Does anyone here own and shoot 24 or 32 gauge shotguns?

ColbyBruce

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There is an estate sale ad on a local yard sale forum. Two O/U’s caught my eye, an American Arms Silver II 24 and an A. Zoli 32. I remember A. Zoli imports in both gauges in the 1990’s, utility grade guns priced under $250.00. I bought my son an American Arms Silver Lite II 20 when he was about twelve or thirteen; great little guns.

How do these gauges perform? I really don’t need these but I do have grandchildren to consider.
 
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I had a 32ga single shot break open to use and play with for a while after a small repair job on it. Nice light little gun, well made Italian product.

Factory 32ga loads carry 1/2oz,,the same as a 2 1/2" 410 shell.
The shotgun felt no more effective than a 410 to me, not that a 410 can't do the job.
I shoot quite a lot of 410 and reload the 2 1/2" hulls for it so I'm not putting any of the so called sub-bore shotguns down.

A nice novelty, but factory ammo is priced high as you might expect if and where it's available.
Fiocchi used to import it at about 12 to $15 a box. Maybe they still do.

RST Shotshell Co sells both 32 and 24ga ammo.
The 32ga is $150/case,,but the price is based on each box as containing 10rds.
So I don't know what the total rds /per case is there. A call or email would be in order.



I was offered a nice Belgian made SxS in 32ga at one time. Ejector gun with very nice wood and checkering. Supposedly it had been Gen Billy Mitchell's shotgun. I liked the gun, but didn't like the price, part of which was the story that came with it.

The 24ga is closer to the more common 28ga.
The 24 loads are generally either 3/4oz (the standard 28ga load) or sometimes they are put up at 11/16oz,,just to cut the corner a bit I guess.
Again Fiocchi ammo imports in this gauge and they run around $15 to $18 a box.
RST also sells 24ga ammo. They list it as $15 /per box of 25rds,,$150 per case of 250rds (commonly called a 'flat of rounds)

If you are a reloader and at those ammo prices most people would be,,I don't know of any commercial reloading machines in these gauges but there may be some.
I imagine someone has converted the simple MEC or LEE single stage machines to handle the smaller dia hulls.
Places like Ballistic Products carry wads and hulls for the two gauges IIRC.

I'd probably just buy the factory stuff and sell the once fired hulls to recoup some of the cost.
A flat of shells would probably go a long ways in one of these for me anyway.

That's about all the experience and what I know of these two I have..

RSTShells
 
I looked at these guns yesterday afternoon but both were over priced for the condition. Both had battered stocks. The 32 had flecks on the barrels; someone likely busted a bird up close and got blood on the blueing. The seller wanted $700.00 for the pair, and insisted on a transfer through a local gun store. I thanked him and left.
 
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