Why are 3" shotgun shells not actually 3" long?

submitted by BravoVictor from (self.Guns)

I bought a box of Hornady 12 gauge 3-inch "heavy magnum coyote" shotgun shells. The box clearly lists them as " 3 inches" but when I measure their length, they're only 2.5" long.

Is that typical? Why is there a mismatch between listed length and actual length?

all 4 comments
sorted by:
top
newinsightfulfun

[–]VantaFount 4 insightful - 1 fun4 insightful - 0 fun5 insightful - 1 fun -  (3 children)

Could 3" be the length of the shell before crimping?

[–]magnora7 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (1 child)

I think that's correct, I found this: "Stated lengths for shotgun shells are for their post-fired state."

[–]VantaFount 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Thank you, I didn't have the time to look that up.

[–]BravoVictor[S] 2 insightful - 1 fun2 insightful - 0 fun3 insightful - 1 fun -  (0 children)

Yep, that's it. I searched on that topic, and found some articles confirming it. Thanks.