Pedersoli Classic with both barrels bulged.

LawrenceA said:

Can you feel a bulge on the inside?
I think Britsmoothy is kinda right and it left the factory that way.
Would suggest it was destined to be screw in chokes but didn't.

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My last zabala unmentionable sxs had screw in chokes and that had swollen exteriors at the muzzles.
It was rated for 3" high pressure steel too.

Of course we don't know what other contract barrels Pedersoli make. Maybe the wrong two got mixed up in the wrong bin!

Have you shot it? If so, does it pattern well? Seems to me there are two simple choices, cut it or shoot it!
Nit Wit

nit wit said:

Have you shot it? If so, does it pattern well? Seems to me there are two simple choices, cut it or shoot it!
Nit Wit

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Agreed

Pedersoli is a manufacturer..., as such minor simplification of the process = cash to them. So when going from older style choked barrels to screw-in chokes, it makes manufacturing sense to make barrels that are cylinder bore capable of having screw-in chokes installed. Then for the model variations that are sold cylinder bore, Pedersoli does nothing, and for the versions that are screw in chokes, those chokes are then installed on those models.

As another poster mentioned, it's also not uncommon for a manufacturer to have an "off" day. I would not be surprised if you contacted Pedersoli and they checked the serial number and it was discovered that your barrels left the factory before they had their intended screw-in chokes installed.

LD

Rudall said:

Presumably you haven’t owned that gun since it was made. Could that damage not have occurred at any time since it left the factory?

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Hi mate, hope you’re well.
No, I’m not the original owner. I bought it in 2019 used, and there is no telling how many homes it has had. As far as ‘damage’ goes, I can’t see any signs of harm or misadventures internally or externally. Accomplished clay shooters have borrowed it and broken 40 in a row!
I have a Pedersoli rifle made in the 1970’s that didn’t have a muzzle crown whatsoever! Obviously a chop-saw cut barrel blanks to length and that was good enough!

However there are guys in my club that have modern Pedersoli rifles and muskets and they are exquisite in their quality control and finish. Nowadays there probably the top of the line in reproduction historical firearms

not to sound conformist, but i concur with the forming consensus that there might be nothing wrong with the functionality of the piece. if your gunsmith feels that it's safe to do so, but some shot through it and if nothing dreadful happens (and you don't mind the small visual defect, get to the pattern board and make good smoke.

good luck with your project

@Widows Son, based on the performance demonstrated by the shooters who have broken 40 clay birds in a row, I would believe that other than a cosmetic issue, there is nothing either safety wise or performance wise to prevent use of your shotgun.

andy52 said:

Could be it was a screw-in choke gun and someone tried to remove the threads (poorly). If I didn't have too much invested in it I'd just shorten it to maybe a coach gun.

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Ya, I had both 10 and 12 Petes and both were slugged up like that to accommodate threading for the screw-in chokes

Grenadier1758 said:

@Widows Son, based on the performance demonstrated by the shooters who have broken 40 clay birds in a row, I would believe that other than a cosmetic issue, there is nothing either safety wise or performance wise to prevent use of your shotgun.

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Hi mate, nice to hear from you again.
You are correct, Sir. It is a perfectly functional and reliable shotgun. It’s so balanced it almost floats to the shoulder!
I’m not exaggerating, the fella that borrowed it knew nothing about muzzleloaders and I loaded the gun for him. He uses some modern Beretta over/under thing. I wish I had made a video. It was Boxing Day 2020.

I had read that muzzleloading shotguns are just about equal to smokeless shotguns. That morning demonstrated it. Riflemen are scientists, Shotgunners are artists.

Anyway, getting back on topic…cosmetics aside, the OP could have a fine piece

As suggested above, just send Pedersoli an email with your questions. Give them the serial number and they will tell you what they know about the gun. Here is the response I got when I asked about a used gun I had just bought:

https://www.muzzleloadingforum.com/threads/another-pedersoli-sxs.109400/#post-1482936
And FWIW, I have three of them and I don't see any issues with yours.

I have seen that on odd cartridge guns normal procedure I gather is to put in a plug and hammer the bulges back if they bother you. Simple. In uk I would pop up to town and get them reproved but it’s around £140 for a double so just stoke up a decent load and reproof

1985 Pedersoli 12g Standard Shotgun

Hi Glenn, you wrote it dates 1991, what about the previous owner? Can you be sure how the shotgun was treated?

I think if I were you I would contact Pedersoli . Asking for a new barrel in exchange for the one you have , is not reaching for the moon. I would shoot the gun, as is ,instead of cutting the barrels . You might try patterning the gun to see what the bulges are doing, if anything, to where you are aiming.

3Setters said:

Interesting, you helped age my Pedersoli, mine weighs just over 5.5 pounds.

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You do realize that there is a proofing date code on the bottom of the barrels? Here is a link to an article posted in the General Muzzloading sub forum Modern Replica Dating by Proof Marks , and a chart with more current and future dates. Note that around 2020 some manufacturers started using the numeric year instead of the letters for date codes.

My two cents worth --- two indications that these SXS barrels were to have screw-in chokes from the factory. First tip-off to me are the barrel wall thickness and second is the "flair" of the last few inches of both barrels. As other posters have said that these barrels were installed on a classic model and not the standard model with screw-in chokes. If it shoots well I would not be concerned with it -- as for the over-all looks of the gun that's another story .

Thanks SD. now I just need to take a few minutes to pull off the barrels and look for the date stamp

Widows Son said:

Hi mate, hope you’re well.
No, I’m not the original owner. I bought it in 2019 used, and there is no telling how many homes it has had. As far as ‘damage’ goes, I can’t see any signs of harm or misadventures internally or externally. Accomplished clay shooters have borrowed it and broken 40 in a row!
I have a Pedersoli rifle made in the 1970’s that didn’t have a muzzle crown whatsoever! Obviously a chop-saw cut barrel blanks to length and that was good enough!

However there are guys in my club that have modern Pedersoli rifles and muskets and they are exquisite in their quality control and finish. Nowadays there probably the top of the line in reproduction historical firearms

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if it ain't broke and functions, leave it alone & have shooting it.

Britsmoothy said:

The muzzles seem very thick compared to all the Pedersolis I have owned!
The 8year old final inspection boy must of been off that day.

Just shoot it and enjoy.

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Yes the muzzles look really thick, likely intended for screw-in chokes, or possibly had the screw-in chokes replaced with fixed chokes.

Britsmoothy said:

At some point in the eighties the Pedersoli sxs's got chubby gaining about a pound.
The OP's one could be the experiment prototype that somehow escaped the labority. Utilising relief choking and constriction choking it was designed to achieve the first muzzleloader to take 100 yard turkeys!

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Well now that is a new concept for me. I have never herd of "Relief choking". But then I am a relative newcomer to Black powder, got my first, a Caplock Hawken about 10 years ago. This is going to be my first foray into BP shotguns.

andy52 said:

Could be it was a screw-in choke gun and someone tried to remove the threads (poorly). If I didn't have too much invested in it I'd just shorten it to maybe a coach gun.

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Not much invested other than time and labor.