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Originally Posted by elkhunter11
So if the -pattern is not as uniform going through a longer chamber, why does Kreighoff, a top manufacturer of clays shotguns use 3" chambers on their trap, skeet and sporting clays shotguns? These guns will never see anything but 2-3/4" shotshells, and pattern uniformity is more important for competitive clay shooting, than for hunting. Could it be that with the modern extended forcing cones, it isn't an issue? I have two Winchester SX-3 shotguns, one with a 3" chamber, and one with a 3-1/2" chamber, and using the same 3" loads in both, the patterns are pretty ,much equal in both shotguns.
If you misjudge the lead and miss with 3" loads , you will miss with a 3-1/2" load. Ad with the same velocity, the range that the shot travels is the same, regardless of the shell length.
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First off, If you multiquote, it doesn't look like I made the second statement.
I'm not sure why Kreighoff uses 3" chambers. Prejudice? Marketing? Or maybe they don't agree. That's fine, too. Browning seems to have thought the opposite, and cited a difference of 10% pattern loss. Seems to be no real consensus. I have also heard that there is a pattern loss in the ultra long shells versus going up to the next bore, and shooting the same weight.
My newest shotgun only has a 2 3/4" chamber, so maybe they are in the other camp. I haven't done formal pellet counts with multiple shells, so can't really say one way or the other. If I knew that I'd only shoot the shorter shells, I'd probably just get the one (if there was a choice between 2 exact guns) with the shorter chamber to maximize my chances of getting the best patterns.
I'd argue pattern uniformity is more important in a hunting shotgun. You will break a clay with a couple pellets, but hitting a duck with half a dozen likely means losing a the bird, to die later or crippling it.