[oberon]

I haven't tried 'em yet, but I came across some 12 ga. minishells in amongst my assortment of factory ammo.. It is my understanding that they will run in some pump shotguns, but need some kind of gizmo related to the elevator to feed correctly. I also understand they will provide a strategic advantage in CQB, eg, inside your house, in terms of more rounds available without the need to reload. My gun is a Remington 870 that is the domestic SHTF security setup for the house. (in addition to readily accesable handguns, of course) The question is, will the minishells run in my gun?
Somebody here must have the scoop on thjs issue.

My regular ammo choice is whatever I have on hand, #4 buck or smaller, The rationale being that over-penetration is very risky. I have no problem with field grade birdshot at the distances normally encountered indoors. Typically, the medical examiner or the surgeon will have to dig the shot-cup/wad and the pellets out of the recipient when doing the autopsy or trauma surgery, A hit with birdshot from 10-15 feet will will pretty much act a lot like a slug, without the undesirable 'side effects'. 12 ga.#4 buckshot is not something that is easily sourced in these parts.

 

[smkummer]

Just simply try them in your gun to see if they will single feed and chamber (with the safety on an and pointed in a safe direction). Mine didn’t in the one or 2 pump shotguns I tried but I didn’t try in a 870. I am not going to alter any of my guns for those shells.

 

[dogface6]

The only place I ever saw them was in a C&WAS shoot - apparently, the 'mini' aspect was the selling point because of felt recoil - I guess AA Trap loads were too robust.

These were fired in double-barrels - no pumps.

If you want a Home Defense load, try AA Trap - it won't penetrate the drywall, but can penetrate most clothing, and get their attention.

 

[7.62Kolectr]

I’ve read that they do not work reliably enough for self defense in Remington shotguns. And they do not make an adapter for Remingtons either.
It has to do with how the shell lifter is built in them. They will work perfectly with the adapter in Mossbergs.

This video does a decent job of explaining them.

 

[Dr.Tramp]

I have some 2.5" .410 bore and 20 and 12 gauge solid brass shells I got from Rocky Mountain Cartridge that I hand load for short range defense rounds. I use various size soft lead black powder round ball in all of them and in the .410 I can also use 9mm and 38 caliber bullets.
With the grandson's Zavala SxS .410 maximum accurate range with the wad-cutters or 9mm bullets is about 50 yards though at that distance they start to tumble. But at 20 yards or less they fly pretty true and accuracy is much better. Two 148gr 38 cal wad-cutters or four 90gr 9mm bullets make a serious hole in a couple of stacked 2x6 pine boards.
The RMC shells are kind of pricey but unlike Magtech shells they use standard shotgun primers and have thicker walls so unless they get stressed with extreme loads or smashed out of shape they should last for quite a while.
They all work perfectly in break action shotguns and the .410s fed and fired fine in my old bolt action tube fed Stevens model 59.
In our pump action shotguns the 12 gauge shells feed okay most of the time. Haven't tried them yet in the grandson's 930 auto loader but now that we have the feed problems worked out with it we'll give them a try.
Gave my 20 gauge/22 mag Savage model 24 to the SIL so am currently looking for a single or double barrel break action 20 gauge. Damn they've gotten expensive but then what firearm or firearm related item hasn't, right?
Ride Safe. Dr.Tramp..............

 

[oberon]

Well, then.
I will ditch the minishell idea. Maybe I'll just try and blast 'em off and be done with it. I scarcely think there's much chance of anybody ready to accept the risk of depending on these things for protecting their gizzard.
Thanks all for the assistance.

 

[*2Trooper]

+ 1, shoot'em up and be done. I it what I did. I bought the rubber adapter for my Mossbergs, and did not like it. Mis-feeds and the adapter even came partially dislodged. A pump shotgun is nothing if not pretty much 100% dependable. Anything that changes that reliability factor is not worth it. Just my 2 cents...

 

[OD*]

Look into the purpose built 590S.

590S models cycle 1.75"; 2.75" or 3" shells, interchangeably, without the need for an adaptor. Pick one shotshell length, or simultaneously load any combination of the three.

590S - Shotguns - Firearms O.F. Mossberg & Sons

www.mossberg.com

 

[cxm357]

I haven't tried 'em yet, but I came across some 12 ga. minishells in amongst my assortment of factory ammo.. It is my understanding that they will run in some pump shotguns, but need some kind of gizmo related to the elevator to feed correctly. I also understand they will provide a strategic advantage in CQB, eg, inside your house, in terms of more rounds available without the need to reload. My gun is a Remington 870 that is the domestic SHTF security setup for the house. (in addition to readily accesable handguns, of course) The question is, will the minishells run in my gun?
Somebody here must have the scoop on thjs issue.

