Most likely due to the date of manufacture, the chambers are 2 9/16" The likely reason for the mishap with the used shells:
1. Were these hulls fired in this gun? If not they would probably work if resized
2. If they were fired in the gun, they were "warm" when you removed them, once they cooled down and the brass had a chance to stretch it was probably large enough to fit very tight.
3. Remember to shoot lower pressure shells in this gun, and enjoy!!
4. Most likely the patterns would not be much tighter with shells only 3/16" too long, however the pressure would most certainly spike. Remember shells that are made now with modern wads pattern much tighter than shells with the old style wad columns. This gun if patterned at 30-40 would likely have some large holes.
PS fired hulls are not the best choice for snap caps, the dead primer does not provide much cushion. An inexpensive pair can be purchased for well under 20 bucks, and are a good investment.
It's a great story, shoot the gun and enjoy it, take care of it, and pass 'er on down. Just feed it some light (pressure) loads and she will be your good friend for another 80+ years.
Last edited by Steve I.; 01/24/10 07:26 PM.
