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Is it safe to shoot two inch shells in a 2 3/4 inch gun?

There have been reports of problems doing that. Seems the shot tends to ball up. Some think the problem is gasses mixing with the shot. If you do a search you will find several threads that cover this.

I have shot 2.75, 3, and 3.5 inch shells from a Browning without any problem.
bill

I've always been an inquisitive person, so I'll share my experience. Some years ago I purchased 10 boxes of 12 gauge Gamebore 2" shells loaded with 5/8 or 11/16 oz. (can't recall exactly) of #7 shot; and as I didn't own a 2" chambered gun, my specific intent was to use these shells for small game hunting, and in various doubles (2 5/8 and 2 3/4" chambers). These shells were roll-crimpled and I never patterned them in any of my guns, but can tell you that my experiences using these little shells on game was excellent as hey killed game just as effectively as heavier loaded 2 3/4" loads. And once I found them effective, I especially appreciated the fact that these compact little shells were so much lighter and less bulky to carry than their longer counterparts. I would suggest finding out for yourself; buy a box and see how they function and pattern in your scattergun. Best.

What were the problems discussed Jon? Blown patterns, increased recoil, ruptured barrels/chambers? I have never shot any of the diminutive 2 inch shells but I have heard that many people do who own the shortened, multi-barreled, multi-magazine defense type shotguns so they can get more in them. This is the first I have heard of any problems arising. I would be interested in hearing more about this. Search? Where? This forum or Google?

In his book "The Modern Shotgun" Burrard cites several verified cases of Shot Balling. One case in particular injured a beater on a driven shoot who was Well out of the line of fir off to one side.

This is much more likely to occur with card & filler wadding as they do not expand enough to seal between the end of the shell & the bore itself, particularly as the chamber transforms into the forcing cone.

This is far less likely to occur with modern "Obturating" wads, of which virtually all plastic wads are. I would personally be very cautious about using short shells with card & filler wads or even in guns having long forcing cones for that matter. The older guns with the short cones were designed so the forward end of the wad would be tight in the cone prior to the rear clearing the hull mouth in order to bridge this gap.

I have loaded and shot my own 2" shells in guns with 2 3/4" chambers a number of times with no ill effect. Maybe something else caused the " shot balling," whatever that is. Many of the guys at the club shooting those games like " Three Gun Action " or whatever it is they do use 2" shells so more can be loaded at one time. Mossberg pump guns use some type of attachment to make them work so it's done quite often without problems.

According to all I have read it is much more common in .410 shells than the larger gauges. I reported, on here, having experienced it once myself, on a dove shoot several years ago. The shot ball, or the entire shot charge still contained in the shot cup wad, cut the dove's head off cleanly at the neck, the head landing some few feet away from the body. It happened at a respectable range of around 20-25 yards. There was/is no other explanation for what happened.

P.S. Did a little digging and found the old thread about what I mentioned above .... post no. 377860 began the thread entitled "Freak Event on a Dove Field". Very interesting read, with many good ideas.

SRH

For those who have a copy of Burrard, the discussion of Balling is found in volume III on pages 74-77. I was mistaken about it being a beater which was hit, it was in fact a man leading a horse & cart down a road. He was hit in the face & his jaw was broken. He was identified simply as W L & this was reported on in the British Medical Journal of June 23rd, 1888. The man who fired the shot Hit & Killed a pheasant & said he saw the man but he was totally out of the line of fire. wen treated upon probing into the wound a full 1/3 oz of shot tumbled out. It was ascertained the distance from the Gun to where W L was hit was 133 yards. The gauge of the gun was not listed, but in all probability was a 12.