[Big Friend Ten (BFT)]

Aaron,

Please know that pressure is the important factor in how strong an action or barrels are. Further, low brass or high brass is no indicator of the pressure a shell will generate. The SAAMI maximum mean working pressure for 12 gauge 2 3/4" and 3" ammunition is 11,500. Most modern loads are designed to function dirty semi automatic shotguns and will generate somewhere close to the SAAMI 11,500 PSI. Those promotional low brass shells sold at Wal-Mart all function autoloaders and do this by generating a fairly high pressure.

High brass shells do tend to carry a heavier shot load which at the same muzzle velocity as a lower payload, generates higher recoil than do low brass shells with lower shot loads.

So, are Vulcan barrels safe for high brass shells? Probably if they have not been honed and retain sufficient barrel wall thickness. Will your stock survive a steady diet of heavy shot loads generating high recoil? Probably not! many stocks have been soaking up oil for decades which ran down from the barrels and action. The wood where the stock meets the action may be very soft. A few high brass/high recoil loads and you may have a new crack in the stock which will cost a couple hundred or more to have professionally repaired. That is why one sees older side x sides with bolts pinning the stock just behind the action!

Most of us handload low pressure with low shot loads and break clays all day long.

The best thing to do is to have you gun checked by a gunsmith who knows side by sides.

Mark