doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 3" 20 ga in 2 3/4" chambers

I don't shoot 3" shells in 2 3/4" chambers nor do I want to. My original question was to merely find out if there was any data on that like there is on twelve gauge shotguns.

Assume you're referring to the "Finding Out for Myself" tests Sherman Bell did and reported in Double Gun Journal? I've never seen any on longer 20ga shells in shorter chambers, but it'd be safe to assume that the effects would be somewhat similar: increased pressure vs what you'd get if the 3" shell were fired in a 3" chamber. The greatest pressure increase Bell recorded when firing a shell 1/4" longer than the chamber in question (in that case, 2 3/4" in a 2 1/2" chamber) was slightly more than 1,000 psi. In most cases, less than that.

Yes, Larry, that is the kind of test/data stuff I was wondering about. Thanks. I still imagine that the pressure increases would be proportionally higher if nothing else due to the higher pressures of the twenty to begin with. Not that any of this really matters, I was just curious

if you fire a shell that is not designed for your firearm you are placing yourself and those around your in harms way' there would be no need to inform the shooter of the chambering difference of chamber length! Pilgrim

Pilgrim, it's not quite as simple as that. There are plenty of foreign guns out there with 2 3/4" chambers that were not built to withstand the pressures generated by modern American 2 3/4" factory loads. If we're talking only a difference of 1/4" in case length, the greater danger lies in what's in the shell rather than how long it is.

Very well said.

SRH