shot size

B

b12alex

New member
is it better to have alot of holes in your paper or bigger holes? i was shotting today and i was shooting BBB shot witch had alot more power and bigger pellets. but the #4 shot has alot more pellets. so wats better more power or more steel flying
 
Depends on what your shooting at. For dove and quail I usually go with 7.5 or 8 shot. Same for shooting clays. For rabbit or squirre. #6 seems about right. For ducks I usually use either #4 or #2 steel.

Geese hunting usually means BB's or whatever is in my gun. For turkey I have settled on heavy loads of #5. Nothing magic about those sizes. Others will probably use something similar, but maybe slightly smaller or bigger depending on their situation.

For me if in doubt, I tend to err on the side of using smaller pellets and getting more shot in the air. I tend to do this and use a more open choke than some. Cause I ain't as good a shot as others.
 
The larger the shot size ( more weight per pellet) penetration will be deeper as long as the powder charge is equal in all shells used.

A 1 oz. load of #6 shot will have less pellets than a 1 1/4 oz. load of #6 shot.
 
In addition to the old saw, Bigger birds get bigger BBs, remember that longer distances require heavier pellets. When selecting ammo consider your total shooting environment, not just the target.
 
As zippy said! There is a breaking point with larger pellet for longer distance as you will get to too few pellets in a pattern... But we already know that...;):D
Brent
 
When patterning a shotgun, ( :confused:I assume thats why you're shooting paper) use the same load that you will be shooting for real....:)
 
For clay targets and smaller birds, I prefer LOTS of pellets in the pattern to ensure success where only a few will actually be needed to hit the mark. HD is a different scenario, where deeper penetration against a larger and tougher adversary is more apparently needed.
 
The prior post most of them are correct. Matters what you are using it for. For bird hunting that is fairly close around here most folks us 7 1/2 or 6 shot. In my double I run 7 1/2 in the bottom barrel which is my first shot most of the time, and 6 shot in the top barrel if I shoot a second one. I figure by that time they are farther away and the 6 will handle alittle more range and thick stuff. But if need be I can pick which one first. But there is very little differnce between them This is also for Partridge, I never hunted pheasant but they might require a larger size pellet. Grouse are smaller and come up in your face most the time in real thick stuff.
 
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As said previously it depends on what you plan on shooting at. I don't hunt so I'll leave that area to others. For SD/HD not all shots are created equal. Birdshot might have more pellets, but it lacks the power to push them far enough into a human body. I wouldn't suggest any pellet smaller than #4BK for HD shotguns.

Even if that's not what you're looking for this might help:

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The smaller shots just lack the mass and therefore the energy to penetrate properly. They make a nasty looking wound because they penetrate the capilaries right under the skin so there might be what appears to be a lot of blood, but they just don't have the stopping power.
 
dead on. The stop power is really what you're looking for. For HD, you have the luxury of knowing your home. Plan out your shots ahead of time. Where can you fire a heavy load and not hit someone on the other side. My scattergun is loaded w/ 00 buck at home. I don't wanna risk not stopping someone. Plus, in my state, I'll go to prison if the bad guy isn't "threatening" me, thus, its my word against a dead guy with heavy load. With a smaller load, he might be around to testify.

As for hunting, I'd say the recommendations above are pretty dead on.
 
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