doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 2 3/4in in 2 1/2in guns

In what issue of the Double Gun Journal is Sherman Bells article on shooting 2 3/4in shells in 2 1/2in chambers.

Thanks

Tracy

"Finding Out for Myself" Part V "Long Shells in Short Chambers" Double Gun Journal, Winter 2001

Thank you so much!

Tracy:
Just in case you are wondering, I've been shooting 2 3/4" cartridges in 2 1/2" 12-bore guns for decades. I check forcing cone allowance and keep velocities below 1200 fps with 7/8 oz. or 1 oz, loads. I've never had a problem, hit everything I lead properly, and have never had a problem with "skived" cartridge hulls like AA or Reminton STS.

Best, Kensal

The conventional wisdom is that you don't need to worry much about shell length or velocity or payload or burn rate or any of that other stuff as long as the pressure is appropriate for the gun. Most early Parkers and a lot of other older American doubles had short chambers (2-5/8") and are shot regularly with 2-3/4" shells. Lots of those shells are low pressure, in deference to the ages of the guns, but piles of standard target and promo loads get burned up in old guns. What you can/should use depends on the specific gun.

A lot of people have gotten away with shooting current factory 2 3/4" shells in old American 12's for a couple reasons. First, most 2 3/4" 12ga shells are really only 2 5/8" long when fired, or just a little over, so you're not opening the case mouth into the forcing cone. Second, American 12's--for the most part--tended to be pretty stout.

If you change that scenario to a 20ga, where the old standard chamber length was 2 1/2", and if you try modern factory ammo in some of the very lightest old American doubles, then you can have an issue. Some of the really light Ithaca Flues 20's, in particular, have ended up with cracked frames.

Also, the smaller the gauge, the higher the pressure. That may be another reason why it's less common to see "catastrophic failures" in old 12's.