H&R 176 10 gauge


nothinghead

nothinghead

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Hope everyone had a good Holiday Season.

My Father In Law has a H&R 176 in 10 Gauge. He claims it has been in his closet for 30 years, and has never shot it. It is possiboly the heaviest gun I have ever held. It is chambered for 3 1/2" magnums according to the barrel. The whole thing has a light patina forming, and you can still see the case hardening on the receiver.

I bought him the only 10 gauge shells I could find: steel, but then I found out you apparently should not shoot steel out of these, according to the internet.

What happens or could potentially happen if we were to shoot steel shot out of this piece? How do I take the damn thing apart to check for any wear or rust on the mechanics? The goal is to shoot this thing, but we don't want to kill or maim ourselves either. I don't see anything wrong externally or in the bore, just some dust and light rust over the whole surface.

No pictures, he's a private guy and didn't want them online.

Thanks guys!
 
Just got off the phone with H&R. They tell me that the serial number denotes a manufacture date of 1977, but tht all records have been lost from that period due to a bankruptcy and a buyout by Remington.

More delving shows that it may be a topper model.

Anyone?!
 
Surprized they did not tell you about the steel shot when you were on the phone with them. I would think a compentent gunsmith could answer the question. You should be able to find Bismuth shot in 10 gauge and that is safe in all modern shotguns. The steel and bismuth shot are for waterfowl. You should also be able to find more types of ammo like slugs, buckshot and turkey loads online.
 
If it's tightly bored it might be best not to shoot steel shot, (though I do NOT know off hand if the manufacturer intended steel shot or not). Steel shot can not compress as efficiently as lead shot does. And it could be a problem if the bore is tight, and not intended for the stresses of steel shot.

Lead shot is available for the 10 gauge, (even if it is not as commonly available as in the past) and I think I would look a little harder for the lead shot loads. (You may even be able to convince someone to trade it even for the steel loads you already have to minimize your losses. An individual that is, as no dealers will!)

My brother had one of these (he is no longer alive now but his son still has the 10 gauge) and I remember the number of jokes he absorbed from the rest of us when he'd take it out on our dove hunts.:) He had a pecular sense of humor (you had to know him) and I'm sure he got a bigger kick out of everyone's reactions than he did by the gun itself.;)

Good luck to you!
 
I doubt shooting one box of steel would have any affect on the H&R. A steady diet of steel could possibly wear down the choke, but it shouldn't be dangerous or harmful to you or the shotgun.
 
Man, this non tox stuff is not cheap!!

Thanks for the links and help. Any ideas on how to tear down the FCG? A diagram would be nice, or a link. I found a manual for the Topper and Pardner, but can't confirm that those are built the same as this one.
 
nothinghead said:
Man, this non tox stuff is not cheap!!

Thanks for the links and help. Any ideas on how to tear down the FCG? A diagram would be nice, or a link. I found a manual for the Topper and Pardner, but can't confirm that those are built the same as this one.
Click to expand...

I'd try searching Numrich, they have a lot of schematics, if it's out there they'll likely have it. If you can't find it with their search tools give them a call.
 
Here's some lead 10 gauge turkey loads that won't cost you you're first born (but maybe your second). ;)
http://www.cheaperthandirt.com/66566-5.html
66566.jpg
 
I don't know how much you'd like to shoot it, but if it's more than a couple of boxes you could consider a MEC 600 Jr. for the 10 gauge. They are available for about $150. and it doesn't take many boxes of factory 10's to equal that.

Edited to add: I noticed you're from Maryland. The 10 gauge could work well for waterfowl, turkey, and deer with the right choice of economical loads. It would work on upland game as well but as you noted it's not light, and besides it represents considerably more in "killing power" than is needed for upland shooting. ;)
 
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My H&R "long tom" 10 ga, comes with a gun bearer, to hold it up.......
It's for when something really needs to die.....not a stop sign gun.
 
what choke? the tighter chokes are not good for steel (pellets will not compress like lead, bit 1/4 or 1/2 choke might work,
if shot travells through the choke, pressure will rise
here in germany we have a proofe-house, send it there, let them proof-shoot it and get a gun with a proofmark or a nice wallhanger with blown up barrel.

go to a competend gunsmith to check the gun, it might be able to handle the steel loads, and maybe he can alter the choke
 
If the choke is a full choke, shooting steel wont be good. Not inherently dangerous, but A, your patterns will be horrible, and B will probably produce a slight bulge at the choke(this happened to my uncle browning 16guage) if it is modified, steel is OK, but it will throw close to "full" pattern.

