2 1/2" 12 guage

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remifan24

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I saw tradex had some cool cheap old sxs's and ive always wanted one with external hammers but without breaking the bank. They've got a bunch of husqvarnas but they are 2 1/2 inch chambers what would a guy shoot through those? Any info would be greatly appreciated i love the look of those old double barrels and would love to be more educated on them. Thanks!
 
2 1/2" Kent Gamebore shells or cut hulls and reload your own. However, there are those who say it is okay to shoot 2 3/4" shells in a 2 1/2" chamber gun as the shell will open into the forcing cone. Supposedly the increased pressure is not that high to be significant. Back in the day, some guns were made with shorter chambers as it was felt that the crimp opening into the forcing cone would give better patters. However, different wads were in use back then. Personally, I just use 2 1/2" in a short chambered gun and play it safe.
All this being said, the guns were likely designed for lower pressure shells so if you did use 2 3/4" shells, you want them on the lighter side. By that I mean pressure and velocity. And for information, most target loads are not low pressure shells.
Another note--are those guns proofed for nitro loads or are they black powder proofed only?
 
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Though hard to find, you can get factory 2.5" shells. European sporting goods (?) in North Van had some awhile back. I bought some to shoot in a Gibbs with 2.5"chambers.
 
I have loaded 2 1/2 shells. You need to skip the pre crimp and final crimp. I just hand trim the shell to the smaller size. Federal paper shells work well, you may also have to trim the wad and use a smaller load such as 3/4oz lead. Some guys will use a over shot card last over the lead shot. I use candle wax to seal the end. You will save tonnes of money loading your own. However as stated by the previous members most 2 1/2inch guns were not made to shoot higher pressure loads. You should always have that old double(no matter how nice of condition) checked thoroughly by a good gunsmith to see if it is shootable or a wall hanger.
 
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Reaming out chambers is bad advice, particularly for guns that may be black powder proof or earlier low pressure proof standards.
There are very, very few short chambered guns that it would be wise to lengthen the chambers, due to wall thickness and the state of steel technology at the time of their making. The gun with lengthened chambers is immediately "out of proof".
Using low pressure 2 1/2 inch cartridges, or loading your own low pressure 2 1/2 inch cartridges is good advice.
 
Thanks guys i dont reload shotgun at the moment but i will if i purchase the old sxs. I know i could prob cheat and get away with low velocity 2 3/4 but i wouldnt risk it. Get the gun checked and load my own, i saw somewhere a guy was using black powder in his reloads not sure if that would work but im sure the first few rounds the gun would be strapped down to a bench and id be standing at a safe distance while firing it.
 
Buy some 2 1/2 all brass Magtech shells. I think Rustywoods lists them for about $40 /25.

I use them for black powder with 11ga fibre wads in a rolling block.

Get a Lee decapping rod and hammer to punch out the primers and reprime on a steel plate using the hammer and a deep socket or piece of pipe that fits inside. Caulking or other thick glue to hold the over shot card when the case is full of whatever you're loading.
 
gdawg said:
Though hard to find, you can get factory 2.5" shells. European sporting goods (?) in North Van had some awhile back. I bought some to shoot in a Gibbs with 2.5"chambers.
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This ^^^^, don't butcher the barrels, either reload, or get the correct factory ammunition!
It's actually European Arms Distributors in North Vancouver, http://www.euroarms.com
They usually have Kent Gamebore Pure Gold in stock, 12 bore, 2 1/2",
http://kentgamebore.com/english-loads/pure-gold-paper-12ga-english.html#product-190
They also have them in paper hulls, which I prefer ;-)
Vancouver may be a bit far for you, try contacting Gamebore through their Canada website, they are very helpful, and can probably find a dealer closer to you.
Good luck!
 
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Kent Gamebore is pretty easy to find - you just have to ring around a bit - btw - make sure you get lead shot
 
I don't see 7 1/2 or 8 shot in the Kent loads (the size limit for our club.) Anyway, my old hammer gun with Damascus barrel is not nitro-proofed, so I need to load black powder, preferably in a cut-down AA hull.
My black-powder supply is ffg (fairly slow burning, I used it in a 0.577 rifle), so it may not perform that well in a shotgun, but at least it should keep the pressure down. I'm trying to determine the charge (mass) of ffg BP required for a low velocity, say 1150 fps, 12 gauge, 1 oz target load. My WAA12SL wads would likely need cutting down, too. I've not figured this out yet...
I have a manual, one-shell loader and a roll-crimper (from way back) that will turn-over-crimp an empty plastic AA hull.
Any solutions out there?
Thanks, and Cheers,
Roger
 
Cut down AA hull is fine but you need fibre wads and card over powder wads. Plastic one piece wads melt with the heat of black powder making stringy deposits in the barrel - I guarantee you don't want this.
Normal charge of FFg is 80 grains ( actually 82 for 3 dram loads) but lots of shooters in our club are shooting 75 grains by volume in BP cartridge.
 
I agree with the fibre wads. The gooy plastic mess is not fun at all.

Can't comment on the actual velocity but I know people who use anything from 60-90gr of black in 12ga. The pressure difference between 3f and 2f isn't going to be a detriment. Decent compaction can partly make up the difference.
 
vagrantviking said:
I know they're available but it sure would be great if Tradex had some. I've been really happy everytime I've bought there.
Would have made Christmas shopping easy. It's great having a significant other who's a gunnut too!
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I don't remember seeing any 20ga but I did snag a 16ga from them makes me wonder though where they got all the Belgian shotguns that were built 100 year ago or so in such bulk
 
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