Konor

Still searching for 10 bore ammo W.H.Y.

Best of luck. I hope you discover a nice bit of grain under the varnish.

If you were to take off ie unscrew what looks like a curved butt plate at the base of your stock would that not leave the butt straight at the bottom like mine

MS the butt was straight cut as original.The original plastic butt plate was flat facing the stock and slightly curved on the other side ie where it made contact with the shoulder. Is the end of your stock not cut straight?

Here is a picture of the 101 before refinishing

I refinished the stock on my Classic Doubles 101 ,the last version produced by the factory making the Winchester 101s. The removal of the original finish was time consuming but worth it as the CCL kit I used to oil finish it brought out the grain and really improved it. I fitted an ISIS pad by buying an oversized pad then fitted it onto the stock scribed round the shape of the bottom of the stock onto the pad then sent it back to the firm who buffed it down to fit. Cost was under £40 including postage plus the cost of the pad.It’s a green pad but I coloured it black with the permanent marker they supplied. Best of luck with the improvements they are worth doing as it’s a classic over and under. Picture shows my 101 on the right

Thanks Salmo they sound perfect ,I’ve been looking around since we spoke and finding any 10 bore ammo is difficult so your offer is much appreciated. Hopefully reloading will ensure a steady supply of ammo when I get organised. All the best ,John

10 bore cartridges required ideally 2oz or less load for comparatively light single barrel ten 3 1/2 inch chamber Willing to travel to collect if within 2 hours or so travel from Central Belt in Scotland .Preferably lead loads for inland goose/duck but anything considered ,please pm , Thanks

That’s a substantial extra weight derbyduck ,I will bear it in mind when I’m setting up my own. What weight was your HandR without the 3lb lead fitted?

Thanks I get your reasoning. I was hoping someone would advise on non steel non toxic loads and the practicality of using them in a 10 bore load. I have no idea of cost but was hoping that reloading around 50 cartridges a year would be a possibility expense wise. I have never reloaded before so I am at the start of what is probably going to be a steep learning curve.

Thanks for that it seems a sensible way to proceed. I was thinking of a sub 2 oz lead load for inland and a load for the shore but don't know what is my best option for a non toxic load.

What would be a practical alternative to steel on the shore for a light 10 bore? I would probably be using less than 50 cartridges a season. I wouldn’t want to be putting maximum loads through the gun but was hoping for a nicely balanced load that would pattern well from its 1/2 choke and perhaps accept that I would have to limit my range. Thats a good idea and may be an option that I’ll go with once I’ve had a few shots with it. Stock is solid so I would need to bore out some wood to accommodate the lead. What would be a reasonable weight to add ?

It did come from Holts from their unsold lots. The barrels are sound clean with no pitting and probably reblued . The stock was very pale in colour but I’ve stained and red oiled it and that’s bringing out the grain. I’m quite happy to come off a flight with one goose so no concerns about only having the one shot. There will be a lack of a follow up shot on a wounded bird but that can happen on your second shot when you have two barrels available. I’m looking forward to getting out with it I’ll update when the season opens.

I’ve just started on the stock ,it was very light and varnished when it arrived

I’ve put a lot of 1 and 5/8 oz through an aya cosmos 3 inch and 1 and 7/8 oz through both an aya number 3 magnum and classic doubles 101 and found it acceptable at the time. Few shots and the excitement of getting a shot seems to combine to distract from the wallop. The 10 is an unknown though, although a while back I was occasionally able to borrow an aya side by side or remington semi 10 for going down the shore but that was before the lead ban.