I thought I remember seeing a post somewhere that there are a few 00 buck loads from different manufacturers that are labeled as 2-3/4 but come up a little shorter than most. in turn you can sometimes fit 1 more round in the tube. I know you can get The “MINI SHELLS” but my question is regarding standard 2-3/4" shells. I thought it was Hornady that made them a tad shorter but cant remember.
what loads am i thinking of. Id like to get a handful of them for my HD shotgun and I honestly am not sold on the "MINI SHELLS by Aguila. Just seems like you could have some functioning issues even with a pump. I do remember watching a video by MAC were he mentioned this.
How much shorter are we talking about? Most 2 3/4’’ shot shells, at least all the ones I deal with, when loaded are going to be a nominal 2 1/4’’ long. Once fired, they are supposed to be 2 3/4’’ inches, though all the ones I have at hand actually come in a bit shorter than that.
I don’t have any of hornady loadings on hand here or the Aguila mini shells for that matter to measure out. So I can’t say if the hornady shells are significantly shorter than the others I have here, but I would think you’d have to be looking at around 1/8 shorter to be able to fit an extra shell into a tube, and this is with a tube that is on the longer side. Not sure if your field gun length tubes would benefit. Beyond that, I would just figure any length difference is manufacturing differences, maybe the plastic being cut a little shorter, since I do see variance in OAL of fired hulls between brands.
my gun is a 20" 590A1 and holds 8+1 with 2-3/4. I do remember seeing something about a shell that was short enough to make it hold 9+1. don’t remember what what round
Interesting. Have to determine the length difference by a pic, maybe 1/16, maybe 1/8 on the outside.
Well, running the calculations, and I am a little drunk, and no math expert. If the Hornady shell is 1/16’’ shorter you are looking at, again by my math, .5 inches more space in the tube. Which means you’d need at least 1.75 inches of free play in the tube with 8 normal rounds to get the ninth in there. If the Hornady loading is 1/8 of an inch you get an extra inch of room, so would only need 1.25 of free play. However, I would prefer more room if jamming in one extra shell, and would start to worry about over compressing the spring as well. Also, this is assuming that the Hornady critical defense loading is regularly shorter than and that the picture is not just a jacked up run Hornady did.
Also you sure someone wasn’t talking about ghost loading the gun(Can this even be done with a Mossberg pump)? Have seen guys running M4 Benellies doing so to get an extra round in the bitch.
Am likely going to be up at Cabela’s tomorrow, might see if they have some of the Hornady stuff and if the price isn’t asinine like some of their other ammo I might grab a box to check out.
I recently saw a thread about a guy looking to convert a 12 ga progressive press to load 1 5/8" shells up for 3 Gun. I asked to clarify his load i.e. birdshot, buck or slugs, to get a better visualization. Right now he is cutting cases by hand, loading on a Lee Load-All and crimping on a drill press which leads me to believe he is loading slugs with a roll crimp. When I learn more, I’ll post back with a link.
Back in the early-mid 90’s I use to shoot with a group of “Patriots” and part of the competition was using a 12ga with #4 buckshot. My shotgun was/is a Win Defender 1300 and somewhere I was buying 2" #4 buckshot loads and IIRC I could load 9 rounds in the tube instead of 7.
I don’t remeber where I bought them ( Dallas Market Hall gunshow maybe ).
It’s usually noticed when it’s the other way around.
Since some shells are longer than others (Federal’s LE132-00 comes to mind) you can easily lose a round. The shell is only >-< longer than some others but when you add that up, >-------< that’s enough so that the 8th shell won’t fit. Sometimes you can regain that with a change of spring or cup, but not always.
I can fit seven Winchester Super-X #1 buck (16 pellet) in the tube of my 870 18.0" with Nordic Comp extension, XL cap, Vangcomp follower, and Wolff XP 6-7 mag spring (extension still about 1/4" back from the end of barrel). In the same gun I can only fit six Dynamit Nobel 00 buck (12 pellet) or eight Centurion mini-shells (six 00 buck). I’ve experimented with all different combinations of mag extensions, springs, followers, and shotshells. Seven 2.75" shells with a slightly recessed mag extension was the best I could muster.
My Wingmaster with +5 extension holds ten Super-X, 9 Dynamit Nobel, and 12 mini shells.
The mini-shells have been relegated to wife/daughter use. The concept is neat, but only 1-2 extra shots in the tube isn’t worth it to me for the greatly reduced firepower. Although the mini-shells have almost zero perceived recoil to me.
