I have always heard as most people have, that generally speaking, High Brass 12 gauge shells were "hotter" than Low Brass shells. You shoot trap and skeet with Low Brass and you hunt with High Brass. Thats just the way it was. Recently I have been doing some reading online and have come across some interesting opinions. From what I can gather High Brass was a necessity back in the days of paper hulled shotgun shells to prevent the paper from being burnt by the gunpowder upon firing. With todays plastic hulls, the need for high brass is no longer required. I have run across a few opinions online that claim that High Brass is simply a large scam for ammunition companies to make money by using the same assumption that I and many others make... that High Brass has more power.
Now I'm sure many of you have seen and even owned auto loading shotguns that would not cycle low brass shells. This is not uncommon, but is this simply an extraction issue or a power issue? According to the reading I have done, High Brass loads are not necessarily higher powered than Low Brass loads. I am specifically talking about #7.5 and #8 shot which are typically dove/upland hunting shells.
What are your opinions and does anyone have any links with scientific data disputing the claim that High Brass is basically a huge scam to make us believe that it has higher knockdown power and thus commands a higher retail price?
Now I'm sure many of you have seen and even owned auto loading shotguns that would not cycle low brass shells. This is not uncommon, but is this simply an extraction issue or a power issue? According to the reading I have done, High Brass loads are not necessarily higher powered than Low Brass loads. I am specifically talking about #7.5 and #8 shot which are typically dove/upland hunting shells.
What are your opinions and does anyone have any links with scientific data disputing the claim that High Brass is basically a huge scam to make us believe that it has higher knockdown power and thus commands a higher retail price?