doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 2 9/16th shells

I have an old 16 ga. Win. pump made in 1912. It is chambered for the older shells which I believe are 2 9/16th inches.

It appeares that shooting 2 3/4" shells in a 2 1/2" twelve gauge does not cause much trouble, so I was wondering if the same was true for 16 ga.

I have tried to trim 2 3/4" shells, but skiving the mouth and adjusting the reloading dies is a real pain.

I am open for suggestions.

RPr

If they will eject it will not make a difference. I'd Shoot low pressure loads in the gun also.

The problem may not be in shooting the longer shells per se, but with the length of the ejection port. I have a short chambered model 12-16 ga. that won't eject anything reliably but the 2.5" shell. Buy the short shells from RST/Polywad or the Kent Gamebore. Your not giving up anything by shooting the shorter shell, save the empties and use those for your reloads.

CH

RPr, there are no 2 1/2" Model 12s so yours is a poor comparison. 2 3/4 inch 16 gauge shells do not usually eject well in a Model 12. It is not a safety or pressure situation, it is a failure to eject situation. In my opinion, a slight mill cut at the front of the ejection port would solve the problem, but I've never owned a short chamber Model 12 16 that I was willing to modify. Maybe yours is in worn enough condition that it would not be a problem. I wouldn't worry about the chamber length.

If you had just some empties or new unloaded hulls such as the RST above or the 67mm B&P, then you could put one in the chamber, release and pull the slide, and see if it flies out.

Maybe, one of the reloading suppliers, such as BPI or Precision Reloading sells new 16 gauge hulls that are 67mm, or that can be cut down and loaded.

8bore, are you sure about there being no 2 1/2" Model 12's? You could be right that there are no short chambered 12ga Model 12's, but the gun first appeared as a 20ga, and back then, 2 1/2" was the standard for the 20. Not even sure 2 3/4" 20's were around then, although I could be wrong.

I think Eightbore is technically correct that there were no 2-1/2" Model 12's. On the other hand Larry is also correct that the "Model of 1912" was originally introduced as a 2-1/2" 20 gauge. Since the Model 12's and Models of 1912 are essentially the same gun, I call this one a draw.

For what it's worth, my circa 1913 Model of 1912, 20 gauge, with original 2-1/2" chamber and ejection port spent most of its life, prior to coming into my hands, digesting roll-crimped 2-3/4" shells with no reported problems. I even got a supply of the old ammo with the gun.

My MDL 12 16 bore did not eject 2.75 hulls all the time. I had Flagg in Pittsburgh streach the chamber and they also ground out the port. Worked fine! Cost was $15 in 1961!
bill

I'm sorry, about the error in my post. I meant to say that there are no 2 1/2 inch 12 gauge Model 12s in reply to RPr's statement that there was no problem shooting 2 3/4 inch shells in 2 1/2 inch 12 gauge Model 12s. Certainly there were 2 1/2 inch 20 gauges early on. Oddly enough, as one poster suggests, the 20 gauge short chamber Model 1912s and Model 12s usually work pretty well with 2 3/4 inch shells. Again, oddly, the 16 gauge short chamber guns don't eject 2 3/4 inch shells very well in my experience. Some may work better than others.

If it is ejecting the 2 3/4" 16ga shells reliably, (which is reported to be unusual for the short chambered 16) you don't need to cut the shell length back. However, you might want to reload to 2 1/2" pressures in respect for her age and originally intended diet. Otherwise, buy the RSTs or Polywad, B&P 2 1/2" shells (I found that some B&P were loaded pretty hot judging from recoil and don't like them at all in my lightweight 16ga) and save those hulls for reload as suggested by Cameron. These are actually 67mm hulls which is almost exactly 2 5/8" so check to see if they eject well before investing in a case. They most likely will eject fine.