"cut shells" anyone heard of this before??

I'm a subscriber there as well, and I've been wondering about the pressure thing ever since I saw the video. If pressure got much higher than normal, wouldn't the crimp just open up and the whole thing come apart? It can't take that much pressure to swage a plastic shell down to fit through the bore, plus it's open to the rear, so the shot could displace backward as the hull constricts. Cool idea, I'd say, but not something I would try in a choked barrel.
 
I have done this enough times to know it works surprisingly well. I would not and do not advocate it as a regular practice over actual slugs. TRY AT YOUR OWN RISK!

I score a deep grove between the shot column and powder charge before carefully slicing each side leaving two thin, scored bands 180 degrees apart holding the shell together.

It works very well IMO because I feel you are creating a 'tapered bore' effect with the forcing cone and choke, increasing both pressure and velocity. My own informal tests of my cut shells had them out penetrate 2 3/4" 1oz Winchester factory slugs not to mention stay intact better than the slug!

I got the nerve up to try this after watching Mythbusters try to blow up a shotgun with a welded plug in the barrel. I used my HP9 with cylinder bore choke and plain old federal target loads. I have always checked my barrel between shots and no obstructions or cracks/bulges yet. Total rounds fired plus minus 20 shells.

Is this a good way to get a Darwin Award? Quite possibly. After my testing/playing with these rounds I haven't cut a shell since. I know now that it works and works very well as an expedient solution to slugs. As a regular use cheap alternative? Why take the chance? TRY AT YOUR RISK!!!!
 
That's old school hunting 'slugs' right there. Necessity is the mother of invention and ringing shells kept many families from starving back in the day.
 
Seems safer when this guy shows you how...:D
[youtube]FYyB-23vWrs[/youtube]

here's another,

[youtube]i9F-_ZCTIbU[/youtube]
 
I have seen 3 12 gauge barrels that wished that their owners would not have tried it. 2 were bulged about half way the length of the barrel,made them good to shoot around corners,the third was split about 4" at the 3 o'clock about right at the fore arm,owner said it numbed his finger tips!
 
I wouldn't do it if I had slugs to use...

...But if you have only birdshot and need to feed the family (and the local supermarket is not an option for whatever reason) this could be really helpful.
 
Cut Shells

Tehoke01 said:
I wouldn't do it if I had slugs to use...

...But if you have only birdshot and need to feed the family (and the local supermarket is not an option for whatever reason) this could be really helpful.
Click to expand...

A friend of mine told me that when he was young (he is now 92) they only had a shotgun to hunt with so they made their own slugs. They would remove the pellets from the shell and replace it with two ball bearings and then fill it with melted wax. These slugs accounted for many a deer and never did any harm to the gun.
 
We did this when we were kids and got our first 12 ga. Didn't get any big game but we sure as hell scared a few car wrecks..It's even mentioned in our yearly "Hunting and Trapping Guide"..."It is unlawful: to use or possess, in any area
frequented by wildlife, any ammunition that has been cut, ringed or
altered in any way;"
 
I have done this once while out hunting. We were hunting small game(grouse and rabbit) And heard a bear roar in the distance! that was my first thought to cut a shell just in case. It worked in my rem 870 but only did it once. shot gun still works today.
 
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