Just thought I'd share some interesting results from a range trip over the weekend.
My stepdad and I were shooting rifles on the 100 yard range. about 10 yards behind the target was a tall berm with bowling pins all over it. It rained for a bit and was getting close to the end of the day. Thus, we found ourselves the only shooters at the 100 yard range. I had always wanted to see what buckshot would do at these kind of ranges, but for obvious reasons, the rangemaster hasn't been too keen on letting me fire buckshot when other shooters have targets on the rack. With the rangemasters' permission, of course, I started in on the bowling pins up on the berm with Remington Express 2 3/4 inch 00 Buckshot (9 pellet). I was shooting a Mossberg 590A1 with a cylinder choke. The results were very surprising.
The pins were approx. 110 yards from my shooting position. Initially, I aimed for the pins lower on the berm because I feared the spread would open up so much that pellets might go over the berm. No way!
The patters were all very consistent. The spread on each shot was about as wide as a grown man's arm span if he stood with his arms fully extended and parallel with the ground. the Patterns were also more of a line than the typical circular patters we see with close range buckshot. Think of what would happen if you took a bicycle chain and threw it like a lasso into the dirt.
What was even more interesting was that I was able to make the bowling pins dance at 100+ yards. And contrary to my initial fears, none of the buckshot hit more than a few feet above my line of sight.
Needless to say, I have a whole new respect for my shotgun. I hear a lot of people say that a shotgun is strictly a short-range weapon (i.e. inside the house, very dense brush etc.) and that anyone who wants to shoot beyond 50 yards better have slugs or a rifle. While there are certainly better choices for shots at that range, I think the shotgun is a better multi-purpose self defense weapon than the internet gurus give it credit for. If you had to defend yourself at extended ranges with 00 buckshot, you would probably get your point across even though you left your fancy black rifle at home that day.
As the rangemaster who gave me permission to take the shot and then came over to satisfy his own curiosity said "I'd duck."
My stepdad and I were shooting rifles on the 100 yard range. about 10 yards behind the target was a tall berm with bowling pins all over it. It rained for a bit and was getting close to the end of the day. Thus, we found ourselves the only shooters at the 100 yard range. I had always wanted to see what buckshot would do at these kind of ranges, but for obvious reasons, the rangemaster hasn't been too keen on letting me fire buckshot when other shooters have targets on the rack. With the rangemasters' permission, of course, I started in on the bowling pins up on the berm with Remington Express 2 3/4 inch 00 Buckshot (9 pellet). I was shooting a Mossberg 590A1 with a cylinder choke. The results were very surprising.
The pins were approx. 110 yards from my shooting position. Initially, I aimed for the pins lower on the berm because I feared the spread would open up so much that pellets might go over the berm. No way!
The patters were all very consistent. The spread on each shot was about as wide as a grown man's arm span if he stood with his arms fully extended and parallel with the ground. the Patterns were also more of a line than the typical circular patters we see with close range buckshot. Think of what would happen if you took a bicycle chain and threw it like a lasso into the dirt.
What was even more interesting was that I was able to make the bowling pins dance at 100+ yards. And contrary to my initial fears, none of the buckshot hit more than a few feet above my line of sight.
Needless to say, I have a whole new respect for my shotgun. I hear a lot of people say that a shotgun is strictly a short-range weapon (i.e. inside the house, very dense brush etc.) and that anyone who wants to shoot beyond 50 yards better have slugs or a rifle. While there are certainly better choices for shots at that range, I think the shotgun is a better multi-purpose self defense weapon than the internet gurus give it credit for. If you had to defend yourself at extended ranges with 00 buckshot, you would probably get your point across even though you left your fancy black rifle at home that day.
As the rangemaster who gave me permission to take the shot and then came over to satisfy his own curiosity said "I'd duck."
