Home Forums Birds & Dogs Shotguns Browning Double Automatic Twelvette; Which Loads?

I am in the process of purchasing an early 1960s aluminum receiver Browning Double Auto Twelvette that’s in really nice shape. I’m going to hunt with the gun and am not concerned about the 1 1/8 oz dove and quail loads I will use.

For pheasant, do I need to stick with the standard 1 1/4 oz @ 1,330 loads, or am I ok using using 1 3/8 oz loads? Fiocchi has a lower velocity Golden Pheasant plated shot load 1 3/8 oz @ 1,250 that I really like, but I do not want to beat up the gun unnecessarily. Thoughts?

Thanks in advance,
Expat

what is it plated with?
those guns were prone to cracking forearms and in the grips if pushed. and...those old bbls were meant for lead. if its plated shot, it wont scratch the bore...but id still be worried about it not giving any as it goes thru the choke. might bulge the bore. your gun your call.
I owned and collected d.a's. I was nice to mine. I never shot anything over 1 1/8oz lead.

The Golden Pheasant load I was referring to has nickel plated shot.

I've read Randy Wakeman and a couple of other sources that say the standard 1 1/4 @ 1330 load is not a problem in the Twelvette. My thought was there might be enough weight/velocity trade off that the heavier but slower 1 3/8 @ 1250 would be ok. I didn't consider possible consequences from shot plating. Many thanks.

bobski, what do do think of the Federal Heavy Field Load as an alternative in these guns? Its numbers are 1 1/4 oz @ 1220.

I don't like to remember how many guns I bought from hunters that cracked their wood.
it cracks so often that finding sets today is hens teeth.
heres an example..............

Many thanks, bobski. Point taken.

Doesn’t some of that have to do with over-tightening the barrel?

We’ve gone magnum-crazy in the shotgun world, and as Bobski said, lighter loads have multiple benefits.

In lead ammunition, there is no reason for velocities higher than about 1250 fps, and closer to 1200 is better. The ballistics of round lead pellets are horrible - the faster they are launched the faster they slow down, such that those 1300 fps+ loads are going only marginally faster at the ranges where we’d like it to matter, upwards of 40 yards. Further, additional velocity serves to decrease pattern effectiveness due to shot compression upon firing, rendering more deformed shot that quickly exit the pattern.

The late Bob Brister, the undeclared dean of modern U.S. shotgunning (and a heck of a nice guy) highly touted the old live pigeon load - 3 1/4 (1220 fps) DE, 1 1/4 oz of shot appropriate to the game and conditions. I have found in my own pheasant hunting over more than 50 years that he was right. These loads hold together well in longish ranges, especially through most modified and improved modified chokes.

Another interesting factoid is that the larger the shot used, the less it is deformed during the shot. I have found the sweet spot, taking shots as they come, to be #5. Federal’s plain Jane blue box field loads with this load and #5s are terrific.

And on the business of cracked fore-ends, my experience is that loose fore-ends and screws getting loose (in double guns) are the prime culprits. Heavy loads exacerbate the problem and create problems of their own.

These classic loads are easy on the gun and the shooter yet tough on the birds and just plain work. I would use them in your Browning with no worries. Put the pattern on the pheasant and you’ll have him in the bag.

Thanks for the response, GF1, you are reading my mind.

Federal has two versions of their 3-1/4 dram equivalent Heavy Field Load; 1-1/8oz of 8, 7.5, 6, 4 @ 1,255 and 1-1/4oz of 7.5, 6, 5, 4 @ 1,220.

Throw in Federal's 1-1/8oz Top Gun Target Loads and that is about all I will shoot.

recoil cracks from heavy loads tend to go into the wrist. there were 4 design variations that were tried to correct the issue.
the original steel receivers were flat and smooth. as the stock loosened, it would twist. cracks would form on the bottom behind the guard.
2nd design added a stud on the top of the face of the receiver. as the wood twisted, a crack would appear on top.
then, channels were cut in the sides of the receiver face and the wood was redesigned to be inserted in these channels. then cracks formed on the sides.
last design eliminated the stud and they went with beefier grooves. it tended to work. but by 1971...people grew tired of the gun.
I sold my entire collection and bought a farm.
never looked back.
seems whenever I hear d.a., its like a bad nighmare.
on the forearm cracking.....many people mixed bbl designs on guns. the gun would recoil and the channel on the forearm would split as the bbls OD spread it. (as many know...there were 20wt bbls and 20wt forearms.
the 2 cant mix with standard d.a.s....not to mention there were 3-4 variations of bbl rail designs all needing hand fit into the receiver. file it crooked, bbl did weird things. (st Louis-st Louis pq-st louis pq hertsal, fabrquie nationale hertsal) all had different dimensions of the action rail.
the pic above is from and exploded bbl using mag loads in an early 12vette.
like I say...your gun your call.
sorry if im being devils advocate, but it would appear to me youre set on what you want to do.
be safe and remember..collectors love you guys.
the more that get ruined, the more valuable the ones that survive become.....;>

I appreciate the feedback, bobski. All of the wood looks good in the detailed pictures the seller provided, but I know there are limits to what pictures show. I will look at it in person today and will pass if there are cracks. There is some staining on the bolt. If I buy it, I want to give it a solid cleaning and if needed, polish the bolt. Are there specific cleaners to use or avoid because of the anodized aluminum receiver?