I have a couple of 16 ga guns that have 2-1/2 inch chambers. I shoot 2-1/2 reloads and 2-5/8 reloads in these. I live in AK and it's a pain in the ass. Modern guns use 2-3/4. I cannot get your RST loads here...period. What is the view about opening guns to 2-3/4 from 65mm?
I have a really perfect...near new GUyot 16 and a very tight and proper guild 16. I load for them but what's the limit on this. Am I making a mistake by lengthing chambers?
Mike
In short: yes, you could be making a mistake. They'll be out of proof, though not an immediate legal issue in your jurisdiction. The long answer is that there may or may not be enough meat to ream them out and leave sufficient thickness. Lengthened chambers without appropriate re-proof are a red flag to many buyers.
little creek I have about 800 or so new 2 1/2" 16 gauge cases and all kinds of wads that I'd sell.
One thing you can do is have the forcing cones lengthened but not the chambers. Then, should you choose to reload 2 3/4" hulls and shoot them in those short-chambered guns--which a lot of people do--the result will likely be only a fairly slight increase in pressure. A few hundred psi. At least that's what Bell discovered when he tested longer shells in shorter chambers. And the 16ga Society guys have a bunch of low pressure formulas for reloads.
If that Guyot was mine and it was made after WWI and the wall thicknesses at the end of those chambers was 100/1000ths or thicker I wouldn't hesitate to shoot factory 2-3/4" cartridges packed with 2-1/2 DE of powder and 1oz of shot. Of course, if I blew my fingers off it would be my own damn fault.
Lengthening the forcing cones has merit. There is a warning from Gough Thomas/GT Garwood about long forcing cones and fiber wads and shot balling. But as long as you shoot modern plastic wads through those lengthened forcing cones there should be no problem. I still wouldn't shoot any factory loads over 2-1/2 DE and 1oz of shot through it though.
In his paragraphs about shot balling Garwood also mentioned that many Continental guns (like France, Belgium, Germany, but not England) left the maker with long forcing cones. Which means you might already have long forcing cones.
You probably won't live long enough to see the effect on the gun's value of lengthened forcing cones or a lengthened chamber or making the gun out of proof.
Presuming that Alaskans have a lot of time on their hands in November, December, and January, you could reload a lifetime supply of 2-1/2" length 16 gauge shells in one winter.
I assume you have had the chambers measured and they have not been lengthened already.
Why cant you get RST's there?
Check on these guys, LC. They also load and sell 16 ga. 2 1/2" low pressure stuff.
http://www.polywad.com/guide.html#2_1/2_Shotshells Great guys to deal with. Shipping might be high, but I can't imagine why they wouldn't ship to AK.
SRH
Reloading 2 1/2" 16ga isn't much more difficult than loading 2 3/4" 12ga. I have a MEC 600s with 2 1/2" adaptors and can knock out my loads quickly. Most of my 16s are 2 1/2" and I use that size in my 2 3/4s also. I use nothing but 2 1/2" in all my 12s too.