Ammo -

[Matt Michael]

Okay I have a twist barrel. I know not to shoot modern heavy loads in it. I have shot some light 1oz smokeless loads and it seems to shoot just fine. They are 2 3/4 length shells. I read about some guns the require a 2 1/2" shell. How do you know? Should I not shoot the longer shells in mine?

[Brian Stucker]

Matt, I have a 2 1/2 gun and shoot RST shells with very good results. Mine is not twist, but I recall others on this site discussing the low pressures developed by these loads, and if your bbls. aren't dented or pitted, RST's might be okay.

My choice are the 1 oz. 5's for ducks and the 7/8 oz. 7 1/2's for target shooting. It's really cool shooting both loads that go out at 1200 fps. so my leads in practice will be almost identical to when shooting ducks from the blind.

Others here are way more up to speed on the technical issues. Brian

[Matt Michael]

How do you know your gun is a 2 1/2"? Will the longer shells not fit?

[Brian Stucker]

The 2 3/4" shells are a very tight fit and they don't eject properly after firing, as the extended hull pushes further in the chamber. Additionally, my gun was sold as a 2 1/2" gun and that was good enough for me since that would be the more conservative choice. I don't really know if measuring without the proper tool(s) is useful.