2 inch 00 buckshot loads

[rmatchell]

So I have been looking at a box of 2 inch 12ga shells loaded with 6 00 buckshot and have been wondering what it would take to load some. I broke one down to see and it looks to be all off the shelf from Ballistic Products. One thing that I was wondering is there isnt a wad just two stacks of three on top of a gas seal. Has anybody tried cutting down hulls and roll crimping a shorter shell?

[Hogtamer]

Why would you want to load 2" shells? There have been some bad outcomes others have mentioned in this forum with slugs and short shells.

[rmatchell]

I wasnt aware of bad outcomes. My searches didnt come back with anything useful.


As for my reasoning, its more of a question of if it can be done safely, who doesnt get a kick out of loading 15 shells at once?

[FullTang]

I was just loading some of these the other day; the BP manual has lots of 2" loads for 12 gauge, from 3/4 to 1 oz (14 of these, to be exact, plus many more 2-1/4 and 2-1/2"). I've shot plenty of these with no issues at all, and I've even found that they work well in my semi-auto. 6 X 00 buck would be a 3/4 oz load. You can load them with a short shell wad (00 will fit best without a shot cup), or with nitro cards only, or with gas seal and a fiber or cork cushion (these are all standard load options in the BP manual.) They are all fairly low pressure loads, since I think the primary use is in older SxS guns with short chambers, but these are sold nowadays as defensive ammo. What powders do you have to work with?

[longbow]

I advise using a published pressure tested load as a basis if not for buckshot, for equal weight load.

I have the BPI short hull reloading info and at first I found it a little strange that at least some recipes indicate higher pressure for short hulls... or same pressure with light powder charge.

That and a lot of research into slug loads made me wonder why pressure would increase in a straight hull simply because the wad column is shorter ~ then a bit of a light went on. If a load recipe uses a shotcup with cushion leg and that cushion leg is removed and replaced with a solid wad column (like a just gas seal under a payload) there is effectively less volume at ignition when that cushion leg would collapse.

It appears to me that, with fast powders anyway, this can be pretty significant pressure wise.

Without pressure testing equipment it is hard to say but to be safe, please use a published load as a basis. There are short hull load recipes available down to 2" so those should do what you want with a payload substitution.

Play but play safe!

Longbow

[rmatchell]

Thanks for the information ill have to order the BPI manual and read some more on rhe subject.

[Cap'n Morgan]

What Longbow says! The type of wad plays a large role in shotshell loading.

If I were to load 2" buckshot or slugs I would go for the slower powders like Blue Dot or Steel and then use a non-cushion wad. The shorter shell combined with a solid wad coloum will actually improve ignition compared to the same payload in longer shell with a cushion wad.

[FullTang]

Some of the loads listed by BP use Green Dot and International, with fits in with the idea of slower burning powders (well, for a 3/4 oz loads that's pretty slow burning.) This is such a light load that all the pressures are quite low; most are under 9000 psi. Even the ones with Titewad and Bullseye are still very low pressure. I assume this is because they are meant for old guns that can't take much pressure.

[Ballistics in Scotland]

2in. cases were originally developed for appropriately chambered shotguns of lighter weight than the conventional 12ga., mainly for children or women. There was more point in this in the days before shot sleeve cushion wads, when the general rule was that you got better patterns by keeping the large bore and shortening the shot column. Nowadays the 20ga. is a better option.

Short cases can be used, and may work well in a conventionally chambered gun - I don't know. But I am a lot more sure that you could do the same thing, with less trouble and expense and perhaps better results, with the unaltered case and an extra wad to make up the length.

[rmatchell]

This is just a thought on something to try for fun in my 590. My father in law also has an old side by side that wont chamber 2 3/4 shells and it would also benefit from a short low pressure round.

I took one shell down and the load is built from a Cheddite hull, Ballistic Products FS12 flex seal wad, 6 00 buck, roll crimped.