Indians For Guns

hi,

my brothers license finally came in yesterday. it took over 10 months of running around to get it..

and of course the ammunition quota is 10 rounds only per year, but that can be rectified in the future.

anyway so we have picked up a 16 bore SxS shotgun by Arthur Howell & Co.

it a beautiful gun, not a sidelock but the condition is good, even most of the orignal case harding remain.

and ideal all purpose gun imho, significantly lighter than a 12 bore and almost as effective at the normal ranges and whats more shaktiman is making 16 bore shells.



rajat

Hi Rajat,

Congratulations on the new purchase!

Be careful of the Shaktiman rounds - I don't know if their quality has improved now but some time ago there were a lot of stories of very high pressure loads. I know one person in Hyderabad who cracked the action of his 12ga. SxS when he fired a Shaktiman cartridge.

Is KF not manufacturing ammo any more???

Cheers,

Marc

Hi Rajat,

That must be a beautiful gun. Congrats.If you can post a few pics, that will be great.


Marc,

I regularly shot Shaktiman Express Ball cartridges in our Astra SXS.No issues.In fact, I am surprised at the low noise and kick.Just a low boom.The results were quite the contrary,though. They warn against using their cartridges in undersized chambers. Can that be a cause in your friend's case? I know the barrel should have taken a hit.But.......

Best- Vikram

hi,

yes it is a very delightful gun. i shall try and post pics soon.

i think the reason that your friend 12 ga got busted, is that he must have used a 2.75 inch round in a 2.5 inch chamber.

most of the old guns in india have 2.5 inch chambers and some even have 2 inch chamber and most of the owners of these guns are not aware of this and use NRAI imported ammunition (dont ask how they get hold of it) and all NRAI import is 2.75 inches.

also shaktiman make slugs, BB, and No 1 shot shells in 12 gauge and they are all 2.75 inches.

only the paper KF shells are 2.5 inches and i have heard that KF have stopped making these now and are only making 2.75 inch "Magna" and "Astram" shells.

anyway my 16 gauge has 2.5 inch chambers and is marked for 1 oz of shot and the shaktiman shells that i have got are 2.5 inchs and have 15/16 oz of shot, so nothing very dramatic should happen.

KF also claim to make 16 and 20 gauge shells, however i have never ever see one.



rajat

KF 16 bore gun shells have not been seen in ndian markets for a long long time. My total stock is 4 pieces of no. 1 shot produced in late 1980s.

Seller & Bellet make some high quality 16 bore carridges, I have a small collection of about 50 no. 6 shot which was a gift from the Maharaja of Dumaraon to my elder brother Kaiser.

The 16 bore we use ( seldom ) is a Holland & Holland paradox with 28 inch barell. A pretty nifty weapon but it is loseing popularity now.

i have owned and used a 16 bore gun a long time ago,
during those times the ammo was pretty tough to obtain. did my own handloading , but a 16 is a pleasure to handle. congrats on your new acquisition rajat

here are some pictures of the 16 gauge. notice how small the bores appear to be.


rajat

beauiful gun rajat congrats once again

congrats!!!!!!!!!!!

That's a sweet looking gun Rajat - congratulations!

BTW, when are you guys making your next trip to Delhi? Do let me know in advance, we should meet up for a few pints...

Cheers!
Abhijeet

Very nice looking gun,Rajat.Did you shoot it?

Best-
Vikram

Rajat,
Good gun.How do you source the ammo,it's not manufactured anymore by IOF.
Is it easily available.
Thanks
Sanjay

hi,

i do shoot it once in awhile, it very light so it does kick a bit

ammo is bit of a issue. shaktiman does make 16 gauage shells in No 1, thats what i normally use, of course very easy to turn No 1's into 6 or 7's

here are some more pics



rajat

p.s - abhijeet i will in delhi on 19th april.

A bore that is loseing popularity very fast. However during the heydays, 16 bore guns were quite popular.

The mantle has passed on to the 20 bore now, with 12 and 20 being the most popular guns. In continental Europe although 16 bore is still used much more than other places.

For people interested in the 16 bore

www.16ga.com

There are still a good many dedicated 16 bore shooters to keep the cartridge alive I believe.

Best-
Vikram