For the sake of science I thought I’d start cutting open shotshells to see what they’re made of, why? Because science!
So what’s inside these?
11.3gn of a typical looking shotgun flake powder.
A 5mm thick cardboard wad.
Some kind of white powder filler, looks like table salt but has no taste, I think it was plastic.
A 95.6gn rifled hollow base slug that measured .40 cal and is 12.1mm long.
The overall length of a loaded round is 57mm or just shy of 2.3". The 2-1/2" stated on the box ( or the length of any plastic hulled shotshells) is the length of the case once it’s fired and the crimp has opened up to release the shot.
I guess you would use these for close range shooting on medium sized game, although there would be a plethora of better suited rounds out There for that. I think these are best used for plinking.