Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters Any 10ga Double Experts here ?

Good luck with your search!

One more note on my experience with 10-gauge SxSs. One I owned for a while was another Spanish gun, imported by an American company, that had very plain wood, and the steel Parkerized. It was choked more open at the factory, to shoot steel, and it worked very well--but I have never been much of a steel-shot fan, preferring to use softer non-toxics. Also kinda like shotguns that look nicer.

Which is how I ended up with the Armas Erbi. It was for sale here on the Campfire Classifieds a while back for a very good price, so I bought it and after trying both Bismuth and Ballistic Products Original ITX-10 found the gun patterned them both very well. Yeah, they're both pricier than steel, but I got a good supply some years ago when they weren't so pricey, enough to last a long time.

Can't remember which kind of shot I used on the pair of white-fronted geese shown in the photo, partly because I took both kinds on that hunt, and partly because it took place in 2015. But both were dropped cleanly at 50+ yards.

The Ithaca NID 3.5" would be a grail gun for me, I'd never ever modify it in anyway but I would have to handle it personally before I forked over the cash. Meaning it would have to fit. Those Berettas make more sense if a guy needs to alter to fit or choke work. For a using 10 it's damn hard to beat a BPS Stalker in 26 or 28" barrels. The 10 seems on its way out again but I sure like them for pass shooting geese...mb

For steel a 10 cannot be beat, especially the old 1 3/4 ounce Drylok loads.

With the lead loads in 12 gauge Winchesters Longbeards my 10 couldn't keep up. It would shoot a pattern about 5 -8 yards short of what the LB loads do in my Gold 3" 12. Both with good extra full turkey chokes.

I preferred my Ithaca Mag 10 to the doubles, but I quit waterfowl hunting with the universal non-tox mandate. I did hunt late season chukar with the Mag 10 for a couple of years, when the birds flushed no closer than 40-50 yards out. I once dropped four with the first shot on a rise. I needed only two more to limit. It's a good thing my partner was two shy, also.

I never could hit a barn with my friend's Zabala/Richland SXS. I flinched real bad after the first time I shot it.

Why do you think that is 10gaugemag ??
Also how much better are the longbeards as I have a slew of long barrel 12ga 3" Magnums ? Do they have a better Wad system (Like the Flitecontrol Buckshot ?)
Thanks👍🤠

I had a Browning 10ga Auto and it was great and did some amazing shots years back....But want a double now for the collection and maybe a Turkey soon?

Wanting one is good enough for me.

All in the design with the epoxy or whatever the stuff is holding the shot together and protecting it.

I was shooting 1 3/4 ounce 3" in my 12 and the 2 or 2 1/4 oz loads in the 10. The LB loads were an eye opener and throw a hell of a pattern, my gun is very picky and will not patterns as good as a lot of other 3" guns. Some of the LB patterns posted on the net are flat wicked, 18" or less at 40 yards, mine a fuzz over 20" at 40.

The old 10 was just with standard XX magnums or 2 1/4 ounce Remingtons, the edge always going to Remingtons in 3 or 4 BPS shotguns, 1 Remington SP-10 & a Browning Gold 10.

2 ounce loads no matter the brand in the 10 did okay but not as good as the heavy loads. They do use a Flitecontrol wad in the 10 now so that probably helped but I doubt it would catch it up to the 12 with Longbeards unless you chokes it more. I had a XX Comp-n-Choke for my 10, a XXX may have helped but I like 4 or 5 shot.

For me the Longbeards are too tight unless shooting over 40 yards. In the timber with 25- 30 yard shots a standard magnum load in a full choke is just fine.

I gave my 10 to my best friends oldest boy. He thought he wanted a 10 so I obliged. I killed a few long range birds with it but quite a few of the birds I shot could have been killed with a .410 or 28. Closest about 6', with quite a few others under 25 yards, no need for all of that weight when a smaller gauge is just as deadly under 50.

Now if Winchester would build LB in the 10 that would bring it back and give it that 10 yard advantage over the 12 in my opinion. At that point sniping turkeys at 50+ yards kills the thrill in my opinion.

You will have e a PM in a bit with a couple LB pics from my 12.

Do you mean you WANT hunting guns that you've essentially owned dozens of times before? What a surprise!

Don't bother answering--unles you WANT to!

I have four 10ga shotguns but only one double. My SxS is a cheaper Spanish made model called "Pride of Spain". I've heard some people call it the POS. Mine was purchased years ago when you could get them very cheap on the used market. The factory Full/Full barrels measured around .735" and with Turkey loads it really was only a 35 yard gun. The patterns weren't anything to write home about but it did shoot to point of aim unlike many cheap doubles. For three years I scoured Ebay and Gunbroker looking for Briley thin wall choke tubes for sale. I managed to find around a half dozen choke tubes in that time and they were super cheap as there is no real market/demand for 10ga Briley thread thin walls. A good friend of mine is a master tool and die maker so he made the tooling and threaded the barrels for the Briley pattern. With .705" choke tubes and old school Winchester Supreme XX 2 1/4oz. #4's or #5's ( I have a flat of that ammo) it's a 50 yard turkey slayer. It's also great for shooting crows with a 1 5/8oz. load and .725" x .720" choke tubes.