Unfortunately, they don't seem to function in it. I was able to get seven of the stubby 1¾" shells (Federal #4 buck, 15 pellets @ 1200 fps) in the normally four-round magazine, the first one fed into the chamber OK, the recoil was light, and they patterned OK, but almost all of them failed to eject, just kind of sitting in the port. What few of the 2¾" shells I was able to take functioned perfectly, ejecting vigorously.

Why was this important? Equally unfortunately, the recoil with 2¾" 00 buck was just too much for my old ass, and concerning because I'm a former stroke patient on a blood thinner. Even without this, the kick and rearing was difficult to control. Fortunately, I didn't bruise.

I have a box of Winchester Defender, 2¾" 00 buck, medium velocity (1145 fps) that I'm going to try next trip. Maybe this will reduce the kick to where I can live with it. The 1325 fps buck and the 1600 fps 1-oz. slug loads aren't happening.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

Just the other day I tried some ‘short’ shells in my Mossberg 500 pump. They didn’t want to function/cycle reliably. I didn’t do excessive testing, as I didn’t have that many.

I’m one that thinks most loads from a shotgun are devastating, at short range. If the common #4 buck loads are a little heavy, use what you’re comfortable with. The next step would be not to mention your choice on a gun forum.

I used to hunt coyotes fairly often, most shots were close range with a shotgun. Some common loads were ‘hevi-shot’ size ‘T’, 2, then lead #4 buckshot. Remington HD was similar, heavier than lead. I came to like the T & #2 shot the best, postmortem revealed much better penetration than buckshot.

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Winchester Defender, 2¾" 00 buck, medium velocity (1145 fps)

Is that a “reduced recoil” load? I assume so, but is that how it’s advertised?

And although I firmly believe that we should refuse to surrender to the effects of aging any sooner than we must, I’m curious why you’re subjecting yourself to the 12 gauge torture.

But maybe it’s time for me to dust off the M1 Super 90; I can’t recall the last time I shot anything other than birdshot with it.

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Is that a “reduced recoil” load? I assume so, but is that how it’s advertised?

As far as I can tell (the store taped a RFID tag over much of it), it says, "Delivers massive shock with [manageable/managed] recoil through defensive shotguns." (The word in brackets is the one mostly obscured.) I think I'd equate that with "reduced."

The only note in the owner's manual is that "functioning is only guaranteed" with 2¾, 3" or 3½" shells. It doesn't specifically prohibit shorties.

As for "subjecting myself to torture", there are some things one must find out for oneself, even if the hard way.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: egregore,

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The next step would be not to mention your choice on a gun forum.

Meaning what?

Side grumble about my hate towards mini shells... they made thousands and thousands of potential felons in ban states.

^^^ How so? Exceeding magazine capacity limits? In an 8-round tube you could (guesstimate) probably get at least 11 in.

Yep.
Mini shells aren't new, they were just relatively unknown (especially in the US). Now they're widely available and a potential "gotcha" for people.

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Originally posted by egregore:

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The next step would be not to mention your choice on a gun forum.

Meaning what?

Say you want to carry your 9mm in the ‘bear woods’, or carry a 22 LR handgun a few times for CC. In those instances one may get flack from the gallery, ‘not enough gun’. That’s a reason not to mention it.

I was shooting with a female relative, she didn’t like the blast & recoil from her 9mm. She didn’t like one of my 22 handguns, she’s also a ‘low likelihood’ carrier. I told her it would be fine to carry a 22, just don’t mention it to anyone. Yes, she could take the 9mm, just deal with the blast if it came down to that at some point, or get used to it.

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Say you want to carry your 9mm in the ‘bear woods’, or carry a 22 LR handgun a few times for CC. In those instances one may get flack from the gallery, ‘not enough gun’.

OK, I understand. That's the least of my worries.

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Originally posted by sourdough44:
Just the other day I tried some ‘short’ shells in my Mossberg 500 pump. They didn’t want to function/cycle reliably. I didn’t do excessive testing, as I didn’t have that many.

Get one of these:
Feeds mini shells

Sigfreund--for short loads, the Benelli M3 Super 90. Dual action--semi auto or manual.

If you really want to shoot the shorty loads, Mossberg has a whole line of "S" pumps that are designed to do that from jump. I'd invest in one of them if that was going to be your "go to".

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Originally posted by KMitch200:

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Just the other day I tried some ‘short’ shells in my Mossberg 500 pump. They didn’t want to function/cycle reliably. I didn’t do excessive testing, as I didn’t have that many.

Get one of these:
Feeds mini shells

Even with that attachment, the minishells wouldn't cycle reliably in my Mossy Shok-Wave.

I tried out the Winchester Defender reduced/managed recoil load (9 x copper-plated 00 buck @ 1145 fps vs. 1325) today. MUCH better. It still had a pretty good kick, but was not excessive, was more controllable and fed, fired and ejected as it should.

This is a very nice pump shotgun, with "swoopy" Italian looks and a slick action. It also has a magazine cutoff device (they call it a "magazine 'stop'"). Retract the forend a little bit, press a button on the bottom, and you can eject the shell in the chamber without feeding the next one in the magazine. Although 4+1 rounds is probably just fine, I kind of wish it held more. There are extended magazine tubes with the accompanying spring available, or, since 2022 when I purchased it, a newer model has come out with a factory extension and some other improvements, a notable one being a 14% shorter pump stroke.

quote:

Originally posted by MRMATT:

quote:

Originally posted by KMitch200:

quote:

Originally posted by sourdough44:
Just the other day I tried some ‘short’ shells in my Mossberg 500 pump. They didn’t want to function/cycle reliably. I didn’t do excessive testing, as I didn’t have that many.

Get one of these:
Feeds mini shells

Even with that attachment, the minishells wouldn't cycle reliably in my Mossy Shok-Wave.

I have shot
over 500 minis through my Shok Wave with the adapter without a glitch

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If you really want to shoot the shorty loads, Mossberg has a whole line of "S" pumps that are designed to do that from jump.

https://www.mossberg.com/firearms/shotguns/590s.html

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12 Gauge; 18.5" or 20" barrels
Can cycle 1.75", 2.75", or 3" shells interchangeably--without need for short shell adaptor
Capacities between 5+1 and 13+1 depending on shell size
Mossberg’s Patented design (U.S. Patent Number 11,598,596 and U.S. Patent Number 12,203,718) allows the cycling of a range of 12 Ga shell sizes out of the box.
Traditional 590 features included: Dual Extractors; Twin-action Bars; Ambidextrous Safety; Clean-out Mag Tube
590S Shockwave model also available

They work fine in an 870. With mossbergs that aren’t the “S” models you need this little plastic piece that you shove into the area where the feed ramp is to make them load reliably and it can pop out sometimes while shooting.

Defender Tactical has plenty of neat stuff for shotguns but sadly, I don’t see anything for a Benelli Nova.
Mossberg and Remington…oh yeah!

LINK

Try some of these fiocchi

Very light recoiling, cheap and they pattern very nicely.