Shotshells Out of a Rifled Barrel

Will shot shells damage the rifling in a shotgun barrel? I do know that you get a HUGE spread if you shoot them out a rifled barrel, but will you get any kind of actual damage to the rifling?
 
No problem, or damage. Plus it will really open up the pattern at short ranges. Might be worth checking out for HD....:)
 
I dunno, Bake. HD guns are typically open cylinder and this test by Box of Truth using an improved cylinder choke suggests to me that the use of a rifled barrel may open the pattern so much that you risk shooting around the area you wish to hit. http://www.theboxotruth.com/docs/bot43.htm

This is the pattern at 5 yards with the same Wolf buckshot that produced a tight 4" pattern at the same distance.
43-5.jpg
 
The "Box of True" test were pretty good. The only thing I would change would be the distances. 2 yards (end of hall to the front door) 3 yards (closet to bedroom door), 6 yards (bedroom door to end of the hallway), 7 yards (back door to the garage door) and 9 yards (bedroom door, down the hall to the other side of living room). Wonder what would happen, if one was to use just a "rifled interchangeable choke tube" in a 20" barrel?

Using our friend the "pattern broad" it might be possible find just the right combination of load and distances for HD. I would also use a more human silhouette target to pattern the loads.

Plus, I like #4 buck shot for HD.:o
 
I just found that test of buckshot in a rifled barrel and I was pretty astonished by the doughnut, even though I had heard of it. I just didn't expect such an open circular pattern with such a completely empty middle. It is kind of like a hoop you train animals to jump thru. I believe there are two primary schools of thought for hd loads. One likes a load that opens quickly. I think they tend to live in less dense areas such as the country. The other prefers a tight pattern. I believe Dave McCracken, RIP, liked it saying something about how the shooter is responsible for every bit of shot and he wanted to keep it all on target.

There is no way of knowing well what anything will do without testing it, but at very shot disatnces like 2 yards I think the rifled barrel or choke wouldn't be a problem, but the rifled barrel could be a big problem at 9 yards. That picture of the Hornady through the rifled barrel at 12 yards barely stayed on the paper.

My guess is that the rifle choke the would impart less spin than a rifled barrel and that would mean less of a doughnut but the only way to know is to test. If I had gun that served for HD that took tubes I think I would simply not keep a different choke in the gun while home. Just as I swithch barrels when I take the 870 out to shoot clays and replace the short barrel when I get home.
 
Last edited:
The only buckshot round that will pattern tight through a 12 gauge rifled bore is the Dixie Tri-Ball round manufactured by Dixie Slugs Co.
 
With steel shot loads, the only thing that touches the sides of the barrel is the plastic shot protecter cup. This is also mostly true of modern lead birdshot loads also.
I never had problems with barrel leading shooting skeet, I did have problems with barrel plasticing, plastic fouling usually building up in the choke tubes from the shot protecter cup style wads.
 
I'd guess the spread would be similar between a rifled choke and a fully rifled barrel of the same twist. The length of the rifled section has little bearing on the spin. Once you start it spinning even with a couple inches of rifling. The rest is mostly unnecessary.
See Paradox Guns
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Paradox_gun

It would be nice to see a rifled choke with very slow twist so it opens the patern just a tad at typical HD ranges to improve hit probability but not so much as to have your shot go everywhere.

I personally prefer a slightly bigger pattern on my HD loads. That's kinda the point of a shotgun, the spread to improve hit probability. If I wanted a single neat hole, I'd use a rifle or a slug.
 
Shooting shot from a rifled barrel results in shot going everywhere except point of aim. You're responsible for every one of those projectiles, it's important that they go where they're supposed to. It's a bad idea for just about any use.
 
Back
Top