doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Status of RST Shot Shells

I was at Ernies talking to one of the guys at RST's tent and asked why no 10 gauge. Was told there were no wads available, but they had all the other components. I don't know whose wad they use but I load 10 gauge and am getting low on Remington SP 10's. The only 10 gauge wads available right now is card and fiber. Heard that Remington will be making more Sp 10's after some of their shortages are taken care of, but who knows when. So I e-mailed Claybuster and asked them to consider making an SP 10 clone. I got a nice reply thanking me for my interest but they are not adding any new items to their product line however they are adding my request to the list. Wonder what would happen if RST contacted them??

Jack K

Sorry, you are correct. In front of the lengthened chambers measurements were in the .085 range.

.085" is plenty of wall thickness at the juncture of the chamber/cone IMO.

I have a 16 gauge Parker with Damascus barrels that Dr. Gaddy measured at .067" and .065" and he pronounced them safe to shoot under 7,500 psi loads... and I have shot it a lot.

I don't believe the issue is for those who routinely shoot and reload their own ammo unless its an accidental double charge (seen those). However, one pretty well known fellow who does this type work has seen two blown barrels in front of the chambers on Fox 16 gauges after they were extended to 2 3/4". Both of those barrels were in the .085 range. Who knows what they were fed, but accidents do happen. The question will always be when that gun is moved on at some point will someone measure the chambers and see they are 2 3/4" and stuff whatever in there and pull the trigger.

Old post I know.

I have an email into RST because my barrels are marked 65 but chambers are cut to 2.775” inches from the Barrel face to forcing cones. I’ve shot 2 7/8 inch ammo 2.7” OAL to the folded crimp) through it and it doesn’t pattern worth a darn I would assume that’s because when fired the fold crimps are overlapping the forcing cones. After the poor patterns from the RST ammo I only now reload only for my gun. I’ve cut all those same hulls down below where the fold crimp indentions are and use a 4 pin roll crimper. So my OAL length hulls I reload are 2.7” give or take. Short enough not to overlap my forcing cones. Needless to say, my patterns have gotten a lot better because I’m not using too long of a hull now. I wonder if there’s 2 5/8” hulls “ unfolded” are short enough (2.775” or under) so I use them in my gun? I would assume chambers were cut to the same length as recommended ammo lengths back in the day because they fired all brass hulls and eventually paper roll crimps? Sounds like in 1939 Remington invented the star crimp( fold crimp). I would assume chambers were lengthened to accommodate modern star crimps and 2 7/8” chamber detentions were lengthened a good half inch for the fold crimps when they “ un folded” when firing? Anyways, I have 13 number fives and six number sixes still in the factory boxes that I’ll never use. Guess I can either try and trade them for the shorter versions or some brand new 10 gauge hulls? Be ashamed just to rip them open to use them for halls after I paid way over 30 bucks a box plus shipping back in the day when they were available. I look on there and I see they have 2 5/8 inch light loads and not 2 7/8 inch. They also don’t offer lead anymore for some reason. I’m wondering if they only offer 2 5/8” ammo now because they figured out a few years back what I’ve just figured out.

RST does offer 2 7/8" shells and lead. They are out of stock on both, unfortunately.

Yeah, they’ve been out of stock for years

2 1/2 will do fine. Most anything you can shoot from 2 7/8 can be found in 2 1/2

It is ok to shoot shorter shells in longer chambers

I apparently I didn't zero my calipers before I measured the loaded RST factory ammo the other day. The 2 7/8” RST unfired ammo measures 2.405”. I also re measured my chambers and they still are both reading the same as yesterday at 2.775”. So i would say I'm good to go with 2 7/8" factory RST ammo if I want to shoot it up. Well that's good becuase when I loaded up my proven load the other day and used a plastic shot cup instead of a 1/2" nitro card I had just enough hull length left over after shortening them to get a roll crimp. Now I won't have to cut down the current RST hulls that I know they are short enough to clear the forcing cones without any trimming or I'll have to trim off .025" of hull material I'm guessing.

First of all I want everyone to know that I am not being judgmental when I make the following statements. I learned long ago not to rely on someone else to make the cartridges I use. When component supplies were plentiful I would buy lead shot, powder, primers, hulls, wads etc. in bulk. I'm glad I did because I have never been hurting for ammo. I know not everyone reloads but haven't the previous mass shootings and the pandemic made us all realize that supplies for our hobby are often in short supply? Plus, loaded ammo and supplies cost more now. For those who do not know how to reload please learn! It will not only save you money but you will always have what you need to enjoy your hobby. An added bonus is that you can make better ammo than the ammo companies can! I load everything from 8 gauge to .410. many of you might only need one gauge like 12 or 16. If you want to keep it simple just buy a used MEC reloader off of Ebay or an online auction or buy a new one if your pocketbook allows it. You can still find Powder to load low pressure shells and you will never have to buy a box of loaded ammo at ridiculous prices again! Yes, there is an upfront investment in the reloading press but that is a small price to pay to make your own and never run low! Just my two cents worth.