I absolutely should not given the guide any ammunition, not because the rifle was unsafe, what it was, but as he did not trust him regarding poaching.

 

[Shootist43]

Hunter Habib, "before throwing the baby out with the bath water" I'd take the shotgun to a competent gunsmith and ask for his opinion. A little grinding coupled with a simple "mig" or "tig" weld might be all that is necessary. Old metallurgy might be inferior but big bores are still being built on P-14 and M-17 actions.

 

[RedTag]

I think this is good old fashioned metal fatigue, from the gun being opened and closed a great many times, not necessarily an ammunition compatibility problem. The gun should have been fine with the ammunition you specified. Avoiding steel shot would of course be prudent as would avoiding any sort of slug or specifically high velocity loads. I personally tend to think the 1950s in particular was a time when material science and manufacturing technology were pretty well balanced with traditional design and competent craftsmanship. But nothing is perfect and everything wears out eventually. Maybe time to hang this one on the wall beside some photos of her former glory.

 

[grand veneur]

I would not repair it either, because if a fatigue cracks appears in one place, it can appear somewhere else. Despite the good reputation of this type of single barrel shotguns, it remains a mass-produced item with all the defects that can occur during the production. Even the best proofing of a rifle is a one-time test, which does not guarantee how a rifle will perform over long term.