Safety in chamber length... And bad JUJU...

H

hogdogs

Staff In Memoriam
So today I had to buy some 3 inch buckshot (all they had) for my 20 gauge Mossberg 500 as my double gun depicted in this thread has only a 2 3/4 inch chamber...

I only loaded them in the gun to represent the risk that the wrong shells can fit in a gun with too short of a chamber...
Here is the difference in a 2 3/4 and a 3 inch round...


You can barely see that my double gun is plainly marked Proof Tested 2 3/4 chamber...



3 inch inserted...


2 3/4 ready to go in...


Fits a little snug a little early in the insertion...


But.... With a slight push...



The point of this thread is to show how easy it is in the shotgun world to load the wrong round in your gun...

I don't know haw many times folks have gotten lucky but I know it can't be a good risk vs. reward situation... I don't know how risky it would be in my gun but when folks tell you that the pressure spike could be a lethally blown up gun ain't kidding...

I bet this old Savage 1953 would not last long at all with them tight shells opening in that tight bore...

Brent
 
J

jmr40

New member
A 3.5" shell will also fit inside a 3" chamber and fire. The length marked on the outside of shotgun shells is the length "AFTER" they are fired. Your 2 3/4" shells will probably measure closer to 2 1/2" before they are fired. Three inch shells are about 2 3/4". Different manufacturers using differnt style crimps will vary quite a bit on unfired length, but all will be correct length after firing.

A shotgun chamber is cut to the length of the shell after it is fired. Longer shells fit inside the chamber, but leave no room for the crimp to unfold when it is fired. If you load and shoot shells longer than the chamber you are increasing chamber pressure significantly and tempting a burst barrel.
 
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