My regular ammo choice is whatever I have on hand, #4 buck or smaller, The rationale being that over-penetration is very risky. I have no problem with field grade birdshot at the distances normally encountered indoors. Typically, the medical examiner or the surgeon will have to dig the shot-cup/wad and the pellets out of the recipient when doing the autopsy or trauma surgery, A hit with birdshot from 10-15 feet will will pretty much act a lot like a slug, without the undesirable 'side effects'. 12 ga.#4 buckshot is not something that is easily sourced in these parts.

I have four Remington 870s... the short shells won't work reliably in any of them... They feed intermittently also jam the action intermittently and ... They also do not work in my Mossburg 590. I'm told they do work is some Winchester 1300s...

FWIW

Chuck

 

[dfariswheel]

As above the mini shells will only feed reliably in guns fitted with an adapter, made specifically to handle them like some Mossberg models, and in some guns like the Kel-Tec KSG and KS7. I "suspect" the might work in an Ithaca Model 37 since it's the design Kel-Tec used for their bullpup guns.
Even in the Kel-Tec's some will work 100%, some will have occasional stoppages, and some won't work at all.
In all cases, adequate test firing is needed to verify reliability.

The advantages of mini shells are greatly increased magazine capacity and greatly reduced recoil.
At inside the home ranges they may be reliable stoppers even though the amount of pellets is reduced.

Almost certainly the best of them for defense are the Federal personal defense version. They make a practice version with #4 buck shot but the defense version is loaded with 00 buck and runs at higher velocity.
These would be much preferable to the lower powered #4 buck or the Aquila #4 and #1 buck mix.

Another option are 2 1/4 inch loads as offered by Nobelsport. These are 00 buck at reduced velocity and are extremely mild shooters.

 

[oberon]

I don't think I will have any use for 'em, given the potential for malfunction, and the need for an adjunct prosthetic device to make 'em work. I will shoot 'em up or give 'em to someone who has a gun that will run 'em. They are cute little things, but they aren't something I would stake my life on. We live with risk of every type every day. No need to ask for trouble.

 

[Sixguncolt]

Mossberg 500 with the Defender Tactical mini shell adaptor works flawless for me.. Made in the USA also. Have about 100 rounds shot & cycle threw the shotgun. + loaded & cycled another 100-120 mini and regular 2 3/4 & 3" mag shells threw in ramdon order. Works great no hiccups yet..

 

[Kingcobb]

I have some 2.5" .410 bore and 20 and 12 gauge solid brass shells I got from Rocky Mountain Cartridge that I hand load for short range defense rounds. I use various size soft lead black powder round ball in all of them and in the .410 I can also use 9mm and 38 caliber bullets.
With the grandson's Zavala SxS .410 maximum accurate range with the wad-cutters or 9mm bullets is about 50 yards though at that distance they start to tumble. But at 20 yards or less they fly pretty true and accuracy is much better. Two 148gr 38 cal wad-cutters or four 90gr 9mm bullets make a serious hole in a couple of stacked 2x6 pine boards.
The RMC shells are kind of pricey but unlike Magtech shells they use standard shotgun primers and have thicker walls so unless they get stressed with extreme loads or smashed out of shape they should last for quite a while.
They all work perfectly in break action shotguns and the .410s fed and fired fine in my old bolt action tube fed Stevens model 59.
In our pump action shotguns the 12 gauge shells feed okay most of the time. Haven't tried them yet in the grandson's 930 auto loader but now that we have the feed problems worked out with it we'll give them a try.
Gave my 20 gauge/22 mag Savage model 24 to the SIL so am currently looking for a single or double barrel break action 20 gauge. Damn they've gotten expensive but then what firearm or firearm related item hasn't, right?
Ride Safe. Dr.Tramp..............

I shoot 2.5" paper 12 ga in my Parkers from RST. Spreader loads work wonders on dove and clay pigeons.

 

[inspcalahan]

I've found the short ones are fun to shoot through my short barreled side by side coach gun when just busting cans.. they don't punish like the full buck or slugs do in that platform. I won't be running them in any of my pumps though.

 

[FL Moore]

#4 buck turkey extra full choke it shoots like a rifle. Dead men tell no tales .! Got to protect my family . If you get past the family dog , chances are you will get something very unpleasant!!

 

[Swamp Yankee]

I split a case of the mini shells with my brother in law during the great amunition shortage pandemic. What I really wanted was slugs but they weren't available. I still haven't shot any of it but it looks like good ammo and best of all it is made in Canada!