3waycross":3e6fmpln said:
Caustic Burno":3e6fmpln said:
Wrong on that 3 way as most of those old Remingtons are chamber in 2 5/8
The modern star crimped shells can not open all the way in a 2 1/2 or 2 5/8 chambers greatly increasing your pressure.
You can get 2 1/2 inch shells from Midway. I have an an old model 12 16 gauge in 2 9/16 I roll my own for.
Another issue is the modern star crimp usually runs 500 to 750 psi higher pressure than a roll crimp.
Let's be clear were most of them chambered that way or were all of them?
Well like he said he put 2000 rounds thru it that way so i guess your original premise is flawed or he is the greatest Russian roulette player of all time. My guess is that if it was gonna fail it would have happened by now!
Here's a couple for you to consider Caustic all of which are chambered 2 3/4
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =377353146
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =376483184
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =377036455
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =377240104
and here's one with Damascus barrels and 2 3/4 in chambers
http://www.gunbroker.com/Auction/ViewIt ... =376771563
The modern star Crimp 2 3/4 inch shell was not even introduced until ten years after the gun went out of manufacture.
Chamber Length.
Many old guns have short chambers. You will have to trim the modern shells to fit. If a long shell is fired in a short chamber there will not be room for the mouth of the case to open and the pressure will increase dangerously. Shells are measured while open; not when crimped.
Old barrels are seldom marked with the chamber length; you must measure them to find out. The modern 2 ¾ inch shells were introduced in the 1920's along with the star crimp.
Forward Chamber Diameters
Gauge Inches mm
.410 0.463 11.76
28 0.614 15.60
20 0.685 17.40
16 0.732 18.59
12 0.798 20.27
10 0.841 21.36
Some of the common chamber lengths were:
16 ga - 2 9/16 (pretty common)
16 ga - 2 3/4 (modern star crimp)
12 ga - 2 1/2 (English) Now called 65mm.
12 ga - 2 5/8 (very common in America)
12 ga - 2 3/4 (modern star crimp) Now called 70mm.
To measure the length of a 12 gauge chamber make a metal bar 0.798 inches in diameter; the size of the forward end of the chamber; and about 3 inches long. Slide it into the chamber and measure how far it goes in relative to the breech face. Round that down to the nearest standard size. Don't guess! Consult a gunsmith if you can not perform this absolutely indispensable step by yourself.
The table gives the chamber diameters at the forward end, just where the mouth of the shell lies after firing. These are the modern minimum SAAMI dimensions.
A simple chamber length gauge may also be made from a bit of heavy sheet metal. This one is double ended; the pictured side is 12 gauge and the other side is for 16 gauge.
Also note that old shotguns often have chambers that are shaped differently from modern ones. Here is a Cerrosafe chamber cast of a Parker gun made in 1890. There is hardly any forcing cone; the chamber simply ends with an abrupt step at 2 5/8 inch just like a rifle chamber. It's diameter at the case mouth is right at the modern minimum of 0.798. This is meant for a brass shell.
Cerrosafe is a bismuth based alloy that melts at about 180°F. Just hold the barrel horizontal, clap a bit of wood at the breech with your fingers to make a dam, and pour it right in. Avoid the extractor. This makes a nice cast image of one side of the chamber and you can see the reamer marks and rust pits and everything. Get it at
www.brownells.com.
