H&A arms falling block external hammer shotgun

Question
Got this gun as a gift from my son. Very nice looking piece with hand checkering. Tore it down, cleaned and lubricated it but quickly realized there was no info on the gun except manufacturer. No serial # and no indication of amunition requirements. The barrel appears to not be damascus. I assumed the gague to be 12 and due to the age, assumed it was black powder. At a gun show, I found a box of "Navy Arms" # 6 blackpowner shells. Took it to the range today and carefully ran 3 shels through it. Couldn't hit anything, but the piece performen flawlessly. Even the ejector/extractor worked fine. Question is, can I fire low brass smokeless powder in this gun?

Thanks.
Jeff

Answer
Hello Jeff.
  Sounds like you have found a great conversation piece. Your H&A falling block single shot shotgun was manufactured sometime between 1887 and 1900. Even though it is not marked for 'Black Powder Only', as some are, It will have to be on a diet of black powder shells for as long as it is used. Smokeless powder, like we have today, is even more powerful than the semi-smokeless powders manufactured up to the 1930's. In the words of an old friend of mine, " I wanted to get out just a bit further, so I put just a pinch of powder out of a regular 12ga. shell in it." I guess, if you count the 8-10ft. behind his perch, he may have gotten that shot out to 15 ft., or so. We call him 'Blue Beard' now. The moral of this story is, 'If you want to enjoy shooting this old piece, stick to the black powder shells. If you know of a competent re-loader in your area, he may be able to work up a load that will give you a little tighter shot pattern. Enjoy!
  Thank you for asking for me. Charles Gage