There are all kinds of good reasons to reload 2 3/4" hulls for 2 1/2" guns. To start with, the very conservative Brits have been shooting 2 3/4" shells (loaded to the appropriate pressures) in 2 1/2" guns for a very long time. Both Burrard and Thomas refer to the practice as being quite safe--although they can be quoted out of context saying otherwise.
Economics are, of course, a prime consideration if you're going to shoot a lot with an older shotgun. There are very good 12ga hulls available for reloading, better (and cheaper, starting with factory ammo) than the factory 2 1/2" stuff.
With the exception of light loads made by RST and Polywad, a lot of the 2 1/2" shells out there are field loads, not target loads. You can work up 2 3/4" reloads with far lower pressures and far less recoil. So depending on which short shells you select, you can easily be better off with your own reloads.
The reason people used to pay attention and use "the right shell in the right gun" is that there were all kinds of short loads readily available--both target and field--in both short and long hulls. Looking at my 1940 Shooter's Bible, there were roughly twice as many 12ga factory loads availabe in 2 5/8" as there were in 2 3/4" back then--which meant you could get them anywhere. Far more trouble finding short shells today, and the only way to get any sort of real selection is to order them.
And the importance of using the right shell in the right gun, back then, speaking of factory ammo: different pressure standards for the short vs the long shells. Made lots of sense, if you were getting your ammo off the shelf--as it still does today.
As for marking short chambers, Wonko . . . how many American guns have you seen with short chambers "marked"? I can't recall having seen a single 12ga factory marked 2 5/8", nor a 16ga marked 2 9/16". As a general rule, I don't believe American shotgun makers started marking chamber lengths until they converted to a pretty much uniform standard of 2 3/4". My advice to those looking at vintage American guns is that if it's NOT marked 2 3/4", then chances are very good the chambers are short--or were, when the gun left the factory.
Last edited by L. Brown; 07/05/10 06:04 PM.
