doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Chamber Lengthening

Newbie here and I apologize if this has been covered in previous posts.

I am considering lengthening the chambers on my Ithaca Flues 16 gauge (model 1-1/2)from 2.5" to 2.75" to allow me to use modern shotshells (nothing hot or high pressure), but mfg such as Rem GL w/1oz shot. Can anyone confirm this? I do not want to do this if it will damage the gun as it is in wonderful condition. I curently shoot RST 2.5" shotshells with great results but can shoot modern ammo (as you know) for half the cost. I spoke with Less at Diamond Gunsmithing and he said he currently hunts with a 16ga Flues that has modified chambers with no problems encountered. In doing this will the patterning be affected in a negative way? Do any of you shoot/hunt with lengthened chambers? Are there forcing cone issues? Any advice, hints or warnings would be appreciated...Thank you

GLM, ALL the el cheapo 16ga 1oz loads are made to higher pressures than those for which your Flues was designed. You may well get by shooting those shells. I did with a Flues 16, as well as with a pre-WWII Sauer 16. But it's not the wisest thing to do. You can end up shortening the life of your gun.

Simply lengthening the forcing cone will do as much to lower pressure as lengthening the chamber, and you're taking out a lot less metal in the process. But even with lengthened forcing cones, I would not shoot 2 3/4" American shells in a Flues 16. If you join the 16ga reloading group, you can find out about working up 7/8 oz (some even use 3/4 oz) low pressure reloads, using standard 2 3/4" hulls. The hull length really isn't the major issue (especially if you lengthen the cones). Rather, it's the pressure the shell generates.

Clearly explained L. Brown. Thank you. Until I begin reloading for myself, I'll continue to buy and use new mfg low pressure shotshells. It makes sense and most likely the best idea. I have two 16's that are chambered at 2.5" and I like to break birds with them regularly. I would hate to see that because I started using modern shotshells, I now have a damaged gun that is beyond repair or worse, unsafe to fire.

Thank you once again...

GLM - agree with LB. I'd add that you must note that there is no correlation of light shot charge to low pressure. Chamber length is a red herring in picking loads for a gun of lower strength. You must know that the load is of low pressure. Lengthen the forcing cones to about 1 1/4" or so.

Low pressure is for the good of the metal and low recoil is for the good of the wood and the shooter.

GLM-in addition to the concerns about damage to the gun expressed above, there is also the matter of the recoil YOUR SHOULDER will absorb by switching to cheap modern promotional 16ga shells. High pressure modern "game-load" 16s in a light Flues model Ithaca will prove the old saying about "16s kicking like a 12 and hitting like a 20."...Geo

I agree with all the above, I think.
Extending the chambers is a very bad idea.
Doing anything to the forcing cones is also not a sound idea.
When we start rethinking the engineers and designers of old guns, we are perhaps arrogant and flirting with what we know not the end result.
To do these things to guns that are older than most men's fathers and grandfathers reading about it is much like trying to use modern gasoline in a 1919 automobile. I think, as an antique car buff and a devotee of wonderful old SxSs, it is a gift that we are given by those great men that designed and built the guns that we treasure today.
Use then well and attempting to remake them is not to be countenanced.
Best,
John

Gentlemen,

I thank you all most sincerely. I knew when I aquired the Ithaca, what was required to feed and keep it well. I'll not make any modifications but be content to use as intended. I think in the long run, the satisfaction factor will be worth more than the saving of a few dollars burning promotional ammunition.

I bought a 16 gauge barrel and bolt for my Remington 1100. Bought both seperately on Ebay for less than $150.00 total. Both the 12 and 16 are standard size frames in Remington so the 16 barrel goes right on my 12. Now I can shoot those cheap promo loads at skeet and get empties to reload for my low pressure double gun loads. It is not a lot of fun shooting those promo loads in a light double anyways. Now I just let the auto absorb the heavy factory load and have fun shooting proper loads in my double later.

Gary,
One thing's for sure, your not doing anything to it can't hurt anything. I like your approach. If you invest in a good turret loader, it'll be able to crank out low pressure 2 3/4" shells that will be suitable for your short chambered gun. I personally use 2 3/4" reloaded low pressure shells in my short chambered (2 1/2"-2 9/16").

John, while I certainly haven't lengthened cones on all my old guns--for instance, I won't touch my Army & Navy pair from 1933--we need to remember that most of us are going to be shooting 2008 shells in 1908 guns, and the original engineers did their work based on the ammo then available. Things like lengthening chambers and opening chokes (I did do that on the tight barrel of one of my A&N's, seeing no use at all for something that patterned 90%+ at 35 yards) may result in a gun that works better with more modern shells. And the good thing about lengthening cones and/or tinkering with chokes is that those modifications don't take the gun out of proof.