Gun accident?

Question

last time i went shooting i was shooting my 16 gauge and my buddy was shooting a 12 single shot then a ground hog ran threw the range and my buddy reached into my box of 16s and shot now the thing shot but is this safe? we read the box it said not to put a 20 gauge in a 12 didnt say about 16 but is this safe? we probly ant ganna do it no more unless i find out if its safe or not

Answer 1

No, firing ammo that is not desiged for the gun is not safe.  

The chamber of the gun is specially sized to fit the appropriate shell perfectly.  When the shell fires and the gasses are released since the shell fits perfectly, the only place the gasses can go is safely out the end of the barrel.

When you put a shell in that is smaller than the chamber, there will be gap between the hull and the chamber.  When the shell goes off a few things can happen.  First, and hopefully, the shell will work just fine and the gasses will blow out the end of the barrel.  Second, the hull could blow its sides out and become lodge in the barrel.  Third, the hull could blow its sides out and the gasses will continue and blow the barrel up.  Fourth the hull could seperate from the brass and the gasses could violently escape back into your face, possibly blowing the barrel off of the receiver.

Its not a risk you should take.

Answer 2

you see little boy when i see a qu. that makes my hair stand on end i check the profile! in this case it paid off. have you ever even fired a gun or only in your dreams? according to previous q's of yours you have $5k worth of guns! yet you own 8 when you need a safe and the ones you are selling abt 8 are worth maybe $2k. no mention of the ar15. you don't know how to load a muzzle loader or if you can shoot the wrong size shell in a shotgun but you build your own guns???? i was ranked 7th canada wide as a markman in the airfoce, and it is because of lies from the likes of you that people acroos the country pushed for the tough gun laws we have now. first and foremost regardless if sasquatch ran acroos s the range, you always check what you put in the chamber, know what you are aiming at, and what is beyond it, before pulling the trigger. thankfully you are lucky to be alive as is anyone in the vicinity, but this never really happened did it? in real life you are a fat little 13 year old who has already had at least 2 accounts suspended on yahoo! quit bull ****/ting and if you really want to learn sit quietly listening to the grown ups rather than telling lies that make the whole hunting and shooting community look like drunken careless dangerous fools. i aint gonna report some little kid, but realize the antis come here, cut and paste and post any and every thing that makes gun owners look bad.

Answer 3

The size difference from a 12 to a 16 is minor.

In Shotguns the reason there is a big warning about not loading a 20 in a 12 is that you can shove a 20 into a 12 then load a 12 behind it in the chamber and the results are a trip to the morgue.

As for the 16 / 12 the size difference is so small that a 16 will load into a 12 although not correctly. Your friend was luck here did not damage the shotgun.

You might want to tell him to inspect the breach for scaring from the brass.

This is why you will notice that all 20ga shot shell is Yellow and no 12ga is yellow

I wish they would go back to the;

10 = Black

12 = Red

16 = Green

20 = Yellow

28 = I don't remember

This is also the reason all I own is 12 and 20 ga

Answer 4

Definitely NOT a safe thing to do!!! ONLY use the proper guage shells in your shotguns. Mixing things up can be very dangerous, perhaps deadly. You should both consider yourselves fortunate that no-one was injured. Next time might not be so lucky.

Answer 5

Use only the ammo in the gauge specified.

Answer 6

No, it's not safe.

one of the worst things to happen is get a barrel obstruction from a shell that fell part way through the chamber. A second round loads in the chamber and upon firing KABOOM.

Get this! You don't have to do it. Be standing next to someone who has the barrel obstruction and take a piece of shrapnel in the jugular vein or eyeball.

All that is left to do is pick up the pieces and hopefully you still have your vision and fingers.

Use the correct ammo.