Chamber size

[Punt Gun]

Would shooting a 2 3/4" cartridge through a 3" chamber have much effect on the pattern? Is it best to keep to a 3" cartridge in a 3" chamber?

[TJ91]

Would shooting a 2 3/4" cartridge through a 3" chamber have much effect on the pattern? Is it best to keep to a 3" cartridge in a 3" chamber?

 

My gun is 3inch chamber but i rarely use 3inch cartridges, maybe 30 3inch carts a year whereas i put well over 3000 2 3/4inch carts through it. and a few 2 1/2 inch have gone through aswell

 

cartridge length does not make a difference to me, i dont even look at the length when i am buying carts, i look at what gram and what shot size they are

[wymberley]

Hi,

To answer the 2 questions; possibly and no. If you find a cartridge that you get on with, pattern it and keep the info for future reference should you ever have to change. The alternative is to know what pattern is necessary for whatever it is you're shooting and test a few makes until you get what is needed. If you have multi chokes, fine, but you still need to know the pattern density.

99.99% of us know exactly what TJ91 meant. However, for the benefit of the other 0.01%, ALWAYS check any potential cartridge purchase for length, ensuring it is suitable for use in your gun.

[njc110381]

I did read a test in one of the mags some years back when gun makers started bringing out the 3.5" chamber and it was suggested that using short 2.5" cartridges in them could make the patterns a little less tidy because of the jump to the forcing cones. It was nothing major, but you wouldn't get quite the same results as if the same cartridge was fired through a 2.75" gun.

 

I'd imagine it's the same to some extent for the 3" chambers, but to even less of a degree. I really wouldn't worry about it because many of us use that combination with no problems at all, even the top clay shots to whom the slightest difference matters. I certainly wouldn't be buying 3" cartridges for clay shooting as the rattling teeth they would give you would be more of a problem than the pattern of the shot!

 

As Wymberley said. Always check the cartridge is suitable for your gun. It doesn't matter if you use smaller but put a 3" in a 2.75" gun and there's a chance you could burst it with very expensive and painful results.

[Punt Gun]

Thanks for the replies, and your help.

 

 

 

 

I did read a test in one of the mags some years back when gun makers started bringing out the 3.5" chamber and it was suggested that using short 2.5" cartridges in them could make the patterns a little less tidy because of the jump to the forcing cones. It was nothing major, but you wouldn't get quite the same results as if the same cartridge was fired through a 2.75" gun.

 

I'd imagine it's the same to some extent for the 3" chambers, but to even less of a degree. I really wouldn't worry about it because many of us use that combination with no problems at all, even the top clay shots to whom the slightest difference matters. I certainly wouldn't be buying 3" cartridges for clay shooting as the rattling teeth they would give you would be more of a problem than the pattern of the shot!

 

As Wymberley said. Always check the cartridge is suitable for your gun. It doesn't matter if you use smaller but put a 3" in a 2.75" gun and there's a chance you could burst it with very expensive and painful results.

[TJ91]

Hi,

To answer the 2 questions; possibly and no. If you find a cartridge that you get on with, pattern it and keep the info for future reference should you ever have to change. The alternative is to know what pattern is necessary for whatever it is you're shooting and test a few makes until you get what is needed. If you have multi chokes, fine, but you still need to know the pattern density.

99.99% of us know exactly what TJ91 meant. However, for the benefit of the other 0.01%, ALWAYS check any potential cartridge purchase for length, ensuring it is suitable for use in your gun.

 

ah yes, i would check if my gun only took 2 1/2 or 2 3/4 inch cartridges but my gun takes most cartridge (12gauge) i can buy in my local shops so i dont need to check ..

 

sorry i didnt word it too well, you should always check that the cartridge will fit in your gun

[COACH]

This is a very hot topic at the moment and a very regular subject that crops up in the club houses of a clay shoot.

Both myself and a fellow A.P.S.I instructor have been doing a lot of testing on the subject and this is what we personally have come up with.

 

If you have a 3" chamber and use a 65mm/70mm cartridges the pattern is only altered by a negligible amount so no need to worry. Though 70mm are very slightly better.

How ever if you have one of the modern all singing all dancing guns that have 3"" chambers, Longer forcing cones and back boring etc like the Browning Ultra XS for example then the pattern blows quite considerably. At times the breaks can be very bitty indeed even with tight chokes at close range IF you use a 24g or 21g 65mm FIBRE cartridge. But PLASTIC is considerably better.

Edited November 10, 2010 by COACH