European shotgun bore diameter?
I bought a Gazelle O/U a while back. I've only shot it a couple of times but it kicks a lot harder than any of my pumps. When I mentioned this to a buddy, he said that is because European made guns have a narrower diameter bore, so the wad seals tighter, which equals more kick. He said that European made shells would be better because they have a narrower wad.
Is he full of it? Or is he right? If he's not right, any other explainations? Thanks guys.
Matthew
Is he full of it? Or is he right? If he's not right, any other explainations? Thanks guys.
Matthew
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'recoil' is dependent on three things the weight of the expelled charge (shot, powder,wads), the speed they are expelled, and the weight of the gun. 'felt recoil' is another can of worms, a lot depends on stock design, weight of the gun, action type, even type of powder (fast/slow). a tighter bore will increase the pressure of a given type of ammo and therefore the muzzel velocity (and recoil). shotgun 'bore dia.' is any thing but standard. 12 ga. is suppose to be .729" bore dia. (not choke dia.) but i have seen u.s. guns with .722" up to .740" 0 -
Mike is right, many things go into felt recoil. One of the big contributors in felt recoil is the amount of drop on the stock. Most european shotguns and rifles(unless they are made to U.S. prferences) have a greater amount of drop to the stock than their U.S. counterparts. There are a number of reasons for this but mostly due to a different approach in shooting style. Most of the old single barrel shotguns(H&R, Savage, Iver Johnson, etc.) had a similiar drop to the stock and as such suffer the same recoil characteristics. I have heard it expressed as shooting harder by old timers a few years ago. 0 -
I am unfamiliar with the Gazelle. Does it have 2_" chambers?
A friend separated the barrels on a 2 9/16" chambered gun. She had always wondered why it kicked so hard.
Cheers from Darkest California,
Ross0 -
Ok, more info. I shot a turkey load out of my 870, and the same load out of my Gazelle. The Gazelle is actually a bit heavier. Granted, a turkey load is a hard hitting load, but in the 870 it is managable and in the O/U, it felt like it was going to take my arm off. I've been shooting my whole life, and have never felt recoil like it. I haven't compared the shape/style of the stocks. That's the only variable I can come up with except for my friends suggestion.
Matthew0 -
What is it supposed to be choked for? Go to your local gunsmith and get him to check the bore/choke. Also just lay the darn thing next to your other gun and look at the difference in drop on the stock. Sure you could get it all measured out, but the old eyeball can do a lot to give you an idea of things ....
Personally I've never heard of this difference between European and American bore diameters ... just the usual differences that, as mentioned above, can be found from mfg. to mfg. and even gun to gun by the same mfg.
If you only have time to do two things so-so, or one thing well ... do the one thing!0 -
Thanks for the info guys.
My buddies answer went like this:
When ammo manufacturers switched from fiber wads to plastic wads, they seeled better. This created problems, so the American gun manufacturers simply made the bore a little more spacious to allow the wad to move easier. At the same time, the European makers had the same problem, but instead of changing their guns, they simply changed the diameter of their wads slightly.
Sounded good to me, but if none of you have heard of it, it may not be the true story. Thanks
Matthew0 -
U.S. MGFS. HAVEN'T CHANGED BARREL SPEC. FOR STANDARD 12 GA. BUT SOME HAVE ADDED 'BACK BORED' BARRELS TO SOME OF THIER GUNS (BROWNING INVECTOR PLUS IS ONE). I JUST OPENED THE CHOKES ON AN OLD ITHACA DOUBLE THAT HAD ONE BARREL AT .729" AND THE OTHER AT .722"; GO FIGURE. 0
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