Subject says it all. Any downside?
Why would you do that? Well, ammo is on sale!
Peter.

Peter I see no downside unless it was a very regular thing and maybe some erosion of the chamber?

I have accumulated some 500 3" factory loads and some cases to use in my 500 3 1/4" double, but have not yet done so. Maybe at Christmas I will try them.

I really want to try the factory loads for a situation where I might be caught out without ammo, whther I could actually buy some 500 ammo in that situation is another matter!

Cheers, Chris

I have a Boswell 3 1/4" and several 3" .500 NE's. I elected not to shoot the 3" rounds in the Boswell. I think for just a few shots now and then, probably not a problem. But in the research I did there seemed to be some concerns about erosion in the throat area (e.g., chamber erosion behind the throat, flame cutting the chamber ahead of the case mouth) with persistent use of 3" rounds in a 3 1/4" rifle. When I researched the issue I did a lot of searches on things like shooting non-improved rounds in rifles for improved calibers, shooting .38 Spl rounds in guns chambered for .357 and the like. I guess if you just shot the 3" rounds and never shot 3 1/4" rounds then any concerns over sticky extraction or chamber erosion would be moot (unless and until you sell).

With a 1/4" jump to the throat and the rifling I'd suspect that the accuracy would suffer.

Gentlemen, thanks very much. I had thought not so much about the accuracy but whether the regulation would be different. Mike, perhaps that is what you were alluding to. My thought was to have a maybe 10 or 20 rounds available 'just in case", as rockdoc said. I was not planning on making it a regular thing.
Thanks again. I think I will pick up a box or two!
Peter.

quote:

Originally posted by Mike Brooks:
With a 1/4" jump to the throat and the rifling I'd suspect that the accuracy would suffer.

Doesn't seem to hurt Weatherby rifles to much..