10 ga loads
 

ive been looking and thinking about the short ten loads it has to be the most interesting loads of all time....in 1880 to about 1900 the short 10 was the gun of choice for most from quail to geese she was king but alas she had to bow down to her younger sistervthe 12 ga....theres only a small following of the short ten now most fellas just dont relize thepossibilites of the old ten...so if yove never given your old ten a chance on things you shoot at nows your chance...pete lester has posted the most number of reloading info on the short ten that ive ever seen...its posted here....thanks pete... ive copied and put all these in my reloading files....so hope every body else does the same....drag that old short ten out and give her a chance again you want be disappointed....... charlie

Just shot my Parker lifter 10 on our sporting clays course - had a 43/50 - that's one of my better rounds. Mine is a 2 5/8 10ga. I didn't like the recoil for 1oz loads - at least with the plastic wads. Was useing around 19grs of 700X if I remember - a Sherman Bell load. Now in a paper Win. hull and paper wads with a roll crimp it was like shooting a 410. I cut the shells to fit seeing how there's a step & no forcing cone. I've had the gun for a year and it's the first time I've shot it because with star crimps the shells were getting a bulge in the end. Finally put a spacer under the shells to force them up into the final crimp station so it would put a tapper in them [ used the short shell kit from Mec like when you're going from 2 3/4 to 2 1/2 ] . You'd think it would have dawned on me earlier why and what to do to correct the problem. Anyway, for a 9 1/2 pound gun it sure balances and swings nice. Checked the chokes - .030 in each barrel. What is that in a 10ga ? In 12 it would be full. Maybe Imp Mod ? What do you guys load for light loads in the 10 ? Paul

2.625 vs. 2.875 inch 10 gauge
 

At the risk of having missed it on the forum, what is the difference between the short ten[ 2 7/8] and the short-short ten[2 5/8]?
I have a PH with supposedly short-short chambers.

Paul,

.035 is full in 10 ga
.025 is called improved modified in 10 ga from the charts I have.

.030 is an improved/improved modified better know as a light full choke I believe.

If I want to shoot light loads I'm using gold gauge mates to shoot the light 12 gauge loads that I have a lot of and are easy to make compared to using up my 10 ga hulls and components, but that's just me. Shooting 7/8 ounce for practice. You would be amazed at the full choke patterns with a very light load.

About 1/4" :)

The 2 5/8" 10ga has less internal volume than the 2 7/8". This means less filler wad is required. Heavier loadings like 1 5/8 and 1 3/4 ounce may not be possible (or advisable). A plastic wad may not be able to sit deep enough to allow for a star crimp, forcing a roll crimp or the trimming of the petals to make room for a star crimp, or use of nitro card and filler wad combination instead of plastic wad. Use the 2 7/8" Sherman Bell recipes that are low pressure and experiment with the filler wad to get the shot column height correct.

Us Short Ten and Shortier Ten reloaders are a little more on our own than loaders of other gauges. The good news is that big hole is very forgiving.

It takes more constriction in a bigger gauge for the same choke. I just found some data on chokes that's a little different than JA's. For the 10 it's .045/full and .030/mod. so I must have a mod choked gun. I have the Gold and Silver Gauge Mates and feel it was a waste of money to buy the Golds. Other than a case and brush the only difference is some of the lip is missing on the Gold. If one simple grinds off half way around removing some lip on the Silver you'll have a Gold that allows a shell to be removed while still in the chamber. George, my 10 is also 2 5/8. The chambers don't have a forcing cone but a step at the end. Believe it was made for brass shells. A brass shell would butt up against the step. That way a wad would be a perfect fit for the bore. If you think 7/8oz has a tight pattern, go to 3/4oz. Claybusters has a 3/4oz 12ga wad - call them and they'll send a free sample. Paul

Pete Lester- math major
 

Pete
I knew someone would give me that wise guy 1/4 inch answer. I should be someone's setup man.
Historical question:
Why and when was the 2 7/8 started? My 2 5/8 was bored in September 1895? Was 2 7/8 available or in use at at that time?

I gotta take the easy shots to keep my average up :)

Here is an interesting article on the history of the 10 bore that answers your questions in a general fashion.

http://www.wildfowling.co.uk/magazine/tens.htm

Back in the day, many shells in different lengths were offered. Most gun makers would offer chambers to any length. Parker also offered different chamber diameters for brass or paper shells. Paul

Paul,

I agree that it does seem strange to show the same restrictions for 10 GA as 12 GA, but I had only two charts that listed the 10 and both show the same as 12 GA, with three exceptions of I.C., Skeet II, and M. One of the charts is on this website.

http://parkerguns.org/pages/faq/ChokeSize.htm

I'm happy with the 10 to 12 Gold Gauge Mates for they do stay in place if one uses enough grease on them. If you shoot higher pressure loads in good reloadable cases (WWAA and RP STS), it blows out the sides of them. But I'm shooting a 24 gram load with 3200 psi and it leaves a crease but does not make them useless.