doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com reloading 12 gauge 2"

Does anyone reload 12 gauge 2" shells? I am curious about it, and I find only 2 loads on Hodgdon's sight, zero recipes on Alliant's site, and a search of this forum turns up very little on 2" at all in the last few years, nothing to do with reloading. BPI and Precision Reloading do not list any 2" hulls, and I don't think they have any special wads for them either.

Is this strictly reduced inventing one's own recipes and cutting down longer plastic hulls and reloading with hand tools and fiber wads? I have an old press that I was thinking I might convert to loading 2" hulls, but what's out there for recipes and components?

Brent,

GLS was loading 2” shells a few years ago. You may want to PM him. I don’t know if he’s still finding components. I’m still using RST shells and hoping they can source components before my supply runs out.

Ken

I have found looking at 7/8 loads it is possible to find one that will fit a roll crimped 2in trimmed hull.

When unable to find 2.5 loads, I found many 1 oz and 1 1/8oz 2.75 loads that fit roll crimped 2.5

A 7/8 oz load would work for me. But yesterday, someone showed me a 2" gun proofed for 1 1/8 oz. I don't know how that could possibly fit, but someone did it. What powder and wad did you use?

I assume you are using a 2” chambered gun, and will need to bear in mind that many of them as built (and passed proof) had relatively thin wall thicknesses.

When, Pre-dating the 2 inch chamber, short cartridges such as Lancaster “Pygmies” were tried in longer chambers shot balling sometimes proved to be an issue.

I'm not using anything right now. I am looking around to buy one, however. I would not shoot 2" in a longer chamber - not point in that, at least for me. But a 5.5# 12 gauge with 7/8 or 1 oz load of shot for grouse - that has possibilities and gives me a reason to surf the gun auctions.

I am planning on going to Tulsa for the first time in April. Perhaps I will find one there. If so, I would like to know how to load for it, before I lay down a lot of cash.

Ballistic Products has a short shells brochure that is one's for the asking. It lists several loads in 3/4 oz. and 7/8 oz. using International, Green Dot, Fiocchi hulls, various BP in stock components. I've shot them for the past 3 seasons successfully at woodcock and quail I have also loaded Cheddite paper hulls that I trim down. The Fiocchi cut down hull is a dam bioch to roll crimp. The Cheddies are a dream to roll crimp and I get at least 3 reloads out of them. There was a proof house dispute over what the short 12 should be proofed. My two guns were proofed for 7/8 oz. Some were done at 3/4 oz. and some at 1 1/8 oz. They were proofed in the white and some believe that once back to the gunmaker they were filed more on the outside to reduce weight. Skimin & Wood made guns in the white finished out by other makers. I have a Hellis and a Skimin & Wood finished out by a no-name maker. The Hellis's barrels were marked J.A., Joseph Asbury, one of the top barrel makers in his era.
One gunsmith I know has a 2" Dickson made by Dickson. It is a rarity. The walls are thin, but in proof, and it's his favorite game gun. Lagopus is a knowledgeable resource about the species. If anyone desires the BP brochure, pm your email address. It's a PDF so it has to be emailed rather than pm'd. The 2' chamber can't accept 2.5" loads They won't fit unfired. Gil

Gil, I would love to see that brochure. My email is brentd@iastate.edu.

Hodgdon's loads list International powder and WinAA hulls. I didn't see where it mentioned crimp style, but it may have. Seems like straight walled hulls and roll crimping would be advantageous though.

I have no interest in pushing the envelope on these loads, but I don't know where the envelope ends. I'll have to search a few other load sources, but I can imagine I may be sending some loads to Tom Armbrust. That's okay.

The vintage Remington Shur-Shot 2-inch 12-gauge shells I've seen were 3/4-ounce of shot.

Brent,

Here’s an old link on 2” gun proofs 2” proof. If you have the DGJ (Spring 1996--Vol Seven Issue 1) it is a good discussion on the 2” gun proofs.

Ken