Reloading short shotshells? (Aguilla minishells)

[curseyou]

So Im still reading all the manuals for the kit I bought because Im learning to reload for 12ga.

I also just learned of a thing called aguila mini shells. they are 12 ga 1 and 3/4 inch shells. Meaning you can pack a lot more into the mag.

This raises a question, why do wads take up so much space? why arent wads just a gas sealing shot cup? Why does the wad make the shell's shot column so long? The only thing I can think of is maybe for leverage with ejector springs.

Anyone ever play with shell length going smaller than the 2"3/4, 3" and 3.5"? Application is an 870.

Im thinking once Ive got the basics coverdd it might be time to start a for of wildcat experiments. How compact can you make good shells?

 

[yomomma]

A lot of time the wad also acts as a shock absorber .

Some guys do slug shells as small as 2". Operation of minis in a shot gun is hit or miss.

 

[LUTNIT]

If you take a look at wads meant for steel or other non-toxic loads you'll notice the accordion section is missing on most of them. With lead shot the rapid acceleration can deform the shot and cause a lot of pellets to fly way out of the pattern. The accordion looking section helps distribute the acceleration over a longer period of time (like a shot absorber like yomomma said) so the shot doesn't deform as much. It also helps take up the room so the appropriate amount of shot can be loaded and still fill the hull. Shells used to come in all sorts of odd sizes when break actions were the main game in town but trying to get shells of many different lengths to cycle well in a pump or semi is difficult. Longer is normally easier so a 3-1/2" chambered 12ga can load 2-3/4" reliably but depending how short you go, it can cause a lot of jams.

The wads I use for 2-3/4" 00 buckshot loads already have pretty small shock absorbing sections and still fit 9 pellets. If you used just a gas seal and no wad, you may be able to get 12, but it'll be quite a heavy payload.

Like yomomma I've heard of a lot of function problems with the Aguila mini shells. I haven't tried them myself though.

With the normal limit of 2+1 shells in a shotgun for hunting, and 2 or 1+1 shells for skeet or trap, there isn't much advantage to having shorter shells except for blasting stuff for fun.

 

[Rookie{OMC}]

It is nice to get more in ,for some 3 gun stages though.