I'm getting conflicting info online. Is it OK to shoot 2 3/4" shells out of a 3 1/2" chamber? I'm thinking it's ok but I don't want to give my friend the wrong info.

As long as the gauge is the same and you are NOT loading a LONGER shell into a SHORTER chamber you are good to go.  Shoot 2 3/4 in my SuperNova all the time.

 

So in this case you can shoot it all if it's a 12 gauge. 2 3/4. 3 or 3 1/2. 

 

Curious as to who would question shorter shells in a chamber and why.

Thanks. That's what I thought, just wanted to double check because I don't want my friend to screw up his new gun. Yeah I know about nothing longer than the chamber. I have a 2 1/2" Ithica flues lol. Not to easy to find reasonably priced ammo for that one lol.

As long as the gauge is the same and you are NOT loading a LONGER shell into a SHORTER chamber you are good to go. Shoot 2 3/4 in my SuperNova all the time.

 

So in this case you can shoot it all if it's a 12 gauge. 2 3/4. 3 or 3 1/2.

 

Curious as to who would question shorter shells in a chamber and why.

Don't forget the Aguila mini shells. I think they are 1.75".

 

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Don't forget the Aguila mini shells. I think they are 1.75".

 

Sent from an undisclosed location

If you can find them.  They show up once a year and end up costing more than the 2 3/4.

Don't forget the Aguila mini shells. I think they are 1.75".

 

Sent from an undisclosed location

meh I have no use for them

Tbill- I only questioned using shorter shells in a longer chamber because I read conflicting reports online. Specifically this one http://www.chuckhawks.com/chamber_length.htm

While I'm not new to guns I certainly don't know it all so I figured id ask here so I don't give bad information.

Interesting theory, so tell your buddy to pattern the shotgun.  I still cannot believe the 'jump' would create that much of a problem.  Funny how 3 inch is OK but 3 1/2 is a no go.  Patterning will give you the answer.  Maybe have to go up or down on the choke to adjust pattern, but I have my doubts overall.

I had my doubts also that's why I asked lol

My theory, based on nothing but guesses, is that the shot and wadding is moving pretty slowly during the first 1" of travel down the barrel.  I imagine the shot cup, filled with shot, makes the jump just fine.  Once the shot cup, filled with shot, is moving down the barrel, it's exactly the same as if the chamber and shell were the same length.

 

If something was happening to disrupt things during that 1" jump, the shot cup or wad would end up showing some marks from the impact with the chamber and I've never seen that.

 

If there is a difference in patterns between 2-3/4" and 3-1/2" shells, I would tend to think that's a result of higher velocity pellets passing through and being compressed more quickly through the choke.

Shell in a chamber that's longer than the shell is fine. Many variables affect patterns, but the best patterning loads are those that are balanced for the gauge, often called "square" loads. The 28, the 20, the 16 and the 12 all pattern best with a particular weight.

 

Different wads, a short forcing cone or a longer forcing cone, the barrel's bore size, condition of bore, choke parallel and shot hardness and shot size all contribute to efficient and effective patterning.

 

http://www.sidebysideshotgun.com/articles/balance_loads_article.html

Sad.    Most of Chuck Hawk's stuff is better than this.  I cannot believe that a half-inch difference in chamber length is going to make any difference in how a shotgun spreads its pattern.

 

Until someone take a chamber ream to a shotgun and proves (at a patterning board) that the pattern changes as the chamber length increases, the article's author is just blowing smoke.

Sad.    Most of Chuck Hawk's stuff is better than this.  I cannot believe that a half-inch difference in chamber length is going to make any difference in how a shotgun spreads its pattern.

 

Until someone take a chamber ream to a shotgun and proves (at a patterning board) that the pattern changes as the chamber length increases, the article's author is just blowing smoke.

 

Agreed. 

I like rst for 2 1/2 12 ga loads shipped right to my door

I like rst for 2 1/2 12 ga loads shipped right to my door

no 16g in stock. But thanks for the heads up. When it is back in stock I'll buy a case and be set for a while.

no 16g in stock. But thanks for the heads up. When it is back in stock I'll buy a case and be set for a while.

 

 

That's why I reload for my short-chambered guns today. When I can, I buy and use RST shells. 

 

As a neophyte, I shot 2 3/4" shells in a 1923 Parker 16 ga. The chambers were obviously short, but the gun never seemed to mind nor did I know better at the age of 13. I shot that gun for years with those loads. Some of the 3 1/4 dr. - 1 1/4 oz. pheasant loads that Federal sold back in the 60's & 70's were pretty stiff with recoil in a 6 lb. gun with 3" of drop. Being young, I thought that bigger was better. I shot that gun just like my grandfather did before me, with some of the same 2 3/4" paper shells he gave me too. Sometime in the 90's, when the internet was full-steam with info, I joined countless forums like 16ga.com and the Parker forum. Boy, did I get an eyeful & earful of information and learned a bit about short chambers, older guns, etc., along with exercising a modicum of caution. 

 

 

An interesting read. There are others on the Parker forum, ShotgunWorld as well as on 16a.com. 

http://foxcollectors.com/My%20Forum/phpBB3/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=2682 

Thanks parker. It dosent make sense for me to reload for.my Ithaca Flues. I only shoot it twice a year. Once on grandpa's(who I inherited it from) birthday at a clay or two and this season I took it out hunting. Pretty cool hunting with a 100 year old gun.

 

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With the short chambers, 1 oz. loads are the heaviest I shoot today. (I regularly load 7/8 or 1 oz. 8's for skeet & trap in the off-season.) 

Very cool!