Loading 2 1/2'' shells in 3'' chamber

gunsaholic said:
I'm not 100% sure but I don't think so. I had a POL and when it expired I had to take the pal course.
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My buddy, hunting partner actually, was grandfathered from FAC to POL, and POL to PAL when he renewed after Harper changed the FA. He never took the course. As far as 2 1/2 inch shells in a longer chamber, no issues, with one caveat - if they are black powder loads, make sure you clean every nook and cranny of the gun after shooting it. Hot soapy water.
 
Another thing to keep in mind - I'd be willing to bet 90% of hunters don't even know there is (was) such a thing as a 2 1/2 inch shell in 12 gauge. Personally, I'd be just as concerned about whether or not a 2 1/2 gun is smokeless proofed. As a matter of fact, several of the "2 1/2" guns I've had actually had chambers closer to 2 5/8, and a lot of shells, if you measure them, come in slightly shorter than 2 3/4 (assuming safety factor in case gun is chambered slightly short?), but a fairly high percentage weren't smokeless ready.
 
Papaclaude said:
My buddy, hunting partner actually, was grandfathered from FAC to POL, and POL to PAL when he renewed after Harper changed the FA. He never took the course. As far as 2 1/2 inch shells in a longer chamber, no issues, with one caveat - if they are black powder loads, make sure you clean every nook and cranny of the gun after shooting it. Hot soapy water.
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I guess it depends on who you spoke to years ago when they were changing from the FAC to PALS. When my FAC was due for renewal, I was told that I HAD To take the courses again, even though I had taken a course years before when getting my FAC.
 
gnmontey said:
How about 2 3/4 in a 2 1/2 chamber? OK or NOT? I'm thinking not, but then again, I had never heard of 2 1/2" chambered SGs until recently.

BTB - I let my POL expire and ended up having to take the course and exam.

M
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2 3/4" in a 2 1/2" is not ok, the shell will be stuffed in to the forcing cones, same issue as shooting a 3" in a 2 3/4" chamber.

2 1/2" shotguns hail mostly from the black powder era, more common in BP proofed doubles, but I believe there are a number of nitro proofed 2 1/2" shotguns that were made in the late 1800's and in to the early 1900's.
 
Nitro proofed 2 1/2" was the standard game gun chambering in Britain and a lot of Europe prior to World War 2 and started to change to the more common North American size of 2 3/4" in the 1950's although the Brits had been making 2 3/4" and even 3" chambered guns for special uses such as waterfowl and pigeon guns since well before 1900. That's the historical note.
Shooting 2 1/2" ammo in 2 3/4" chambers ( nitro proofed of course) will have the same effect on your gun as shooting 2 3/4" ammo in your Beretta or Browning with 3" chambers - none. Clean your gun after use as normal ( you do clean it, don't you?) and forget about it. Black powder proofed guns and shooting black powder is a separate subject. The only downside for this practice is the higher price and limited availability of 2 1/2" ammo.
 
Magellann said:
I guess it depends on who you spoke to years ago when they were changing from the FAC to PALS. When my FAC was due for renewal, I was told that I HAD To take the courses again, even though I had taken a course years before when getting my FAC.
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IIRC, FAC holders only got a POL if they didn't take the course, but if they wanted to get a PAL, they had to take the course/test. Again, IIRC, when his POL was going to expire, he was going to have to take the course, but Harper changed the rules and he got his PAL. Please note that this is only IIRC, it's been many years, and I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the whole issue.
 
Papaclaude said:
IIRC, FAC holders only got a POL if they didn't take the course, but if they wanted to get a PAL, they had to take the course/test. Again, IIRC, when his POL was going to expire, he was going to have to take the course, but Harper changed the rules and he got his PAL. Please note that this is only IIRC, it's been many years, and I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the whole issue.
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You remember well ppc, there was a one time offering in the mid 90's to upgrade to a full PAL from a POL.
There was no such deal from the FAC of the 70's-80's.
Rob
 
Papaclaude said:
IIRC, FAC holders only got a POL if they didn't take the course, but if they wanted to get a PAL, they had to take the course/test. Again, IIRC, when his POL was going to expire, he was going to have to take the course, but Harper changed the rules and he got his PAL. Please note that this is only IIRC, it's been many years, and I didn't pay a whole lot of attention to the whole issue.
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That makes a little more sense then. When I first got into this game all I wanted to do was to go hunting with a compound bow, I never had much interest in hunting with a gun. But I had to take the FAC course and the hunter safety course even for bow hunting. After taking the courses I went all in and bought a few toys since.
 
BigUglyMan said:
Same. One way or the other, you had to do the test. "Marksman" or not.
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Again, my memory could be all f_cked up, but I'm dead certain my buddy didn't take the course or the test. I'm certain he would not have passed - not because he had safety issues, but he has intellectual issues. BUt, this has nothing to do with 2 1/2 inch shells in a 2 3/4 chamber. Also, it seemed to me that the chambers were actually 2 9/16 (Google seems to confirm that), and I measured a few fired 2 3/4" I had, and they are just shy of 2 3/4. You're talking less than 5/64" difference - I'm pretty sure if the gun is nitro proofed, and you stick to target or upland loads, you should be OK. I know I wouldn't be afraid to try it if the gun was solid and the chamber actually is 2 9/16. And, if you reload, you could trim that 1/16 or so just to be on the safe side.
 
Papaclaude said:
Again, my memory could be all f_cked up, but I'm dead certain my buddy didn't take the course or the test. I'm certain he would not have passed - not because he had safety issues, but he has intellectual issues. BUt, this has nothing to do with 2 1/2 inch shells in a 2 3/4 chamber. Also, it seemed to me that the chambers were actually 2 9/16 (Google seems to confirm that), and I measured a few fired 2 3/4" I had, and they are just shy of 2 3/4. You're talking less than 5/64" difference - I'm pretty sure if the gun is nitro proofed, and you stick to target or upland loads, you should be OK. I know I wouldn't be afraid to try it if the gun was solid and the chamber actually is 2 9/16. And, if you reload, you could trim that 1/16 or so just to be on the safe side.
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I thought a challenge of some sort was active at the time, maybe just the test
 
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