[Diesel_ss]

Steel or lead shot?
Lead is softer then the barrel steel so that's out.
Now steel shot, I have no idea.

 

[likemybrownings]

I agree with Diesel. Lead a dirty mess,, But with steel I couldn't believe it would be a dimple. My thought more a short streak.
Only an opinion,

 

[marbax]

How does the shot get out before you fire?

That load seems only reasonable on a springing teal.

 

[bossbasl]

Under the right conditions lead shot CAN cause "riveling". Not a pretty sight if it occurs to your barrel(s).

 

[henrydog]

I am confused...how can shot come out before being fired? Just random lead rolling down a steel pipe (barrel) if that causes damage something is really wrong.

 

[Rick Barker]

If it is a real thing, open crimp allows shot to rollout. As long as barrel is level or up, shot will remain in barrel. Next the shooter elevates the gun and perhaps has a barrel upward hold. Loose shot sitting against the mouth of the shell. Gun is fired. Shot in the shell pushes crimp out, over the top of the loose shot and as shot load exits the shell, it runs over the loose shot and pushes downward on it exerting force on the inside of the barrel.

 

[Reid]

If it is a real thing, open crimp allows shot to rollout. As long as barrel is level or up, shot will remain in barrel. Next shooter elevates the gun and perhaps has a barrel upward hold. Loose shot sitting against the mouth of the shell. Gun is fired. Shot in the shell pushes crimp out, over the top of the loose shot and as shot load exits the shell, it runs over the loose shot and pushes downward on it exerting force on the inside of the barrel.

Well I’ll be darn. This brings back memories because in the late 60’s I was at a gunshop and the owner showed me a Browning trap gun (not a Citori) bottom barrel which had this rippling effect inside on the bottom at of that barrel. He said it was caused from loose shot. I always questioned his explanation for this, but I guess he was correct. Periodically I have thought about this condition, but you have now confirmed it. Thanks.

 

[Rick Barker]

Well I’ll be darn. This brings back memories because in the late 60’s I was at a gunshop and the owner showed me a Browning trap gun (not a Citori) bottom barrel which had this rippling effect inside on the bottom at of that barrel. He said it was caused from loose shot. I always questioned his explanation for this, but I guess he was correct. Periodically I have thought about this condition, but you have now confirmed it. Thanks.

This is why I so anal about worn shells. If the crimp is weak, I toss it, I don’t seal it with candle wax or masking tape like some do. Wasting 11 cents worth of shot or ruining a gun barrel is not worth using a hull 15 times that has a value of less than half a cent.

 

[Borderland]

If enough shot was loose in the barrel to affect the crimp opening and the crimp was that weak, it would be a really low pressure blooper. AT that low pressure, in my opinion only, it would not have an effect on the barrel. That area prior to the forcing cone and the forcing cone itself would be a very strong area of the barrel.

 

[Rick Barker]

If enough shot was loose in the barrel to affect the crimp opening and the crimp was that weak, it would be a really low pressure blooper. AT that low pressure, in my opinion only, it would not have an effect on the barrel. That area prior to the forcing cone and the forcing cone itself would be a very strong area of the barrel.

Then it is not a real thing or a problem.

 

[David Petrychka]

And "steel" shot is actually iron and softer than barrel steel.

 

[woodperson]

I do believe that loose shot in the barrel could damage the bore when the load runs over it. I have read accounts of that happening in high quality thin walled barrels of doubles. Maybe not often or a high percentage of the time but sometimes. I do not think the pressure has anything to do with it. I think the hammering effect of the shot charge could cause the damage. Sorta like if the shot charge catches the edge of a screw in choke. I see no point in allowing loose shot so I try to reload well enough to keep it from happening. Before I buy a shotgun I run my fingers over all of the exposed barrel surfaces looking for dents or bumps.

 

[Leo]

If you have shot leaking out of a crimp that is reopening, a little piece of masking take is a good thing, and way more convenient than a drop of wax. I sure would not want loose shot in my barrel.

 

[Savage99Stan]

I've seen a lot of pimpled barrels on old muzzle loading and cartridge guns with Damascus barrels. Only one or two on modern and they were thin walled doubles. The potential is there but unlikely on modern steel with lead shot. (Dimples go in, pimples stick out, lol)

 

[Rick Barker]

Here is a shell that got past my inspection. It sat in a box almost a year after reloading. Went to a shoot this weekend, heard it rattle when I picked up the box and put it aside. The crimp did not fully close and the shot shown in the picture plus one pellet I dropped is what was in the bottom of the box. It was the first time the hull was reloaded, with 2-3/4 dram WST powder equivalent, AA wad, and primer. I am not putting a piece of tape over it or sealing with wax. Going to dismantle, save the shot and toss the rest.