doublegunshop.com - home
Posted By: Joe Wood Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/04/21 06:28 PM
We all have beat the topic to death whether shooting a long hull in short chambers is wise and many of us have long ago decided it is a perfectly acceptable and safe alternative. Now let's point out an ADVANTAGE shooting the longer hulls provides: since the hull opens up into part or most of the forcing cone it prevents the plastic or lead buildup commonly found in the forcing cone! Makes cleaning a lot easier! Though I've shot tens of thousands of these long hulls it didn't penetrate my thick skull until recently why I never have a lot of plastic to clean out of my vintage doubles. Now I know.

Have a great day. smile
Posted By: builder Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/04/21 08:27 PM
Thanks for pointing this out. I was also wondering why I never have build up of plastic.
Posted By: ithaca1 Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/04/21 08:32 PM
Excellent observation!!
Posted By: skeettx Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/05/21 01:19 AM
Come ON!
Do you REALLY shoot 2 3/4 ammo in shorter chambers !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Safe to shoot mild 2 3/4 loads in my Par/Ith/Win.Belg/Ger/ Frenc guns??

Why I would even bet you shoot smokeless in your old barrels twist guns??

Me too smile
Let me play the devil's advocate for a bit. Why wouldn't plastic build up in the chambers themselves be just as much with long shells in short chambers as with long shells in long chambers? I know you're targeting forcing cones, but humor me a moment.

The only plastic buildup problem I've ever had in Argentina, when shooting over thousand shells a day, is plastic buildup in the chamber walls themselves which leads to weak, and then no, ejection of empties. Obviously, this is not from any sort of deposition of plastic caused by the passage of a plastic anything. The shell is stationary in the chamber, until it is ejected upon the gun opening. No hot gases trying to melt the outside of the hull, no friction from plastic against steel. Just a stationary plastic hull in a chamber. But, the chambers will build up enough plastic inside them that the empties won't eject, until you run a stiff chamber brush in and out enough times to remove it .......... for awhile.

My proposal concerning this is that you just don't shoot enough shells in the old guns to have a plastic deposition problem. They get cleaned before enough shells have gone through them to allow a buildup in the forcing cones. I never have this problem in any guns I have, other than those I have taken to Argentina for high volume shooting.

Just food for thought, not trying to start a debate.
Posted By: Joe Wood Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/05/21 02:00 AM
Aw shucks, Stan, we need a good debate here. Pretty boring around the house. I can’t counter you with anything authoritative but at the gun club today, sitting around with the old farts I mentioned my observation. Several agreed that plastic buildup in the forcing cone is a real problem to them in their long chambers. And they don’t shoot that much more than I. Heck, if they did—old as they are—all their dentures would be lost in the grass and they’d risk impotence. Golly, at my age doesn’t my 50 shots each week qualify for “high volume”? smile

PS: I was specifically referring to wad residue, not hull residue you get from shooting crappy Argentine bullets. Been there, done that one too. wink . In fact, after one hot shoot in Argentina even the bird boys (the world’s best field gunsmiths) couldn’t get my Benelli clackety clack to eject shells.
I knew you were talking about the wads, Joe. I'z thinking about plastic buildup in general. The way my mind works has frustrated the Queen for some 50 years now. I've got the can't help its. Most likely the reason the shells leave so much residue in the chambers in Argentina is the rate of fire, not the shell quality. 30 boxes per hour for three hours keeps the chambers and barrels hot, which probably leads to the increased rate of buildup. I've always used my Beretta 687 SP II Sporting. Much easier to clean the chambers on it than a jammamatic.

I found the shells I used in Argentina to be quite good. Last trip I went through 5250 without a misfire. What problems did you encounter with them? Of course, I never patterned any. Would have liked to at home but I didn't think customs officers would understand me sneaking a box on the plane. So, I just brought some empty boxes. Do you recall any of these brands?

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
Posted By: Joe Wood Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/05/21 01:54 PM
Stan, I don’t remember what the shells were, my bird boy handled them and loaded my gun. I didn’t shoot anywhere the number you did though I could have. In three days I think I fired about three thousand rounds and was sick of shooting. I pretty well limited myself to a thousand a day. I got bored and would quit and go watch Amarillomike bang away. He even got a three thousand bird day hat, I didn’t but out of sympathy they tossed me one anyhow. My bill was a LOT less than his! smile

Might as well have topic drift. Here is Amarillomike after one of his three thousand shell days. That’s fifteen years ago and he still has that glassy eyed expression.

[Linked Image from jpgbox.com]
Posted By: SKB Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/05/21 02:01 PM
Did your shooting student improve with all that practice?
Posted By: Joe Wood Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/05/21 07:25 PM
Why, he couldn’t even hit the dove sitting on top of his head! smile

Actually that was a “stunt photo”. He had no idea I had one of the bird boys run a stick up the rear of a dead bird and hold it up just right. Mike was intent on seeing the next dove so was completely unaware. Should have seen his reaction when he saw the pic! LOL!
Is the bleeding on his right cheek from recoil? I've seen that before on shooters there. Recoil has never been an issue for me, shoulder, cheek or hand.
Posted By: Joe Wood Re: Long hulls in short chambers (again) :) - 05/06/21 12:41 PM
Mike was shooting a Parker 16 gauge. Seems to me he was using some sort of comb wrap to raise stock. It was somewhat abrasive, I’d say! 🤪
© The DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com