Pedersoli Shotgun Comparison

[Riggerjon]

I have two made by Pedersoli 12 gauge muzzleloading shotguns I acquired that were made about 20 years apart. The first one I bought in 1971 and is a Pedersoli imported by Replica Arms. It has 30 inch browned barrels, chrome bores and is choked full and modified as near as I can tell. Length of pull is right at 14 inches. Drop at the comb is 1 and 3/16 inches and at the heel 2 inches. When I shoulder it I see a lot of barrel like a trap gun. It weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces. I see a lot of old Navy Arms Pedersoli imports but I haven't seen any other Replica Arms Pedersoli imports.

The second one was manufactured in 1992 and has blued barrels 27.5 inches long. The chokes on it are the same as the older gun full and modified with chrome bores. Length of pull is real close to the same as older gun. Drop at the comb is 1.5 inches and at the heel 2.5 inches. It weighs 6 pounds 15.5 ounces. This one shoulders like my 870 and feels more natural when hunting. They are both fun to shoot but handle differently due to the difference in stock dimensions and weight.

 

[Kansas Jake]

Thanks riggerjohn. Nice to see the side by side comparison. I have a 1989 vintage Navy Arms by Pedersoli similar to yours but maybe a shade heavier. It may be the Turkey Trap since it appears to be choked full and full and is actually close to 13 gauge although marked 12.

 

[smoothshooter]

I have two made by Pedersoli 12 gauge muzzleloading shotguns I acquired that were made about 20 years apart. The first one I bought in 1971 and is a Pedersoli imported by Replica Arms. It has 30 inch browned barrels, chrome bores and is choked full and modified as near as I can tell. Length of pull is right at 14 inches. Drop at the comb is 1 and 3/16 inches and at the heel 2 inches. When I shoulder it I see a lot of barrel like a trap gun. It weighs 5 pounds 12 ounces. I see a lot of old Navy Arms Pedersoli imports but I haven't seen any other Replica Arms Pedersoli imports.

The second one was manufactured in 1992 and has blued barrels 27.5 inches long. The chokes on it are the same as the older gun full and modified with chrome bores. Length of pull is real close to the same as older gun. Drop at the comb is 1.5 inches and at the heel 2.5 inches. It weighs 6 pounds 15.5 ounces. This one shoulders like my 870 and feels more natural when hunting. They are both fun to shoot but handle differently due to the difference in stock dimensions and weight.




View attachment 201244View attachment 201245View attachment 201249View attachment 201250

Do Pedersoli’s have the patent breeches with the reduced sized powder chambers?

 

[Riggerjon]

I had to look up patent breech to see what they are. From what I read I would say they are chambered breeches. The breech plug reduces down from bore diameter and the nipple fires into that reduced area.

 

[gpsd55]

Great guns, the 20s are about the same weight as the 12s. The 10s are a bit heavier and have longer barrels.

 

[Lorne Johnson]

There's a member (Sparkitoff I think) looking to aquire a 1970's era Pedersoli 12, just so you know.

The 2000 era Pedersoli 12 that I used to have had stock dimension matching your 1970's gun. I'm pretty sure that Navy Arms ordered quite a lot of guns from Pedersoli with the 1 1/2 2 1/2 drop at comb and heel. I saw one once, so they are around at least in the used market.

 

[Riggerjon]

Update:
I decided to try and determine just how much choke my Pedersoli double barrel shotguns have. The barrels on one of them are marked 18.2 which translates to .717 making it just on the upper side of midway between 12 and 13 gauge. The barrels at the muzzle measure .697 and .707 as best as I can measure taking the average of several caliper measurements. That gives a restriction of .020 and .010 respectively for a choke of improved cylinder and modified.
The other one is marked 18.3 making it .720. The barrels on it measure .700 and .717 giving one a light skeet and the other a modified choke.
The next time I get a chance I am going to pattern them and see if that is what they actually are. The one with the 18.2 has a date code of 1971 and the other is 1992.

 

[Lorne Johnson]

I have a 1970'2 Pedersoli that mics at .710 and .708, and am confident that they are both cylinder. I also had an early 2000's Pedersoli that was close to your later model (which I eventually sold). It was sold as cylinder and modified and weighed about 7 lbs 4 ounces. Both are stocked high, as is your early gun. I looked at an early Navy Arms 12 gauge that was stocked 1.5 at comb and 2.5 at heel (I can't shoot that,need a high stock--something about my cheek bones).

Regarding choke, if you impale an overshot or over powder wad on your ram rod, you can feel where it moves more easily in the bore as it passes the end of the choke, or does not, indicating no choke. You might also be able to make a very rough quantification of how much choke, as in "a little", or "a lot". I know of Pedersoli shipping guns that were cyl x cyl, cl x mod, and mod x full (Richard Beauchamp's "trap special'), and there may well be other variations.

My intended point is that there is considerable variation in Pedersoli guns. Different marketer's had different requirements, and Pedersoli honored the specifications of large orders (within a few thousandths).