2" 12 gauge guns are/were made to relieve boredom. Nothing else.
JR
JR'a I hope that statement was meant as a joke....if it was it looks like yer bud Stan missed the punch line.
A 2" 12 gauge was made because it offered a squared load.
Do you really think English makers designed guns out of boredom
Joe;
I have no problem with quoting the entire answer. I was only questioning the statement concerning the 'Square Load". Through the years I have seen three definitions of a square load.
#1; It is a load in which the shot load is equal to the weight of the round ball of gauge size.
#2; It is a load in which the shot & powder occupy an equal volume.
#3; It is a load in which the shot column has a length equal to its diameter.
"ANY" gauge gun Can be loaded to any one of these three conditions, though very few standard loads fit any of these definitions.
In the 12 gauge the shot load = the round ball would be 1 1/3 oz. I have no knowledge of this shot load having ever been used as they normally go in 1/8 oz increments, with an occasional 1/16 oz increment.
#3 condition with the shot column in the 12 gauge having a bore diameter length (729") would be a load of 1 1/16oz, which was a standard British load from WWI forward for the 2½" shell, not the 2" one.
For the #2 load of equal volume, this can be in any gauge with any load which will fit the case, This, of course, requires either Black or Bulk smokeless powder. Definitely would not recommend using a shot measure for Red Dot or even Blue Dot.
Personally, I believe the "Reason" for the 2" 12was strictly because the Brits were a Nation of 12 "Bore" (Their term) shooters & for the most part had little use for a smaller gauge. The 2"12 was their answer for a "20" gauge being of 20 weight & firing a 20 load, but they didn't want to be seen afield carrying a "Woman's or Kid's gun".
As it was not designed to shoot with a square load, with the exception possibly of loads of bulk smokeless, I do not see this as being a reason for its existence.
PS; I do not see "Boredom" as a reason either John, just an expansion of the market.
When one gets down to the nitty-gritty, with 12 gauge guns having been made from under 6 lbs to as much as 10 or even more & firing from 3/4 oz to more than 2 oz there is truly not much "Need" for anything else in a Sporting Gun.
