Best buckshot patterns! Post a picture of your patterning board/target!

[0faustus0]

Best buckshot patterns! Post a picture of your patterning board/target!

What is the best buckshot pattern you ever achieved with your shotgun?

This thread is to learn what ammo / shotgun / choke combinations produce the best patterns … and to understand the general phenomena behind those buckshot patterns.

And we need a bit more than your word …. (I mean I shot a 6” pattern at 50 meters in my dreams, and it did happen in my dream) … so please post a picture of your patterning board …. including the following specs:

• Firearm: Model/make
• Gauge: 12ga / 16ga / 20ga / 410
• Barrel length: 14” / 18” / 20” / 28” / 30”
• Choke: Cylinder / Improved Cylinder / Modified / Full / Extra Full / Turkey
• Ammunition: Manufacturer, gauge, type, pellet size, pellet number, product number, velocity
• Distance to target: 20 meters, 25 meters, 30 meters, 40 meters, 50 meters, 60 meters

Now from my own experience … these are the general rules that I observed and that apply to buckshot:

1. Longer barrels provide tighter/better patterns everything else being equal.
2. Lower velocity loads provide tighter patterns everything else being equal.
3. Buckshot loads that are stacked in pairs of 2 (or that do not need stacking like 000 in 410) provide the best patterns, everything else being equal. (Flightcontrol ammo is different beast altogether)
4. A tighter choke up to Full or even Extra Full provides a tighter pattern for 00 and #4 Buckshot (12ga)
5. Buffered loads provide tighter patterns everything else being equal.
6. What else?

 

[0faustus0]

• Firearm: Remington 870 Police
• Gauge: 12ga
• Barrel length: 18”
• Choke: .680 Full choke
• Ammunition: Federal, 3”, 12ga, 00, 12 pellets, 1325 FPS, PFC15700, with Flightcontrol wad
• Distance to target: 30 meters
• Circle has a 9" diameter

 

[brybenn]

While I didn't take any pics 18 pellet 00 buck from my 10ga sxs mod/mod is about the worst patterning shells I've ever fired. A clay target box at 30 yards had 7 holes in it from 36 pellets fired. Slugs hit within 2" of each other so it wasn't me missing
When I get back home I'll play with some buckshot loads and get some pics.
I'd like to get more #4 buck to try but I bought buckshot from T shot to 000 buck to reload with

 

[MiG25]

From my testing, 000 and a tight choke blows everything else away. I wouldn't even bother with 00 and open chokes.

 

[Mr Bill]

I had access to dozens of different buckshot loads from an armoured car company. Tested everything on 40” newsprint at an indoor range. If we are talking large whitetails I wouldn’t trust most much past 25 yards. Federal Premium 12g with copper plated OO buck in buffer would still throw an outstanding pattern out of a Remington 870 with a 30” full choke. Having said that I only use slugs, seen too many difficult recoveries with buckshot. No pics, this was in the day when digital cameras weren’t invented yet and Polaroid cameras ruled. lol. Cheers

 

[0faustus0]

From my testing, 000 and a tight choke blows everything else away. I wouldn't even bother with 00 and open chokes.

Thanks MiG25 ... well 000 buckshot is stacked in pairs of 2 in 12ga ... and I had some good results with 000 Buck as well.

I think this fall I will test 000 buckshot again ... with different chokes ... and together with 00 buckshot that is stacked in pairs of 2 in a wad like the Remington 8 pellet load ...

I will keep you folks posted here ... and once I have the results ...

 

[156821]

I put a horse down today using 00 buck 9 pellet out of my mossberg 590 with a 20” barrel. About 10-15 yards. 5 or 6 pellets connected….3 in the skull and 2 or 3 in the neck. Anyway it was very effective.

 

[brybenn]