Does anyone here do this? Do you use DILLON equipment or some other? Is it a straight forward proceedure? I have NEVER reloaded any ammo ever. These S X S guns are great, 5 lbs - 5 lbs 5 oz's, so nice to carry all day upland birding behind dogs.

Hey Jack, Any chance you mean 2 3/4"?

There are some real old English Shotguns with 2 1/2" chambers, but the ones here in the USA generally start at 2 3/4".

Yes they can be reloaded, But, you really have to buy components in HUGE quantities to beat the cost of Promotional Shells today.

For all the Upland Bird hunting I've done over the years, the Promotional Shells would have done fine with the correct size shot. But when I was reloading shotgun shells, you could do it for about $1.25-$1.75 a box.

I'm not saying you can't beat the cost of the Promotional Shells, but I would recommend you look at all the equipment and component costs before jumping in.

If you are near a Club that has a Skeet and Trap Range, they often have Reloading Equipment set up for the Members to use. Then your only costs are Membership and Components for the Shells "you" pick up.

Best of luck to you.

BigFiveJack: Two-inch 12 gauge cartridges, usually loaded with 7/8 ounce of lead shot, have been commercially available in the UK and may still be on the market. If I remember correctly, there was an article on the very light sxs doubles for that round and some reloading data in a past issue of The Double Gun Journal. While this is an international site, you might have better luck inquiring on a UK shotgunner's site. Or you could post a question on forums devoted specifically to UK sxs guns and their loads. Handloader Magazine probably ran an article or two, probably during the 1970s or 1980s. There are no such articles in Handloader's Digest 5 or 6 or 8 through 18. I dimly recall an article titled something like "Two Inches of Pressure and Problems," probably in The Gun Digest ten or more years ago. I'm more sure about the title than about its being published in GD. There are companies that specialize in shotshell components for unusual loads, such as Ballistic Products Inc (web site http://www.ballisticproducts.com). You might also look in The Double Gun Journal for dealers in and importers of fine British, Spanish and Italian doubles and make a telephone or e-mail inquiry. Good luck on your search. I can just imagine how responsive that little gun would be when a ruffed grouse or woodcock flushes.

If you have the hulls .
Wads
Then you need the load data . (Balistic products may be able to help you for Hulls , wads and load data )

I use a MEC 600 Jr for loading 2" shells , but I roll crimp .

I cut down Fed Gold Medal cases and use Balistic products Gas Seal .
I then wildcated a load to push 7/8 oz at 1200 fps , I think factory 2" loads are 1230 fps or so .

If the gun was not my Grand Fathers I would sell it and buy a 20 , the shells are a pain in the back side to load .

I think Balistic Products has loaded 2" shells also .

Johnch

quote:

Originally posted by BigFiveJack:
Does anyone here do this? Do you use DILLON equipment or some other? Is it a straight forward proceedure? I have NEVER reloaded any ammo ever. These S X S guns are great, 5 lbs - 5 lbs 5 oz's, so nice to carry all day upland birding behind dogs.

You might search or post your question in the following forum. There is a lot of information on shot shell loading there.

http://www.shotgunworld.com/bbs/index.php

Thank you all guys, Merry Christmas!

FYI, Aguila makes 1 3/4" minishells... and there's a shotgun made specifically for them.

Aguila Minishells

Hey Jack, Thanks for bringing this up. Looks like I'm getting to "learn" from these other folks about the short 12s. Had no idea.

So........, how well do they shoot?

dont remember how long ago the article was but the title was 2" pain & pleasure. i think he used paper hulls & card wads. you might check old issues of G&A.

Loading 2" on a single stage Mec is not that difficult. All it really takes is a little adapter that raises the crimp starter and crimping stations.

As far as loading data, no idea. You might try asking on the reloading forum of "www.shotgunworld.com" on where to go.

It would be a good way to re-use some "shot up" 2 3/4" hulls. Wonder how many reloads you could really get out of a hull...... HTH, Dutch.

I am told these 2 inch 12 gauge rounds exist for a couple of reasons.
One is that the British HATE the twenty because on driven shoots especially, if somehow a 20 gauge shell(s) got into the container(s) for the twelves, and one 20 gauge shell got dropped into a 12 gauge chamber it would slide all the way into the forcing cone area, then in the heat of high spead reloading of the guns a person could think he had just dropped a round to the ground, load a 12 gauge into the now OBSTRUCTED WEAPON and a serious accident is sure to result.
The second reason is, you get the wider 12 gauge pattern while carrying a gun that is 5 lbs or just a few ounces more, (like a nice light 20 gauge) never should it weigh 5.5 pounds, at that weight you should opt for a 16 gauge with 2.5 inch chambers. Carying such a gun through a morning and afternoon behind a pointer or two sounds like "heaven".
These two reasons are logical to me, I don't claim any level of personal knowledge, I just love "to read and talk" sporting firearms. If I find I can readily reload for this interesting cartridge, I will buy one and it will be my favorite shotgun I expect. Imagine a beautiful O/U Boss or Galanzan so chambered and at such a light weight, aaaaahhhhh..... (sigh of contentment) As of now I have only seen them in side by sides, and that is fine, just fine.

Dunno about the origins of the 2" shells, but the Europeans and English had several different lengths over the span of time that shotshells evolved. One point that bears consideration is that short doesn't necessarily mean handicapped. Longer shells have more flexibility in regards to shot charges and wad column length but shorties can still haul some freight very effectively.

Best source of info on this that I've read is found in Double Gun Journal...most solutions involve cutting down shells of plastic and forming new crimps. A roll crimp is best effected with a tool designed for the purpose but I've no idea where you'd get one. Possible info available from the folks at Precision Reloading as they cater to scattergunners quite a bit. Also, you will find ads frequently in DGJ for short shotshells(expensive), and sometimes paper shells which are amenable to shortening. They don't survive more than 2-3 loadings however....

Anyway, if you want to load for the gun it is doable...look around and you'll find what you need. On another tanget, John Barsness wrote an article about a year back in Handloader wherein He shot 2-3/4" shells in some European guns with short chambers...wired for pressures BTW...didn't find any particular rise in that department even though on some occasions the crimp went down the barrel along with the lead. YMMV.

Ballistic Products has roll crimpers, and tools made to cut regular hulls into shorter ones, and they also have data and wads for short 12 gauge loads. I just got the catalog yesterday, but it is at home and I am at work. I don't know if they go down to 2" shells but I am sure they go at least to 2.5". The link twenty two gave is their online catalog.