doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - Your experiences with the 12ga 2" please

Team,
I asked for, and received a very nice book for Christmas today (thanks Sis!)

As I sat down to read it, I came across a good quote, and I would like to solicit input from those of you who have used a 2" 12ga.
I normally shoot a 2oga, 26" RKLT Lightning, 6lb2oz, 1965 Super Posed with 7/8oz RSTs choked CYL/SKT for Grouse Woodcock.


Here's the info, and Merry Christmas

Book: The Traditional Side by Side, first edition, page 11
by Doug Stewart

The author says:
"On the light side, the 2" 12ga using 7/8oz loads shoots the shortest shot string known. It is deadly out to 35yards. It is like a pizza pan being thrown through the air."

Now I want one of the light nifty (and rare, not cheap) little guns. Love to hear your thoughts for the purpose of discussion.

How about just buying some 2" shells from RST and running them through a 2 1/2" 12 bore? Same thing?

If you want killing power, buy a bigger chambered gun. If you are enamored with the idea of a featherweight 12, short chamber, get one. What other people want or don't want is all over the map. Justifying it is not necessary. To paraphrase Amarillo Mike 'Once you pass the chicken joint on the way out of town to hunt birds, you've left practicality behind'.

A 2” 12 does nothing a 2 1/2” 16 or 20 won’t do just as well or better. I had one, 2” 12, which was a joy to carry. But a 2 1/2” 20 is just as much a joy to carry and easier to load for. I ended up selling my 2” 12 because it ended up filling a slot which multiple other guns did just as well or better. I had 16 and 20 with the same weight, same or heavier payload and which patterned just as well. Mine was choked IM in both barrels and had very nice patterns but nothing magical anymore than the 28 is a magical gauge. Hype is not hope.

Seems like one maker made them for 90% of the trade, so name means very little. Do be aware that to get the weight down they were struck very thin and often are even thinner than you might be comfortable shooting. Do not buy one without carefully measuring the barrels.

Some of the 2” factory shells are loaded so hot, they rattle your fillings. I loaded Federal Paper hulls with 15/16 shot and it was a joy to shoot. Then again I love paper hulls in all doubles.

If you find one you like buy it and scratch that itch. I lusted for a SuperBrite O/U for 20 years until I found one. Shot it so poorly that if I used it to shoot myself it would require two extra shells to finish the job. It was totally cool and I was satisfied having shot it for the time I owned it but like selling a boat, I shed no tears after it left. Buy right to sell painlessly later.

He didn’t say what gauge his super is…if it’s a 20 bore, I doubt it handles like a Ox cart. If his super is a 12 bore and depending on configuration…like a properly balanced super light…I highly doubt it handles like an ox cart either.

2” 12’s are overrated. Typically, a lot of them are ill balanced, especially Spanish made ones. Made to be light, which many of them are, but they usually sacrifice balance to achieve that. There are some gems out there, but they are few and far between.

The author of your book sounds like a hype man. A pizza pan huh? With what choke? Any choke? Ya right. The 12 is always going to be ballistically superior to smaller gauges, but light and well balanced 20’s and 16’s don’t take too much of a back seat to a 12 these days.

Nobody’s buying much of anything from RST these days either. They haven’t put much out in awhile.

I would like to own a 2" sxs but just for the uniqueness of owning one, I can't find any advantage in the field. I do shoot a 5 lb 15 oz 2 3/4" 12ga sxs and I have a 2 1/2" 12ga Darne at the same weight. On upland birds I find that 1 oz works in 12's, 16's and 20gauges.

Thanks, Stan, Craig. I had forgotten about the "shorty" shells made by Aguilla and didn't know about Feds. However, if they are built on the high end of SAAMI standards, the pressures would exceed what these 80-90 year old guns were built to digest on a steady diet regardless of load size. Gil

Out of curiosity; and with absolutely no intention to shoot it, I have tried to see if my 2" gun would accept a 2 1/2" cartridge if one should find its way into the cartridge bag by mistake and it most certainly would not fit. The forcing cones are such that it just will not go in. If there's space in the gun cabinet and you find a nice one it's worth buying. Lagopus.....

I recently purchased a Skimin & Wood 12 ga with 2" chambers. It was made for Kimball Arms Co Woburn Mass and comes complete with a Abercrombie & Fitch trunk style case. It has 27" barrels choked mod and full and is proved for 7/8 oz of shot. It weighs 5 lb 3 oz and is well balanced and lively in my hands.
I bought it because of the novelty of having a 2" gun. I haven't shot it yet but I will when weather permits. It will be fun to get a few ruffies next fall.