Do older shotgun shells have more gunpowder or something? Because I ran a few older shells (from the 80s) through this piece of shit and while I was expecting it to hurt I wasn't expecting a kangaroo kick to the shoulder. Am I just a pussy, or is there more bang in old shot?
I had some old high velocity birdshot shells at one point that were from the 50's, and they definitely had more felt recoil than your average full load 00 buck shell. Your average game load today is nothing in comparison
>Do older shotgun shells have more gunpowder or something
Yes. You are now aware why boomers are called boomers.
you used to get what you paid for instead of costcutting target loads made to meet the minimums.
if you look at the old prices and add inflation these were 2-3 dollars a shell even for birdshot.
I honestly think if they made modern shotguns to the level of quality they did back in the 60's they'd be like twice the cost of what they currently are.
were they magnum shells, or longer?
Possibly.
But, the term "Magnum", when referring to Shotguns means something different than it does when referring to Pistols and Rifles.
With Pistols and Rifles "Magnum" generally means "the Bullet is 'Moving Faster'".
With Shotguns, the term that means that the Shot Charge is "Moving Faster", is "High Velocity".
"Magnum" means "a Heavier Charge of Shot".
The real number you are looking for, when concerning recoil is "drams", which USED TO refer to how much black powder was loaded (in 1/16 of an oz), but now refers to the "equivalent recoil" to a certain black powder charge.
So in the old days of black powder, 2 drams was 1/8 of an oz of powder, 3 drams was 3/16 oz, etc. Since the introduction of smokeless powder in shotgunning, a 3.5 dram load is saying "the felt recoil of this charge is equal to what you would feel with 3.5 drams of black powder".
YMMV
oh my god shut up
Seethe and cope, gunlet.
OP what you're probably noticing is the difference between sport loads, e.g. for shooting clays, vs hunting loads. Hunting loads are much heavier since the goal is to achieve a clean kill on a living animal, not achieve a single crack a piece of brittle clay. Sport shooting loads typically max out at 3 drams equivalent, whereas standard high brass hunting loads may be as much as 4 1/2 drams equivalent. Magnum shotshell hulls are longer in order to hold more shot, not to hold more powder.
He's absolutely correct though.
https://www.letsgoshooting.org/resources/articles/shotgun/whats-dram-equivalent-mean/
An actually informative reply on my /k/?
Impossible.
Sorry guise, i'll show myself out!
🙂
Could be heavier load, also more primitive wad design which makes the recoil feel snappier.
"Am I just a pussy, or is there more bang in old shot?"
Yes. Shooting Shotguns don't hurt, so, yes, you are indeed a pussy. Or maybe no one ever showed you how to shoot a shotgun. Which is not your fault. Hold the stock firmly against your shoulder, and if your cheeck is against the comb, it should also be firmly pressed against the comb. Lean slightly forward, and use your weight to tame the recoil, so you are more like riding the recoil back instead of fighting to hold on. Like riding a spirited horse, you move with it. If you are fighting it, it will beat you up.
However, you may also be dealing with a charge where your powder has degraded, and you are dealing with a dangerous situation where the nitrocellulose and nitrogycerine are separeating. this is pissible when the cartridges have been subjected to temperature extremes, especially hot/clod cycles. Do you know how the ammo was stored, since the 80s?
I am skeptical you shoot many hot loads through any older pumps
There are comfortable shotguns and ammo
but you are full of shit if you shoot 50 magnums and say it did nothing to your shoulder
I would like to see your shoulder after 50 magnums from an Ithaca or stevens
It can hurt and still be fun, you can be a little masochistic and… honest.
We know everyone from children to geriatrics has no issue with normal shotgun ammo
Age shouldn't be a factor, but shotshells vary greatly in terms of power and recoil. Target loads and those for hunting smaller birds like dove or quail loads are generally very light recoiling. High-velocity heavyweight hunting loads have high recoil. The average slug or buckshot is somewhere in the middle. Lots of idiots like to think of "birdshot" as being weak but many bird loads are serious and will wake your ass up if you're not expecting it. I've got a box of Fiocchi high-velocity pheasant loads on my desk. 1-3/4 oz, 1330 FPS. Those have significantly higher recoil than the infamous Brenneke Black Magic slugs.
Reminds me of a friend with some really strange O/U where the breach slides back half an inch as you break it. Due some combination of relative complexity, seeming age, and it being some tiny brand from eastern europe, sometimes it would just fire both barrels simultaneously. He thought nothing of it as it was just some range toy to murder clays in his back yard. For that purpose he bought some birdshot that I don't recall the specs of.
Took him two outings to retire the thing. I wasn't with him at the time but he was bruised pretty bad, and he's a hardy man. Of course it could be alleviated with lower velocity shells, but the only thing worse than lots of recoil is unexpected amounts of recoil.
I initially only came here to ask about some hevi bismuth cartridges I just picked up but I also just found this reloading manual from the 80s if theres a specific charge youd like me to dig for
>older shotgun shells have more gunpowder or something
Deteriorating powder explodes stronger.