Heavy Shot vs Lead buckshot

A

Archer 9505

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Has anyone seen comparisons of heavy shot vs lead buckshot penetration test? M. Ayoob(etal) writes that #1 buck is a Superior tactical load to 00 buck. 16 .30 cal pellets vs. 9 .33 cal pellets. increased surface area, increased total weight, sufficient penetration etc. I would like to see a Heavy Shot load of #1 buck in a flight control shot cup at around 1300 fps from a twenty inch barrel. I think that may be an ideal home defense load. Remington makes a BB sized load of heavy shot for HD. How does the BB size heavy shot hold up when compared to the 12 inch penetration standard?
 
IIRC, Hevi-Shot comes in #00, #B, #2, #4 and #5, #6, #7-1/2 & #9
They don't make it in size #1 Buck, so your question is moot. There are no regulations, that I'm aware of, that require the use non-toxic loads on bad guys and zombies. Hevi-Shot is expensive; so, they aren't going to make the stuff in sizes that won't sell.
 
Effectiveness

Does heavy shot penetrate and pattern better, worse, or no difference than the same size lead shot?
Is there is enough of a penetration advantage using heavy shot to warrant going to a smaller size shot that patterns more densely yet still penetrates to the recommended 12 inch minimum?
 
Hevi-Shot is hard and bounces. It doesn't flatten like lead will on a hard surface. I have a bunch of of H-S duck and goose loads, but my house has 14-inch-thick solid brick exterior walls and 95-year-old horsehair plaster interior walls. There are too many hard surfaces.

www.ballisticproducts.com/products.asp?dept=67

H-S is the approximate hardness of barrel steel and "is not prone to deformation."

John
 
My 2 cents. #4 buck, best for birds, although you are not legal to use it, and FPS and the amount of pellets combo, thats all I keep loaded at home. Stop any one, anytime, everytime.
 
70 yards. Poked holes in plywood. It will go completely through a mallard at that distance, too.

You didn't read their data and look at the pics, did you? The stuff is denser than lead or Hevi-Shot and super expensive.
 
I looked at the pics. I still don't believe that it's 70 yards. Gotta be a typo. No matter how heavy the stuff is, there's a limit to it's speed out of a shotgun barrel, as well as a limit to how it will pattern, to the point that at 70 yards you'd be lucky if it was still in flight.
 
"I still don't believe that it's 70 yards. Gotta be a typo."

No, it doesn't gotta be a typo. It's all about the density of the object. In other words, which can you throw the longest distance, a ping-pong ball or a golf ball. One is much more dense than the other, just like tungsten is much more dense than lead or Hevi-Shot. And all three are denser than steel.
 
If you're worried about the performance of your tactical shotgun load at 70 yards, there's a serious problem with your tactics.

At any realistic defensive distance 2 3/4" 00 lead buckshot will do the job just fine.

There's no need for Heavy shot, much less TSS. BTW, take a look into what TSS does to the inside of your barrel before you get too excited.
 
skinsman said:
My 2 cents. #4 buck, best for birds, although you are not legal to use it, and FPS and the amount of pellets combo, thats all I keep loaded at home. Stop any one, anytime, everytime
Click to expand...
Surely you can't be serious
 
good enough vs better

"At any realistic defensive distance 2 3/4" 00 lead buckshot will do the job just fine."

Natman, I agree 100%. The 9 pellet 12 gauge 00 load has been around for over 100 years. I had read (although can't remember the source, so take this with a grain of salt) that the 2 3/4in 9 pellet load initially gained much of it's popularity because it was contracted for by the US Postal service. A government contract meant large supplies were available at comparatively economic prices. And it worked, that helped with popularity.
Good Enough can be the enemy of better, I'm just looking for better. My current choice is 2 3/4 in Winchester 00 magnum 12 pellet load at 1290FPS.
 
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My 2 cents. #4 buck, best for birds
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.24 caliber #4 Buckshot is best for shooting birds??????

What on earth kind of birds do you hunt??


dino_pterodactyl.jpg


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http://www.brassfetcher.com/index_files/Page484.htm

Here is data on T sized hevi-shot. arverage penetration around 10 inches.
Click to expand...


10 inches of penetration will be more than enough to stop someone effectively.

Note also that the Federal #4 Buckshot load, which that web site also tested, averaged a penetration level of 12.97 inches for 3 shots. So it actually exceeds the 12 inch standard, despite some folks saying here that it is inadequate.

Anyway, it is no where near as expensive as the Hevishot ammo. And you still get 34 #4 Buck .24 caliber buckshot in each shell.

Anyway, that is what I have in my shotgun:

DSC_0131a_on_filtered.jpg


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