Can't load 7 in a 7+1 shotgun

Try another brand of buckshot. The length varies from brand to brand. An extra 1/8" does not sound like much but with 6 shells it adds up.

S and b is a big load with 12 pellets and mine are about 1/4" longer than standard 12 ga oo loads. Six of them will just about take up the difference between six and seven in the mag.

Before you marry yourself to the S&B rounds, make sure the empties will cycle out of your gun. They are longer than most 2 3/4" rounds; the ones I have here are right at 3" in length. They cycle OK in my 1100 unless I just slap the trigger as fast as I can, in which case they have a tendency to hang up in the ejection port. I bought a stinkload of them ages ago because they were cheap, and they pattern just fine. I keep them around for use in my doubles, but I won't buy any more of them.

A shotgun shell is measured "AFTER" it has been fired. A 2 3/4" shell can vary quite a bit before being fired depending on the brand, but most are pretty close to 2 1/2" before firing. Same with a 3" shell, they run about 2 3/4" before firing. Different manufacturers use different style crimps. With some shells this is not uncommon.

What everyone else has said.
My favorite load is/was the Federal LE132-00 buck. The Federal shells are about >.< longer than some others I've tried. After you load up six of them >......< there just isn't enough room left for that 7th round. On the advice of someone on AK47.net I switched to a different spring and lo,... there Was enough room for the 7th round.

Not what I had expected, but fixes come in all shapes.

To illustrate what the other posters have correctly explained you can see the pictures below of a standard 2-3/4" Winchester 00 12 ga shell on the left and a S&B 12pc 00 12 ga shell on the right. Both shells will fold out to no more than 2-3/4" when fired however the S&B is a bit longer unfired than the Winchester.

The reason is the type of crimp used to hold in the powder, wad and shot. The Winchester uses the common star fold crimp while the S&B uses a plastic card over the shot held held in place by a roll crimp. This allows more room in the S&B case for the 12 pellets of 00 while the Winchester only holds 9 pellets.

At the end of the day, even using it as a 6+1, the number of pellets out of the barrel is 84, rather than 72 as with a conventional 9 pellet load as a 7+1.

Click to expand...

Yeah, but there's one less BOOM. And that can make a difference.

I have noticed this issue as well. Can someone with more experience than I list some of the good "short" shells that might allow you to load that last round in the tube?

9 Pellet is way to go.