Shorty Shotgun Shells - Worth A Try?

I'm in the process of updating my old Mossberg 500 and "slicking" it up. That is, I've polished the bore, replaced the follower, and have removed the rust, crud, and dried up oil. I still plan to repaint the camo from a kinda woodland to a black and green tiger stripe. I may even put a red dot on it.

Originally, only Aguila had the short shotgun shells. They have been joined by Federal (see the video below) and the Canadian brand Challenger.




The problem from what I've deduced viewing many reviews of the shorty shells on YouTube is that they have feed problems even with modifications. The OPSol Mini-Clip for the Mossberg seems to have had the best success in fixing the problem. Even so, from what I've read even it is not a sure thing with a pump shotgun.

That said, for the price of the OPSol Mini-Clip ($17 ppd) and a few boxes of various shorty shells, it might be worth a try just to run my own tests. I know the supposed advantage of the shorty shell is that it gives you more rounds in a standard shotgun in a defensive situation. However, if it doesn't function 100% every time then it becomes a liability. That said, it might work well enough for extended practice so that you don't kill your shoulder whereupon you switch back to regular 2 3/4" shells for actual defensive situations.

I did get to shoot the Mossberg Shockwave with the shorty shells at the SHOT Shell at the Crimson Trace booth. It worked well enough there so I don't think I have much to lose by giving it a try.

SAAMI Approves .224 Valkyrie Specs

Vista Outdoor announced yesterday that their Federal Premium developed .224 Valkyrie cartridge specifications had been approved by the Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturer's Institute aka SAAMI. Standardization of both the cartridge and chamber specifications certainly will help push greater adoption of this new cartridge.

From Vista Outdoor's release:

Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute Publishes Approved 224 Valkyrie Cartridge Specifications

ANOKA, Minnesota – March 27, 2018 – The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers' Institute (SAAMI) voted to approve the Federal Premium 224 Valkyrie as an official new cartridge during their committee meeting at the 2018 SHOT Show in Las Vegas, Nevada this past January. 224 Valkyrie’s SAAMI standards documents are now published and available to the industry as a whole, as well as to the public.

“It’s thrilling to have brought the world’s best MSR 15 cartridge to market. We’re proud and excited about our new cartridge, and we deeply appreciate SAAMI’s support with this launch,” said Federal Premium Ammunition President Jason Vanderbrink. “SAAMI’s approval of the cartridge was a crucial step in legitimizing it within the industry. Their work creates standards for the cartridge, increasing safety, interchangeability, reliability and quality for the dozens of firearm manufacturers currently building rifles in our 224 Valkyrie.”

SAAMI allows free access to technical data and drawings for the cartridge and chamber designs, which are posted in the Information and Specifications section of the organization’s website. All cartridge and chamber drawing documents are contained within the ANSI/SAAMI Standards and can be found on www.saami.org. The New SAAMI Cartridge Cartridge/Chamber Designs and Revisions for 224 Valkyrie can be viewed here: http://www.saami.org/PDF/224-Valkyrie-Introduction.pdf.

SAAMI was founded in 1926 at the request of the federal government and tasked with creating and publishing industry standards for safety, interchangeability, reliability and quality, as well as coordinating technical data. SAAMI’s Technical Committee, which consists of firearm and ammunition industry experts, reviewed the 224 Valkyrie submission over a period of about six months. The official cartridge name, maximum cartridge and minimum chamber dimensions, pressure limits, test equipment, and other characteristics are all considered and scrutinized during the process. 

Federal Premium’s 224 Valkyrie is based on a 6.8 SPC case necked down to 22 caliber. It offers dramatically improved trajectories over all other MSR 15 cartridges, including the 22 Nosler, 223 Rem. and 6.5 Grendel—with roughly half the recoil of larger cartridges offering comparable ballistics, such as the 6.5 Creedmoor. Shooters can expect best-in-class ballistics, supersonic flight past 1,300 yards and extreme long-range accuracy from this exciting new cartridge.

The 224 Valkyrie is initially available in four loads: 90-grain Gold Medal Sierra MatchKing, 60-grain Nosler Ballistic Tip Varmint, 90-grain Fusion MSR and 75-grain American Eagle TMJ. These proven Federal Premium offerings provide options for long-range competitors, target shooters and hunters pursuing game from varmints up to deer-sized animals.

Tough Enough To Shoot Pink

Breast cancer research receives a donation from Federal for each box of these shells sold. I can get on-board with that. Now that I know about it, I'll start to see if local dealers have any in stock and buy a few boxes.