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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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I have ran into several shotguns with 2.5" chambers, proofed for 1 1/4oz loads. Has anyone ever seen a 2.5" shell loaded with 1 1/4oz shot? Any recipes for this load out there?
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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From what I can find, looking at US shotshell offerings from 1940, the short 12's (actually 2 5/8") carried a maximum shot charge of 1 1/8 oz. My "Eley Shooter's Diary 2005" does show the Eley Maximum 2 1/2" shell with a shot charge of 1 3/16 oz.
Last edited by L. Brown; 11/08/19 08:35 AM.
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Feb 2002
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Apparently, proof at a certain load doesn't mean you can buy that load at the local hardware store. We yankees have been shooting 1 1/4 ounces or more out of 2 1/2" and 2 5/8" chambers for decades.
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
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I believe that the majority of British "2½" chambers actually measured from 2 9/16 to 2 5/8". The 1 1/8 oz proof was a nominal 3-ton proof. A gun proofed for 1 ¼ oz was proofed for 3¼ tons. I seem to recall someone mentioning here earlier that Greener, & perhaps others as well, had some nominal 2½" chambered given a 1¼ oz proof.
According to Burrard the British also loaded a line of "Low Velocity" shells which used a heavier shot charge at lower velocity for a given cartridge length. The 12 gauge 2½" low-velocity load was 2 3/4 DE-1¼ oz. This was I understand a predominant reason for the change from the shot weight proof to the Ton mark. This 2 3/4-1¼ load met the 3-Ton proof but many felt it did not meet the 1 1/8 oz proof.
Similar reason for the change from "Not For Ball" to "Choke". The choked barrel could be safely fired with Ball, as long as the ball was undersized enough to pass through the choke.
Miller/TN I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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It's worth noting here that there's some confusion about the "tons" marks. Although we tend to refer to X tons "proof", the tons refers to service pressure, not proof pressure.
It would appear, at least from the fairly extensive list of Eley loads I find in their "Shooter's Diary", that there are no longer any 2 1/2" shells loaded with loads as heavy as 1 1/4 oz. In the list I have, Eley offers over a dozen different Game or Long Range Heavy Loads. With the exception of the 1 3/16 oz Maximum, all the others contain from 1 to 1 1/8 oz shot charges.
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
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Good point Larry. I probably didn't word my post the best, it should have read proofed for a 3-ton load. As the guns themselves are marked 3 Tons it is rather normal to refer to them as a 3-ton proof, meaning, of course, the prescribed pressure level of the shell they are intended to fire.
Not truly that confusing as IF the guns had been proofed with only 3 tons of pressure there would have been no shells they could have fired & been "In Proof".
Miller/TN I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2008
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Some of the very earliest Eley 'Maximum' cartridges did have 1 1/4 ounce and suitable for 2 1/2" chambers although later this went down to 1 3/16ths. as they still now are. Also some very early Eley 'Alphamax' cartridges with 1 1/4 ounce were in a 2 1/2" case. These latter are quite rare and I only have one example in my collection. I would have to go back through some of my old catalogues to find the dates of change. They advertised being loaded with 'Neoflak' powder. Lagopus
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Joined: Dec 2001
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Dec 2001
Posts: 12,743 |
Burrard briefly mentioned Neoflak powder. It appears as if it was a dense powder of a slower burning rate than the then mostly used Bulks, such as Smokeless Diamond & EC or the dense Ballistite. This would have allowed the heavier shot load without increasing the "Maximum" pressure. The faster burning powders could only be kept within the 3-ton limit by using reduced charges as in the low-velocity principal.
Miller/TN I Didn't Say Everything I Said, Yogi Berra
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Joined: Jan 2002
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jan 2002
Posts: 11,394 Likes: 107 |
Good point Larry. I probably didn't word my post the best, it should have read proofed for a 3-ton load. As the guns themselves are marked 3 Tons it is rather normal to refer to them as a 3-ton proof, meaning, of course, the prescribed pressure level of the shell they are intended to fire.
Not truly that confusing as IF the guns had been proofed with only 3 tons of pressure there would have been no shells they could have fired & been "In Proof". Unfortunately, the Brits themselves add to the confusion re proof vs service pressure. Quoting from a box of Gamebore Pure Gold shells: "WARNING. Please note that these cartridges are suitable for use in: 65/67mm case length: Guns with a chamber length of 2 1/2" or longer, nitro proofed to a service pressure of 3 tons per square inch (850kg per square cm)." All fine until the very end, when the warning equates service pressure using the imperial system to proof pressure using the metric system. Sometimes I think it's an evil plot to confuse us Yanks!
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Joined: Jun 2008
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Sidelock
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Sidelock
Joined: Jun 2008
Posts: 2,738 Likes: 96 |
It's getting confusing for us too now with the metric chamber length and only two types of Proof; Standard and Superior. It seems that 2 1/2" and 2 3/4" chambered guns are subject to the same Proof charge and just marked Standard Proof regardless. Some of those old 2 1/2" chamber guns going in for Re-proof must get a bit strained! Lagopus
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