Shotgun guage reducers

[Oldnamvet]

I had seen these sleeves before and not really considered them. Used in break open shotguns, they are barely longer than the shell. I couldn't imagine them being of much real use. But today a friend had a set of them in his O/U Beretta 12 ga. He was shooting 28 ga. shells. We patterned it and it looked great! I figured that it wouldn't have any velocity since it was going into such an oversize bore. I was wrong. He was powdering clay birds with authority. Naturally no recoil to speak of. We recovered some of the wads and found that as soon as the wad entered the 12 gauge bore it expanded to seal against the barrel. You could see it clearly on the wads. I made fun of them before but now..............hmmmm.......... I've got a 12 ga. SxS and a lot of .20 gauge shells. Maybe I'll try a set.

 

[PJR]

I've have experience with two types. The Browning Little Skeeters and Seminole Chambermates.

The Little Skeeters don't eject the hulls and the entire unit comes out of the gun. They are also messy to get the hulls out of and reload. For skeet it helps to have two sets so you don't hold up the sqaud.

The Chambermates are much more expensive but have ejectors. I shoot a set of these for a couple years and they work but only with premium shells such as Winchester AA, Federal Gold Medal or Remington STS. With Kent or other steel hulled shells they didn't eject properly. While they broke targets well enough I would sometimes get an off sounding shot probably because the wad didn't seal completely.

While they were neat little units it dawned on me that it didn't make much sense to spend a couple of hundred dollars to shoot ammo that cost 50 per cent more in a gun that weighed 8lbs. If I wanted less recoil I'd load lighter shells and if I wanted a 28 I'd rather have a gun dedicated to that gauge. I traded my Chambermates off shortly after.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I searched and found this thread.

I find the recoil on a 12 gauge very unpleasent, and i get a flinch to boot.
So my question is: will these work in a pump-action shotgun?(870 with 3 inch chambers)

I found a few here.

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_227854&id=0020925225925a

http://www.cabelas.com/cabelas/en/t...ct&cmCat=Related_IPL_225925&id=0012774224349a

Which ones are recomended by those who have used them, and if these won't work in a pump-action, does anyone know any that will

 

[romeo212000]

No they will not and I assume you are shooting 1 1/8 oz loads out of that shotgun. Go to a 1oz. load if you are. My O/U is very very light so I went to 1 0z loads and can shoot it alld ay long.

 

[41magsnub]

Somebody smarter than me will be along directly, but you might also have a fit problem where the butt of the gun is in the wrong spot.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I can control even slugs and heavy buckshot, it's the flinch I get that I hate.
I have shot some lite winchester target loads, either 1 oz or 7/8 oz, and I still got the flinch. I'm mainly a rifle guy, and it interferes with my rifle shooting. Also do you mean they will not cycle through the magazine, and if that's the case can I insert them into the chamber manually, and fire one at a time?(I'm guessing I can't do that)

 

[romeo212000]

Not sure about your other question but I do know they will not work out of a pump. The fact that you are flinching tells me you are not fully focused on the target. You are more concerned about the shot. When i go skeet shooting frankly I cannot recall actually hearing the shot. Now obviously I do hear it but I do not focus on the shot, I focus on the target. That may be your issue. Do you hit very well with your shotgun?

 

[JImbothefiveth]

I actually only notice the flinch when I go back to shooting low-recoil rifles.
I very rarely shoot shotguns, due to the price of ammo, but I don't notice the flinch when shooting shotguns. Maybe it's because i shoot enough rifle rounds rounds to notice it.
I think I might have look into a 28ga or 410 shotgun, and some reloading equipment. Thanks!

Edit: I think the LOP is a bit too long.

 

[Dave McCracken]

Jim, get some 7/8 oz loads. Little kick, lots of effect.

 

[Loyalist Dave]

The Browning Lil Skeeters are junk. The 16 - 20 gauge reducers split when shooting 7/8 oz. target loads.

The Chambermates are great, but tended to split the hulls, so if you're going to reload, gauge reducers are maybe not what you want.

LD

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Might have to try the 7/8 oz loads, or at least see if those were what I shot.
Anyone know how to add weight to an 870?

 

[Dave McCracken]

Adding weight to an 870? Hmmm....

I did a thread on TFL about this before we started THR.

Basically, I used trash hulls filled with shot and hard crimped. A spare mag spring was cut and half placed in the mag tube for and aft of two hulls. This added about 7 oz and the springs reduced the push long enough to spread it out a bit.

A similar setup with one hull went in the stock bolt hole.

Also, boring a 1/4" hole in the mag tube cap and inserting a 1/4"X20 bolt filled with washers for a length of 3 inches can add maybe 4 oz to help steady the swing.

HTH....

 

[Oldnamvet]

I added weight and changed the balance by putting on a 30" barrel with a polychoke on the end. It moved the balance point out about 2" and sure smoothed out my swing.

 

[JImbothefiveth]

It's not really about balance, just extra weight to reduce recoil. I wasn't shooting at moving targets either, just a few rounds to keep familiar with patterning and the controls.

 

[RNB65]

Briley manufacturing. They make both full length and short length tube sets.

http://www.briley.com/

 

[JImbothefiveth]

Sorry about the zombie thread, but are those briley things permanent?