I was curious about the performance of LC Smith Long Range field guns so I added a circa 1930 Long Range to my collection. It sports 32” barrels with choke diameters of 0.694”’and 0.684”.

I also managed to find a nearly full box of period correct Western Super X 1 3/8 oz #6 shot. I think these rounds originally ran at about 1300 fps. The vintage load patterned about 60% with an obviously low POI (62/131) compared to my POA. Nonetheless, there was a respectable 80% of the pellets landed on the 30”x42” sheet of paper with about 16 pellets landing in an 8” bull. I wouldn’t hesitate to use this load on turkey or pheasant after adjusting my POA.

I had a box of Federal Upland paper ammo. These are 1 1/4 oz of #5 copper plated lead @ 1330 fps. These put 86% of the pellets on a 30” circle despite and obviously high POI (123/60) at 40 yards. An amazing 93% of the pellets landed on the 30”x42” paper.