is it ok to mix lead sizes in 12ga target loads

Fine for plinking but not so great for competition...

Gun ranges often reclaim the lead. I understand several just clean the dirt off the pellets and reuse them.

And if you open up some "promo pack" shells... you will find glaring deviation in pellet size.

With just my naked eye, lookin' at a handful of shot I had 3 if not 4 distinct sizes of pellets lookin' back at me...:eek:

Brent
 
Are you in trouble no - 1 oz of shot ...is one ounce of shot ...

will it pattern poorly - don't know / you'll have to test it - but I suspect its probably ok / maybe not optimal.

your load is ok if you used the right hull, right wad, right primer combination - with that powder. Allways follow a published recipe.

Note: I wouldn't mix 7.5's and 8's .../ but a 1oz load of 8's in a 12ga has been my primary load in 12ga for sporting clays, Trap singles, doubles and Continental Trap for many years .....and its ok for Skeet as well. I never load any 7.5's anymore - not even for handicapped Trap ...and I don't load any 9's anymore until I get to 28ga and .410 ( even in a 20ga my everyday load is 7/8 oz of 8's for Skeet or whatever ...)..
 
The difference in those shot sizes is very minimal, about .005 inch.

By weight the chart shows 410 pellets in #8 and 350 in 7 1/2.

I still use some 4 & 6 turkey loads.

No worries.
 
I've shot a lot of reclaimed shot (a mix of 7 1/2 to 9s) in practice rounds. It seems to hit the targets as well as new shot at short ranges; however, I prefer new shot for competition.
 
NOW I have another question for the seniors...

Ive got a older Beretta I bought on line and my stock has a recoil reducer in it. I want to know if it has an affect on the inertia block resetting for doubles OR Is it just me NOT letting go of the trigger to fire off the second shot?
 
On an O/U with Inertia triggers ...if they are not adjusted properly ( or maintained properly - kept clean and lubed ) then light loads might not reset the firing pin on the 2nd barrel once in a while ...but "light loads" have nothing or little of nothing - to do with what size shot is in the shell. Light Loads in general - in a 12ga - are shot loads of 7/8 oz or 3/4 oz of shot and at a velocity of 1150 fps ...

but any properly maintained 12ga should reset loads even of 3/4 oz of shot at 1150 fps ...

take the stock off. Clean and inspect the interior mechanism inside the receiver / and "lightly lube" everything ...with a "little bit" of a spritz of a light oil like Rig Oil or Rem Oil ...and reassemble and try it again. If the problem persists - the action might need to be rebuilt which is probably under $ 500 ...

On all of my O/U's with Inertia triggers...( all Browning Citori's ) I routinely take the stocks off every 6 months - just for inspection and general maintenace / or whenever I've had them out in heavy weather hunting or shooting sporting clays...or whatever.../ depending on the primers you are using in your reloads, etc ...you may get a little blowback past the opening in the breech where the firing pins protrude ...or if you get too much solvent or oil inside the receiver ...gunk can build up / or things can rust in there...
 
oneounce might be right ....

....let someone else ( an experienced shooter) test fire it with the same shells that are acting up ...and see if its still not firing the 2nd barrel for them as well.
 
It will work fine and should even pattern well. I shoot reclaimed shot all the time and make sure to use an approved recipee.
 
Reclaimed is what I go for because of the cost - if it is swept with a magnet for steel and lightly graphited, it meters and loads well and is great for close target.

If it is a registered tournament, go with the factory stuff
 
The quality of "reclaimed" shot varies a lot ...depending on who is processing it ...

...some companies re-drop it / some just take the bigger sticks out ...and everything in between.../ and too many of them over-graphite it in my opinion...to the point where I've seen some of it that plugs up reloaders...

It isn't inherently junk ...or good ...it just depends...

I have a buddy that does use it in 12ga and 20ga ....but he's set up a fairly elaborate "sluice box" ...and he uses compressed air to take some of the excess graphite and other junk out of it...( but that's way too much work in my view for the savings ). He actually runs every bag of it thru his "cleaning" system twice.../ and he picks out the rocks by hand ...
 
If I had to guess.

Components make a lot of difference in PSI of your load. Something you should do is weigh both your shot and powder several times to make sure your dropping consistantly. Your Beretta probably needs something in the neighborhod of 8000 psi to reset. Your Promo load, if I was a betting man, depending on components, probably is running around 7500 to 7900 psi. You might want to revisit the loading charts and pick components that give a little more pressure if your failing to reset.
 
Pressure doesn't set inertia triggers, recoil does, and pressure is not a part of the equation.

Still sounds like he traps the trigger

OP - have someone else fire the gun to take the shooter out of the equation and see if the results are the same
 
I do it all the time. The loads are safe and they pattern extremely well for target sports. An ounce is an ounce as said above.
 
Zippy, I am only guessing and I think you understand the physics.

I have a 682X Trap Combo with a recoil reducer in the stock (Shock Master) and the trigger works fine.
Click to expand...

Does the recoil reducer actually only reduce felt recoil to the shoulder of the shooter, but is the same force (recoil) still acting so as to set the interial trigger?
 
If you take a micrometer to a bag of shot, say 7 1/2s, you'll find that while most pellets are 7 1/2s, there's some 7s, some 8s, maybe some 6 1/2s and 8 1/2s.

Premium shot will have less variance, but there will still be off size pellets. How important this is is moot.
 
A shell of the same gauge and shot weight, one having 7000 psi and the other having 11000 psi has no difference in recoil?
 
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