With only a handful of common gauges, finding the right size shotshells for your gun is pretty straightforward, but the one complicating factor is the length of those shotshells. Shotguns of all gauges have been made with differentlength chambers, and it's important to understand shell length when selecting your ammo, as shooting the wronglength shell will usually cause malfunctions or poor performance, and can even damage your shotgun if done repeatedly.
This video explains exactly what shell length is, why it's important, and the reason for different shell lengths. It also goes into detail on the lengths that are used for the common gauges, including unusual, nonstandard, and historic lengths.
The Shotguns 101 video series focuses on general shotgun topics. I already have a lot of ideas for future videos, but I'd still like to hear any suggestions you might have.
I recommend watching this video with the annotations turned on. I'll be adding various notes to provide further details and address some common questions and potential points of confusion. There will be no giant flags blocking the video, and absolutely no begging for subscriptions or likes.
Please note that any comments on the relative popularity and availability of the shotshell sizes and lengths discussed here are from a mainly North American perspective. Things may be different in other parts of the world.
If you're at all interested in the history and evolution of firearms, I cannot recommend Forgotten Weapons highly enough. There are tons of really interesting and significant old (and sometimes not so old) guns out there, and while gun books give you a couple old photographs, Forgotten Weapons gives you detailed videos with disassembly, demonstrations, and slowmotion footage. The specific videos referenced here are:
Techno Arms Mag7: • Techno Arms MAG7: Shooting, History,...
Ishapore LeeEnfield: • Ishapore Enfield.410 Shotgun Conversion
Or you can check out Forgotten Weapons' YouTube channel ( / @forgottenweapons ) or website (http://www.forgottenweapons.com/).
I also want to throw in a plug to the International Ammunition Association. They have gathered a very cool digital collection of old ammunition & firearms catalogs, which are freely available on their website, http://cartridgecollectors.org. This was a big help when researching this video, and most of the old catalog images I used here came from that resource. Check them out if you're interested in historical firearms & ammunition, and if you have some old catalogs lying around, consider contributing.
Shotguns 101 Playlist:
• Shotguns 101
Remington 870 Tips & Tricks Playlist:
• Remington 870 Tips & Tricks
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DISCLAIMERS:
By accessing this video, the viewer signifies their understanding of, consent to, and agreement with the following:
All products and copyrighted works mentioned or shown herein remain the property of their respective creators and/or owners. I make no claim to anything in this video that I didn't personally create. Any such elements are used herein for educational and informative purposes; and the purpose, character, and substantiality of their use does not, to the best of my understanding, constitute copyright infringement according to 17 USC § 107.