doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 2" Shotgun

Great to see all the interest in 2" guns. Getting a pheasant with one is, indeed, a fine achievement.
Years ago there was an older member at my gun club who introduced me to the 2" shell. He had a significant supply of these shells that he used to reduce recoil in his traditional 2 3/4" gun. He gave me a few boxes and they worked surprisingly well---think the payload was 3/4 or 7/8 oz .

Calgary Bill,

This is a 2” H&H with a limit of Kansas pheasants. I use 7/8 oz load in the 2” gun. In a 2 1/2” gun I use a 1 oz load so I’m not giving up much. The setters help me out.



Ken

Nicely done.

Great picture. Gorgeous gun, lovely dogs, nice birds and wonderful habitat.
I've hunted birds in ND, SD and MT but never Kansas. Maybe I should make the long trip south.
Do you load your on shells? A few years ago, I loaded a box of 2" shells---time consuming but rewarding.

No I don’t load my own 2” shells. I load 2.5” shells, but never tried to roll crimp shells. I know BrentD loads his 2” shells. I’m glad RST started loading 2” shells again. Kansas cannot be hit or miss on birds. The bird numbers are really down with the long drought and land being taken out of CRP. If you hunted MT, ND, and SD you are hunting some great states for pheasant.

Ken

Has anyone measured the wall thickness of the barrels on their 2" guns?
I suspect that the thickness would be less than the conventional 2 1/2" gun.
Look forward to your responses.
Bill

Yes, pretty much everyone that has one has measured the wall thickness before and after buying. I even bought a barrel thickness gauge for just that purpose.

What is the thickness of a "conventional" 2.5"?

I believe that most double gun enthusiasts want 20-22 thou thickness for the barrels of their 2 1/2" guns. I suspect a reduced thickness for 2" guns which are typically at least16 oz less than typical 6 1/ to 6 3/4 lb guns with 2 1/2" chambers.

Just found an interesting article in my archives by Vic Venters published in the Shooting Sportsman magazine (sorry but I don't have the date). He says ..." two inchers through the years and has found many to have wall thicknesses of .015" to .018", with one exhibiting .012" walls measured off of original bore dimensions."
Looks like I have answered my own question. But, would still welcome others to share their knowledge and experience with 2" guns.
Bill

Bill, you can find any shotgun with thin walls, so what someone found on one particular gun or another is not really very useful. Any of the reputable dealers will be able to tell you in detail about the wall thickness of the guns they have for sale. Some have been tinkered with post-manufacture. There is one in particular available on the east coast that was reproofed for 2.75" chambers. After hearing the numbers on that gun, I went looking elsewhere.

I do not remember what the thicknesses are on either of the 2" guns I have had. I may have them written down in their loading book, but otherwise, I have to remeasure them again, and right now, I do not have time. I can look later.

Brent