Not sure if they make it for 10guage, but I used Kent Impact(tungsten matrix,Non toxic) in my 1928 A-5. Bismuth is EEEKspensive, Heavyshot also, Im a waterfowler, and have tried both, for the money, I would go heavyshot, seemed to pattern better out of my SP-10. Hope this helps
 
On older barrels, the steel shot is as hard or harder than the barrel steel, and so it wears down or erodes the choke. Tighter the choke, faster it is worn.

This will not likely represent an danger of blowup, but it can certainly damage older heirloom or collectable guns, as far as value. That is the primary reason for the warning.

Bismuth shot is softer than steel, so much less likely to cause problems.

(Newer shotguns were made with hardened steel in the barrels to contol the problem. )
 
First see what choke you have in the gun. It is likely a full choke but check. Then call the factory and ask them if it is okay to shoot steel shot in it. That should end the question right there.

As a general rule for older guns, but by no means iron clad, don't shoot steel shot in a full choke. If its a modified you can shoot steel up to #2 and if its improved cylinder then bang away with whatever you want. Some shotguns have tight forcing cones in them and these can be a problem as well. I would suggest you have a gunsmith look it over, open the forcing cones and the choke if it is a tight one. The problem with this is that you are putting a lot of money into a gun you may not shoot all that much or would be better off not using steel in at all.

The danger of shooting steel in a gun not designed for it is usually limited to bulging the barrel in the area of the choke. Sometimes I am told you can spit the end of the barrel but I have never seen that happen, even to older guns with full chokes.

You can shoot bismuth and other "soft" shot equivalents to lead but as you have already noted they cost a lot of money. Some go $3.00 a shot.
 
IIRC, the 176 came out in the 70s because of the steel shot mandate. Hunters were under the impression that steel had less killing power and wanted bigger payloads to make up the difference. So H&R made the 176. It's fine with steel, that's what it's made for. It was the budget friendly option for those who couldn't spring for an Ithaca 10 semiautomatic or a double.
 
The early steel shot did not have the power of todays steel due to the components used to load the shell, they were using regular powder and wads. As time went on the manufacturers developed steel shot wads and specific powder. I have shot steel out of my Ithaca Mag 10 and Marlin Super Goose 10 with no issues.
 
You do know this was an almost 10 year old thread?

VA27 said:
IIRC, the 176 came out in the 70s because of the steel shot mandate. Hunters were under the impression that steel had less killing power and wanted bigger payloads to make up the difference. So H&R made the 176. It's fine with steel, that's what it's made for. It was the budget friendly option for those who couldn't spring for an Ithaca 10 semiautomatic or a double.
Click to expand...
 
Don't know a lot about this but is copper shot or brass shot available. Both are softer than steel. Always wanted to fire a ten gauge.
 
:mad::12:Haha 10's are fun! Heavy push not sharp making it very shootable.

Mine is a Stevens and chopped short of coarse. :42: :42: :dblthumb: :4:

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Top pic was as I bought it.

Fourm soft ware is its wonderful self... and the pic I purposely left for last now isnt...

Second to last pic is as it stands today. I fit a Sorbathane thick recoil pad on shortened stock. Then sprayed with three coats of Rustolium bed liner paint.

Last pic is after chop of bbl and butt stock but before paint. :4: Bbl was cut to about length of action or just over 19". (KEEPING IT LEGAL!)
 
My brother bought one of the H&R bazookas for a turkey gun back in the late 70s. IIRC, his had the 36 barrel and was heavy, but that helped tame the 3-1/2" 10ga.

That 19" Salvage/Stevens would be a hoot with blackpowder!
 
When I was with Dallas PD back in the 1970s my partner and I were at a gun show and he bought one of the cut-down ones like CWs...we took it out to an sparely populated industrial area on our beat...I was elected to fire the first shot... While not as bad as the .500 Nitro Express I once shot years later, this thing was so loud that it set off the burglar alarm in the metal building about 200' from where were fired the round...we quickly packed up and left....
 
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