2.75" shell in a 3.5in chamber? - newbie's question

casio02478 · December 3, 2007, 05:53 PM

Ok, here is a really dumb question. I been told that the 2.75" slug have problems and act a bit erratic when shot out of a 3.5" chamber (according to Lightfield), but what about shells? Am I giving up anything when I shoot 2.75" shells out of a 3.5" chamber compared to a 3" chamber? Especially in term of pattern? My guess is no, but I am a newbie at shotgun so please help

.

Fumbler · December 3, 2007, 09:27 PM

Your guess is correct, shooting 2.75" shells in a 3.5" chamber is fine.
You won't find any degraded patterns.

I'm not sure why Lightfield says 2.75" slugs out of a 3.5" chamber is bad.
Maybe it has to do with the longer jump to the forcing cone. In rifles a longer throat (distance to grooves) usually isn't good for accuracy.

Pete409 · December 3, 2007, 09:48 PM

You may be giving up a little velocity if any of the chamber gases escape while the pellets/wad are jumping to the forcing cone area. This also probably isn't helping the patterns any. But, from a practical standpoint, the differences would likely be negligible, IMO.

Matt304 · December 3, 2007, 09:58 PM

With slugs this is true because the alignment isn't perfect after the jump. It is close, but it is forced in and the slug's shape can actually change a small amount to fit the forced angle. Like a sizing die does to a large bullet.

With shot this doesn't matter, because the design is already somewhat erratic to begin with; you are just forcing a pile of bb's with a cup. Small cup imperfection isn't key here as there really is no accuracy anyways, only group size, which the choke takes care of.

casio02478 · December 3, 2007, 11:03 PM

Thanks for the replies and guidance, I searched around on the Internet a little more and found this on the browning website. It seems to suggest that bigger the difference between the shell size and chamber size the worse the patterns will be. The charts indicates that a 2.75" shell shooting out of a 3" chamber will have an inferior pattern then out of a 2.75" chamber. If this trend continues then the pattern out of a 3.5" chamber will be dramatically poorer or does it level out at some point? Is this true? And what could be the reason? Should I even care? Now I am even more confused then before

. here is the link

http://www.browning.com/faq/detail.asp?ID=102

onemsumba · December 4, 2007, 12:18 AM

i shoot skeet with 3" chambers and 2 3/4" rounds, as to a lot of people and i don't see any impact, nor have i known any one to suggest it. From a patterning perspect shooting shot there is no difference that I can detect.

shooting a slug might be different and you'd have to experiment to figure it out. though the differences in the 2 different guns it would take to do this experiment would probably be enought to have some impact as well. So its going to be a really hard question to prove out.

kirbythegunsmith · December 4, 2007, 01:00 AM

In case you didn't search long and hard, see this back-n-forth where I explained the saga of long chambers vs. shorter shells.

http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=246219

Then you will have some greater perspective about logic (or lack thereof) and can make more informed decisions.

kirbythegunsmith@hotmail.com

casio02478 · December 4, 2007, 10:37 AM

I can see why 2.75" shell will not be the optimal performer out of the 3.5" chamber. I just want a shotgun for small game, so I think I will stick to 2.75" shells but who still make 2.75" chamber barrels. It looks like all the factory made guns come with 3" chamber barrels? Any suggestions out there? looking for a pump, thanks

December 3, 2007, 05:53 PM	#1
casio02478 Member Join Date: October 15, 2006 Posts: 160	2.75" shell in a 3.5in chamber? - newbie's question Ok, here is a really dumb question. I been told that the 2.75" slug have problems and act a bit erratic when shot out of a 3.5" chamber (according to Lightfield), but what about shells? Am I giving up anything when I shoot 2.75" shells out of a 3.5" chamber compared to a 3" chamber? Especially in term of pattern? My guess is no, but I am a newbie at shotgun so please help . Last edited by casio02478; December 3, 2007 at 11:15 PM.

December 3, 2007, 11:03 PM	#5
casio02478 Member Join Date: October 15, 2006 Posts: 160	New info found Thanks for the replies and guidance, I searched around on the Internet a little more and found this on the browning website. It seems to suggest that bigger the difference between the shell size and chamber size the worse the patterns will be. The charts indicates that a 2.75" shell shooting out of a 3" chamber will have an inferior pattern then out of a 2.75" chamber. If this trend continues then the pattern out of a 3.5" chamber will be dramatically poorer or does it level out at some point? Is this true? And what could be the reason? Should I even care? Now I am even more confused then before . here is the link http://www.browning.com/faq/detail.asp?ID=102

December 4, 2007, 12:18 AM	#6
onemsumba Member Join Date: August 4, 2006 Location: Portland, OR Posts: 71	intresting question i shoot skeet with 3" chambers and 2 3/4" rounds, as to a lot of people and i don't see any impact, nor have i known any one to suggest it. From a patterning perspect shooting shot there is no difference that I can detect. shooting a slug might be different and you'd have to experiment to figure it out. though the differences in the 2 different guns it would take to do this experiment would probably be enought to have some impact as well. So its going to be a really hard question to prove out.

December 4, 2007, 01:00 AM	#7
kirbythegunsmith Member Join Date: November 12, 2006 Location: St. Louis area Posts: 185	relevant details In case you didn't search long and hard, see this back-n-forth where I explained the saga of long chambers vs. shorter shells. http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=246219 Then you will have some greater perspective about logic (or lack thereof) and can make more informed decisions. kirbythegunsmith@hotmail.com

December 4, 2007, 10:37 AM	#8
casio02478 Member Join Date: October 15, 2006 Posts: 160	Which shotgun? I can see why 2.75" shell will not be the optimal performer out of the 3.5" chamber. I just want a shotgun for small game, so I think I will stick to 2.75" shells but who still make 2.75" chamber barrels. It looks like all the factory made guns come with 3" chamber barrels? Any suggestions out there? looking for a pump, thanks

December 3, 2007, 09:27 PM	#2
Fumbler Member Join Date: October 28, 2004 Location: Raleigh, NC, USA Posts: 1,458	Your guess is correct, shooting 2.75" shells in a 3.5" chamber is fine. You won't find any degraded patterns. I'm not sure why Lightfield says 2.75" slugs out of a 3.5" chamber is bad. Maybe it has to do with the longer jump to the forcing cone. In rifles a longer throat (distance to grooves) usually isn't good for accuracy.

December 3, 2007, 09:48 PM	#3
Pete409 Member Join Date: October 21, 2007 Location: Florida Posts: 777	You may be giving up a little velocity if any of the chamber gases escape while the pellets/wad are jumping to the forcing cone area. This also probably isn't helping the patterns any. But, from a practical standpoint, the differences would likely be negligible, IMO.

December 3, 2007, 09:58 PM	#4
Matt304 Member Join Date: September 19, 2006 Location: Utica, IL Posts: 578	With slugs this is true because the alignment isn't perfect after the jump. It is close, but it is forced in and the slug's shape can actually change a small amount to fit the forced angle. Like a sizing die does to a large bullet. With shot this doesn't matter, because the design is already somewhat erratic to begin with; you are just forcing a pile of bb's with a cup. Small cup imperfection isn't key here as there really is no accuracy anyways, only group size, which the choke takes care of.

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