Gauge Reducers
- Thread starter RT
- Start date
I've heard they work okay but i wonder about their utility.....why not just load the 12 ga. down to twenty eight gauge levels? The advantage to the 28 is less recoil and a lighter gun....your gun won't be any lighter/handier...ammo would be more expensive, I just don't see what is gained.
It might allow you to shoot a different gauge in a trap event without having to buy another gun. I believe the smaller gauges are considered a handicap, so to shoot 25 out of 25 with a 12gauge is good, the same with a 28 gauge or .410 is much better.
The full length tubes are actually a barrel inside of a barrel, and from what I have seen on high end trap and skeet guns they work just like a smaller guage shotgun.
The lesser expensive ones, are just a chamber insert, and they rely on the larger bore barrel/choke. I have one that is about 4" long for 12-410 and a 12inch long one for 20-410. Neither one is useful beyond 15 feet as the pattern is so large and sparse - at least with a 3" 410 round.
The lesser expensive ones, are just a chamber insert, and they rely on the larger bore barrel/choke. I have one that is about 4" long for 12-410 and a 12inch long one for 20-410. Neither one is useful beyond 15 feet as the pattern is so large and sparse - at least with a 3" 410 round.
The Little Skeeters aren't very convenient. The entire unit comes out of the gun after the shell is fired and the hull has to then be pounded out of the adapter. Having watched guys do it at the club it's a messy and time consuming effort. I'd probably want to have more than two units if I wanted to shoot a round of skeet to speed up the process.
I owned a set of Seminole Chambermates 12-28. They are more expensive but they have extractors that work with your guns ejectors to push the hull out. The extractors/ejectors worked well enough but only with premium ammo such as Remington STS or Winchester AA. When using Kent or Challenger the shells wouldn't eject and the entire adapter would come out of the gun.
The pattern was okay. Sometimes you did get an off sounding report presumably because the wad didn't seal properly but most of the time they worked as advertised.
Eventually I traded the units off because they didn't make much sense. I had spent a couple of hundred bucks only to end up with a very heavy 28 gauge gun that required ammuniton twice as expensive as the 12.
beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
Briley's "Chambermates" seem to work O.K. with minimal upset to gun weight or balance. Like the Seminole units, the extractors work in concert with the guns extractors .... they don't work well at all with hunting loads, or even some of the "hotter" target loads. Standard target loads however, such as
the .410, 28 and 20 "AA's" - no problem. For the .410, one needs to move up from the guns standard Skeet chokes to at least I/Cyl., or even Modified to obtain decent patterns for Skeet. Ran a few "straights" with them in my DT10,
but like any other .410, you really need to concentrate on a smooth swing.
For "fartin' around at the Club level" they're all right, if you're going to shoot registered birds, you'll be much further ahead with a full length tube set.
For hunting, I'd say "forget it" ... get a small gauge gun of your choice made for the purpose.
the .410, 28 and 20 "AA's" - no problem. For the .410, one needs to move up from the guns standard Skeet chokes to at least I/Cyl., or even Modified to obtain decent patterns for Skeet. Ran a few "straights" with them in my DT10,
but like any other .410, you really need to concentrate on a smooth swing.
For "fartin' around at the Club level" they're all right, if you're going to shoot registered birds, you'll be much further ahead with a full length tube set.
For hunting, I'd say "forget it" ... get a small gauge gun of your choice made for the purpose.
Ardent
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
I've got both a new set of 12g to 20g and 12g to .410 for sale in the EE, they're decent, and work well for low vaolume shooting. They are a bit of a pain at times, but then again, they're only about $70 a pair and for that price the versatility's reasonable. I'm of mixed feelings on them, cheap, so I use them, but there are much better alternatives, though they require spending much more money.
Maybe the whole different gauge thing is for Skeet. I believe after becoming SO GOOD with a 12 gauge it might become boring , so you try with a different gauge to have the handicap of the smaller bore. Then you try to become SO good in that gauge. I guess after you have your 100 out of 100 12guage badge , you would want a 100 out of 100 20 gauge , and 28 gauge and .410. Personally I would switch to 5 stand sporting clays because I don't think anybody gets 100 out of 100 or even 20 out of 20 every time.
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beretta boy
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
- Location
- Orillia, Ontario
25 Straight at 5-Stand is no biggy ... I've managed that maybe 25 or 30 times so far
... But you're right, 100's are not that common with the .410 in Skeet, particularly in Registered competitions. (tough enough at the Club level !)
100's are even rarer in Sporting Clays... with any gauge !. ( So far the best for me was a 96 with 73 straight ... a long crossing Battue got to me at 74 !
( don't recall what the other 3 were, but it really doesn't matter ! )
... But you're right, 100's are not that common with the .410 in Skeet, particularly in Registered competitions. (tough enough at the Club level !)
100's are even rarer in Sporting Clays... with any gauge !. ( So far the best for me was a 96 with 73 straight ... a long crossing Battue got to me at 74 !
( don't recall what the other 3 were, but it really doesn't matter ! )
It depends on the course layout. I've shoot sporting courses where just about any decent shooter could break 90 (even me) and others where a score in the mid 70's was nothing to be ashamed of.25 Straight at 5-Stand is no biggy ... I've managed that maybe 25 or 30 times so far
... But you're right, 100's are not that common with the .410 in Skeet, particularly in Registered competitions. (tough enough at the Club level !)
100's are even rarer in Sporting Clays... with any gauge !. ( So far the best for me was a 96 with 73 straight ... a long crossing Battue got to me at 74 !
( don't recall what the other 3 were, but it really doesn't matter ! )
Same with 5 stand. Some set ups are more challenging than others.
Have a set of 410 Little Skeeters that I use in my Browning 325, 20 gauge O/U. They are a pain to try and use on the skeet field for the reloading time but are a lot of fun for informal sporting prtactice.
Ideal if anybody is looking to get their children into another gauge and ease them into the recoil change.
Have $40.00 invested in those so hard to beat for ability to convert to another gauge.
Ideal if anybody is looking to get their children into another gauge and ease them into the recoil change.
Have $40.00 invested in those so hard to beat for ability to convert to another gauge.
- Location
- Ft. Mac. Alberta
When I bought my 412S, the tubes came with it, as well as a set of 9.3X74R barrels with a QD scope mount as well.
The 28's worked great for ruffed grouse ( SKT/SKT) and it was fun to shoot skeet with as well.
I never really used thw 12 guage barrels very much, even with lighter loads, and never found a 7/8oz load that was as good as the ones out of the 28 tubes.
I have since sold the gun, but have another set of tubes that I used for an ultralight 12 guage.
They will be going inot an old SXS shortly and likely stay there.
But yes, the tubes are deadly with AA skeet type loads, and I had some that were over 1320 FPS......
