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caocao · August 20, 2014, 10:10 AM

I sure found the right Web Site here to connect me with folks who can help!
Now, exploring the subject of 2-1/2 " rounds versus 2-3/4 " ...

1) Back in the 1960's and early 1970's, was the 2-3/4 " load already the 16 gauge rounds that most large and small ammo sellers in the US carried, or was the 2-1/2 " load the most common load? If you just asked for a box of 16 gauge shells, field loads with number 5 shot, do you think most ammo sellers would have automatically handed you the 2-3/4 " ? Or would they have most likely ASKED YOU whether you wanted 2-1/2 " or 2-3/4" ? Or do you think the most commonly used size in those years have been the 2-1/2 " so that's what they would have just handed you?

2) Accepting that firing some 2-3/4 " field loads through a Browning A5 that had only a 2-9/16 " chamber would not have damaged the barrel, the receiver, the bolt, or the extractor, it still seems strange to me that the rounds would cleanly fire and cleanly eject, with no jamming, without the other modifications you describe in the conversion.
The chamber size and the pressures created by a chamber too short for firing the round seem obviously critical concerns. But if the 2-3/4 " rounds feed and eject perfectly, what are the critical reasons for doing any more than just reaming out the chamber to the correct length for the longer rounds? Why bother with all the rest of that conversion stuff if the chamber is the right length and the 2-3/4 " rounds feed and eject perfectly?

August 20, 2014, 10:10 AM	#8
caocao Junior Member Join Date: August 19, 2014 Posts: 5	Thanks, All! I sure found the right Web Site here to connect me with folks who can help! Now, exploring the subject of 2-1/2 " rounds versus 2-3/4 " ... 1) Back in the 1960's and early 1970's, was the 2-3/4 " load already the 16 gauge rounds that most large and small ammo sellers in the US carried, or was the 2-1/2 " load the most common load? If you just asked for a box of 16 gauge shells, field loads with number 5 shot, do you think most ammo sellers would have automatically handed you the 2-3/4 " ? Or would they have most likely ASKED YOU whether you wanted 2-1/2 " or 2-3/4" ? Or do you think the most commonly used size in those years have been the 2-1/2 " so that's what they would have just handed you? 2) Accepting that firing some 2-3/4 " field loads through a Browning A5 that had only a 2-9/16 " chamber would not have damaged the barrel, the receiver, the bolt, or the extractor, it still seems strange to me that the rounds would cleanly fire and cleanly eject, with no jamming, without the other modifications you describe in the conversion. The chamber size and the pressures created by a chamber too short for firing the round seem obviously critical concerns. But if the 2-3/4 " rounds feed and eject perfectly, what are the critical reasons for doing any more than just reaming out the chamber to the correct length for the longer rounds? Why bother with all the rest of that conversion stuff if the chamber is the right length and the 2-3/4 " rounds feed and eject perfectly?