12 gauge chamber length
I have a 12 gauge made in europe in the early 1900s and I've been wondering about the chamber length, some people say it's supposed to have a 2 1/2 inch chamber but, I've shot 2 3/4 out of it and everything was fine. Nothing written about it mentions the chamber length, including an english article from the time and an american article from the the 70s.
So any thoughts?
So any thoughts?
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Get a 12 gauge fired plastic shell, modern one with a folded crimp not the old time roll crimp. Make sure it was was fired in another shotgun, not the one in question. See if it will chamber without undo force. 0 -
The rule of thumb for an older European shotgun is that if it is not marked "70" (2 3/4") along with the proofmarks, then it has a 65mm (2 1/2- 2 9/16") chamber.
Shell length is measured on the fired hull with crimp opened out.
An unfired 2 3/4" shell will readily chamber in a 2 1/2" gun.
The worry is that the crimp can't fully open, increasing backpressure.0 -
quote:Originally posted by rufe-snow
Get a 12 gauge fired plastic shell, modern one with a folded crimp not the old time roll crimp. Make sure it was was fired in another shotgun, not the one in question. See if it will chamber without undo force.
Ok did that, shell slid in easily until there was about 3mm left.
So now I want to know if it's safe for it to fire 2 3/4 rounds, at least the light one, if it helps I can say it's fired 2 3/4 magnum rounds with no signs of trouble.0 -
Any ship can be a mine sweeper once. A 100 year old gun could use a inspection from your local gunsmith, it might be worth your limb or life. Have you looked into the chamber to see if there is a line where the chamber ends and the forceing cone begins. 0 -
quote:Originally posted by charliemeyer007
Any ship can be a mine sweeper once. A 100 year old gun could use a inspection from your local gunsmith, it might be worth your limb or life. Have you looked into the chamber to see if there is a line where the chamber ends and the forceing cone begins.
had a gunsmith inspect and test fire it, he didn't find anything wrong with it.0 -
I know that the 2 3/4 in shells will fire from these older guns but there is not enough room in the chamber for the crimping to expand fully this makes for poor shot patterns. A good gunsmith should be able to take the barrell and extend the chamber. I wouldn't advise shooting any large loads through the gun until it was checked out and the barell looked at for any cracks. 0
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