Straight-Rifled SxS Husqvarna 16ga - is this a Double Rifle, or a Shotgun?

Hello All,

I recently acquired a strange old Husqvarna SxS 16ga. Its a model 20 side-swing under-lever from 1908. But, it has full-length "straight rifled" barrels - "no twist". So, is this a double rifle, or a shotgun?

I slugged the barrels and they measure .670" bore and .690" groove. There are 12 lands and grooves - no choke.

In researching I found that these strange double rifled shotguns were used for Moose hunting in Sweden in the early 1900's.

The straight rifling was an economical way to circumvent the Swedish game laws of the day that banned hunting Moose with smoothbores. The new law stated you had to use a rifled gun.

So, Husqvarna built these Side by Sides with full length rifled barrels with "straight rifling" to meet the new law. Now you had a "rifled" bore for the Moose hunt, but you could still load the gun with bird shot and go bird hunting without destroying the shot pattern. Rifling the barrels with a "twist" would have "swirled" the shot pattern, whereas the straight rifling did not.



Now, I decided that I wanted to shoot it, so I set about loading some ammo.

Finding data for a 16ga that shoots solids is nearly impossible. I had to use a lot of "seat-of-the-pants" interpretation. I have loaded 16-bore brass loads in the past for my German Vogelbüchse rifles, so I used similar (but lighter) loads for the Husky.

http://forums.nitroexpress.com...=0&page=0#Post234349

The brass I used was 2-1/2" 16ga Mag-Tech - these take a pistol primer. The loading procedure was as follows.

I primed the brass with CCI 350 Mag Pistol Primers, and loaded with 78g FFFg Goex Black Powder.
I cut yhe petals off a Rem 12ga plastic wad and used the "cup" portion as an over-the-powder cup-wad.
I next inserted four (4) 3/8" thick 12ga lubed fibre wads and compressed them on top of the plastic cup.
.... (inside bore of the thin brass cases measured .705, so the 12ga wads were a press fit)
Finally, a .678" dia pure lead round ball (weight = 469 grains) was placed on top and crimped.



I fired 10 shots on 2 targets at 50 yards.

The first target was 6 shots and fired off-hand - standing - no rest.
The second target was 4 shots and fired rested - sitting - loose rest.






Recoil was relatively mild. The holes in the target were large enough that I didn't need to use a spotting scope to see them. I recorded the firing order and recorded the velocity of each. The Chronograph reading showed just over 1000 fps, with an overall average of 1020 fps for the 10 shots.

As you can see, the results look pretty grim, 12" to 13" total spread for the 10 shots combined from both targets. (see combined mock-up target)

I suspect the large group was due primarily to the excessive rattle-room of using .678" diameter balls in a .690" bore. Unfortunately this was the only mold I had that was close, so I tjhought I would try it. I might try paper-patching the balls next time.



Although the group was big, the intended game for this weapon would have been Moose. So, I superimposed the group on a "full-size" Moose target to see how I would have done. To my amazement, a Moose is a lot bigger animal than I had imagined. And, although a 13" group at 50 yards equates to about 26 minutes of angle, and would be totally unacceptable for most hunting - it looks like it would have worked just fine for Moose at this 50 yard range.

At 50 yards, this old Husky double rifle (?) shoots a very acceptable "Minute-of-Moose" - and would have been deadly with all 10 shots.



I know that much improvement will be gained from further experimentation. Even though it looks like it would have been deadly, I don't think the Swedish Moose hunters would have been satisfied with a 13" group. So, on my next outing I will be loading a .693" diameter 1 ounce 12ga slug. (425g) I'll use the same powder charge with 3 fibre wads. I expect much better groups with this "full" bore size projectile. I will report back when tested - perhaps later today.

That's an interesting shotgun(?).

I saw something else years ago with straight rifling but I can't remember what it is now.

Well,

I tried the 12ga slug load mentioned above. But, it looks like once again we have a 50yd group that is "minute-of-Moose" at 13".

Oh well, looks like a lot more experimentation is in order.

In the US- If a modern gun BATFE would require some twist-
However there is no technical spec written

Tech office responded to this question from me about a year ago
"Any twist = Some twist"
The discussion--(nothing in written form) basically concluded with the impression that any measurable cant over the length of the barrel would qualify.

Interesting...the only time I've seen a straight rifled shotgun was for stopping the wad from spinning to supposedly tighten patterns.

I asked a trap/skeet shooter about this and he said straight rifled shotguns are common in the sport. Not sure if it's true or not.

Beuthiful and nice loading work.

Moose were scarce in the 1880-1920 in sweden so most hunting was for smallgame.
Moosehunting with pit traps were banned 1864 but they were used illegally some years after that it almost made moose extinct.

Then a hunter found a track they could ski it in deep snow and shoot it at close range.


Aim for the ribs or belly and follow the track til you find it.

These seem to me to have a minimal amount of twist rather than a straight rifling!
I think these barrels were made to shoot hollow based soft lead bullets. The twist, however is not going to exert much spin on the bullet!

That is a very unusual double rifle/shotgun and is a piece of firearms history!
..................................................................

Hello Nordic2,

Thanks for the reply.

It seems that "close" must be the key to using one of these. 50 yards and under would work just fine for Moose.

Hello MacD37,

Thanks for the reply.

This double has "straight rifling".

There is NO twist what-so-ever. The goove at 12 o'clock at the end of the chamber, is still at exactly 12 o'clock, 27-1/2" down the barrel to the end of the muzzle.

quote:

Originally posted by buckstix:

Hello MacD37,

Thanks for the reply.

This double has "straight rifling".

There is NO twist what-so-ever. The goove at 12 o'clock at the end of the chamber, is still at exactly 12 o'clock, 27-1/2" down the barrel to the end of the muzzle.

You may be right that the rifling is only to keep the wads form spinning and to avoid gas leaking past the bullet. It could also be so shot shells could be used without rifling spreading the shot inconsistently. Shot doesn't work well with true rifling.

It is a puzzle for sure!

..........................................................................................Good hunting!

I would buy a couple different brands of modern 16 guage slug ammo and cut the rounds up for the projectiles just to try a few different style projectiles.

Great thread, Buckstix. I would bet there is a load/projectile combo out there that will perform better than that.
Thought your gun might be a 17A, but those typically came with prince of wales grip after 1900.

http://www.skydevaaben.com/hus...na/model17a/info.xml

quote:

Originally posted by Bill/Oregon:
Thought your gun might be a 17A, but those typically came with prince of wales grip after 1900.

Hello Bill/Oregon,

Thanks for the reply.

Both the frame and left barrel are marked "20". There is an "A" on the frame also 2 "A"s stamped between the barrels. An "RR" and "16" are stamped on each barrel. The name "HUSQVARNA" is stamped on the bottom of the right barrel only.

Stix, I recently got a 12-bore Model 20 From Kebco as well, but no rifling. They are neat guns.

Hello Bill/Oregon,

Thanks for the reply.

How is the condition? What is the barrel length? Got any pictures?

Just learned something new. Had never heard of this before. Never too old to learn.

quote:

Originally posted by drhall762:Never too old to learn.

Hello drhall762.

Thanks for the reply,

Yes, these kind of new discoveries are fun for me too. I never saw a fully straight rifled gun before this.

Buck, I'll get a couple of photos up here shortly. The Model 20 is in VG condition, nice, tight lockup, case colors mostly gone, walnut straight-grip stock and 29.5-inch (75 CM) barrels.

Hello Bill/Oregon,

I look forward to seeing it. Where and when did you say you acquired yours?