Buckshot

MiG25

MiG25

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There are areas in BC that are shotgun with shot only for Deer. Back about 30 years ago I got my first Deer, a buck with such small horns I thought it was a doe until it was on the ground, with a single shot 12 gauge with Winchester 00 Buckshot. It wasn't any legality, just that we didn't have much money and my Dad's 30WCF had disappeared along with the friend he lent it to. Patterning consisted of shooting old cars at the dump. One shot at about 12 yards and the little buck fell towards me like a tree, 7 of the pellets hit him, 2 went through and I found 2. I still have one of the five shells from that box somewhere.

Anyways, forward to yesterday and I decided to pattern some buckshot.

All 2 3/4" 12 gauge with a cylinder bore at 77 measured feet.

Winchester 9 pellet XB1200 made a square pattern 12"×12" of 6 pellets and 3 pellets missed the paper.

Federal 9 pellet XM127 00AC made a pattern 7.5"W x8.5"H.

Federal Premium 12 pellet P156 00 made a pattern 11"W x 18"H, this load had noticeably more recoil.

Any of these would have been fatal to a deer.

Both the Winchester and Federal 9 pellet shot just over the bead.

My conclusion is that for bear defence the Federal Premium 12 pellet would be the choice but for hunting the Federal XM127, which is available in bulk, is the best choice. I won't buy the Winchester again. I may see what a choked barrel does and I may get some Remington 000 for fun.

Edit: Did get some Remington 000:

In the cylinder bore at 77 feet it shot a pattern 6" W x 9" High of 7 pellets with a flyer 12 inches from center.

Took a full choke and moved to 100 feet.

Federal XM 127 shot a 12"W x 16"H pattern

Remington 000 shot a 5"W x 9"H pattern of all 8 pellets (5 were in 5"W x 1.5"H), on the box Remington recommends a full choke.

Winchester XB1200 shot a 10"W x 12"H pattern of 6 pellets, no idea where the other 3 went.

In conclusion, I consider the cylinder bore a 25 yard gun with the Federal XM127 or Remington 000 and the Full a 35 yard gun with the Remington 000. And the Winchester a waste of money.

Next step is the Remington at 40 yards with a Full Choke.
 
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Nice test, I always like to see how loads compare.

I would go with whatever load shhots the most true for your bead sights. I like even/round patterns myself.
 
Funny just got home from the range. Recently purchased a Beretta 1301 and a red dot with the intention of using it for turkey hunting. Zeroed the red dot this a.m. and tried some turkey loads. When i finished patterning the turkey loas,for she?ts and giggles screwed the cylinder choke back in and tried a Federal flight control 9 pellet 00 buckshot round at 30 yards. All 9 pellets in a 4" X 6" pattern. Think I might use this for our shotgun deer hunt. More testing will be done at a later date though.
 
I haven't found any Federal Flite Control loads locally. From my gun the patterns seemed to string vertically rather than be round.

Next time might do it at 100 feet since that is how long my tape measure is.
 
This is one of my favourite topics! I LOVE hunting deer with shotguns and buckshot and have been doing it every year for more than 10 years now.

My experience has been that any 00 load at any range where you can deliver more than 60% of the pattern (hence why patterning is important) into the thorax of a deer sized animal will quickly and reliably give you the results your looking for. But beyond that range, the results very quickly become unpredictable.

Here's some videos of a couple of my prior adventures with buckshot:



Why one is age restricted and the other is not is a mystery to me, but that's YouTube I guess!

Will post one more....
 
Here's federal flight control:


And in case you're ever interested in two big zinc balls, this was something different I just had to try:


Re availability - my experience has been super-sporadic availability of buckshot in Canada, particularly the stuff I like that has rearward braking wads like Federal's Flight Control or Hornady's Versatite. Seem like there is reasonable availability of the hornady stuff the past few years, maybe there's some of that kicking around? I've seen Hornady Critical Defence for sale as recent as a couple of months ago. Anyway, I guess this is a long way to say if you find something that patterns well in your gun, buying a good stash is maybe not such a bad idea!

Cheers,

Brobee
 
No.1 buck maybe the most effective big game shot size generally speaking but not as common in stores as 00.

Brobee himself proved that no.4 buck is no slouch on big game animals. A timeless video he posted for the anals of history!!
 
#4 Buck isn't legal in BC, it has to be #1 Buck or larger (formerly it was SG or larger).

Nor is the 2 zinc balls legal, the load has to contain 8 or more balls to be defined as "shot".

I should clarify, I think the 2 large balls would be legal outside the "shot only" areas.

I wonder if 8 .395" roundballs would fit in a 10 gauge?
 
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I have a Browning Auto-5 3" Magnum. Long full choke barrel. Just out of curiosity, I patterned it with Winchester 3" 000 buck loads. At 50 yards it puts at least 6 of the pellets in an 8" circle. Was surprised, didn't expect anything like that. Have some of the shells tucked away against the possibility that I might take the gun out during deer season.
 
Brobee said:
Here's federal flight control:


And in case you're ever interested in two big zinc balls, this was something different I just had to try:


Re availability - my experience has been super-sporadic availability of buckshot in Canada, particularly the stuff I like that has rearward braking wads like Federal's Flight Control or Hornady's Versatite. Seem like there is reasonable availability of the hornady stuff the past few years, maybe there's some of that kicking around? I've seen Hornady Critical Defence for sale as recent as a couple of months ago. Anyway, I guess this is a long way to say if you find something that patterns well in your gun, buying a good stash is maybe not such a bad idea!

Cheers,

Brobee
Click to expand...

For the life of me I can't understand why Hevi Shot Hog Wild is now merely a memory.

Sasquatch and Polar bear lobbyists ????
 
Brutus said:
For the life of me I can't understand why Hevi Shot Hog Wild is now merely a memory.

Sasquatch and Polar bear lobbyists ????
Click to expand...

I thought it was a pretty cool load too. I still have about a dozen boxes, but am now afraid to use them given their irreplaceability.
 
Brobee said:
I thought it was a pretty cool load too. I still have about a dozen boxes, but am now afraid to use them given their irreplaceability.
Click to expand...

Brobee, have you given buck & ball a try?
I have a ten gauge Parkhurst coachgun choked full and full. Wonderful birdshot pattern but buckshot success kind of elluded me. The only viable load was #4 buckshot stuffed to the gills.
I read about US Army ordnance manual of 1842?
They garnered that British buck and ball load well thought of during French and Indian War and later Civil War.

In BP cartridge shotgun is viable with measures to center the load within the shell. And instead of tied cotton pouch I merely glued a .490 round ball over three 000 buckshot. Shot both barrels point of aim at 30 yards. Weird triangular bullet strike in the paper target.
A strange newish slug?

I think it's only viable due to lower pressures of black powder.

Info.
 
.69 caliber smoothbore muskets were still in use during the US Civil War; more early on, but they continued to be used through out the conflict.
The most common cartridge issued was buck 'n' ball.

I wouldn't assume that black powder is invariably going to produce less pressure than smokeless with a given weight of shot at a given velocity.
 
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