Best load for sporting clays.

thegunnut

thegunnut

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So there I was....happily whacking away at sporting clays targets, when one of my group indicated that my misses ( note the plural) were partly due to my ammunition choice.
Upon surveying the group, I discovered 1 1/8 oz of 7 1/2s as well as 8s at velocities from 1150 -1300fps.
1 oz of 7 1/2s and 8s running 1150 -1300 fps, and 7/8 oz 7 1-2 at 1400 fps.
Everyone had a firm opinion as to why their stuff was the best, and everyone is what I would call good shooters.
One fellow actually carries some of everything and mixes them to suit what he feels is best for the target.

Internet research show Mr. Digweed uses 1 oz loads.

So ........the64$ question.....
What is the best load for sporting clays?????
 
That's a highly debatable question but I'll almost guarantee that your friends are wrong about your misses!

I like 1 oz loads for most targets. Often I'll carry 1145 to 1180 fps loads of #8's and step up to 1300 fps loads of #7.5's for farther shots or very hard targets to break such as a bunny angling away. I've done the same thing with 1 1/8 oz loads as well and haven't noticed much if any difference in my scores for the extra payload but I think there isn't any doubt that the heavier load is more effective at long range.
 
1oz of 8's at about 1200fps will get you through most any course, maybe with a pocket full of 1 1/8oz 7.5's for any sturdy targets as Falconflyer has mentioned.

Always good to do some patterning to be sure, but I'd almost guarantee your misses are not due to details of your ammo choice. (sorry)
 
Disclaimer. I'm just a middle of the pack shooter. Not recoil sensitive. I used to have to qualify with 1 1/4 OZ magnum slugs - with part of the qualification from prone. :eek:

I started shooting Sporting Clays with 1 1/8 oz and my instructor suggested they were fine but more than needed. I now compete with 1 Oz - practice with 7/8 OZ - and I'm fond of pulling out some 5/8 OZ mini-shells to show they all break birds about the same. (I do try to keep all of the above at about 1200FPS to make it easier for my brain to figure out. :d

It isn't the load. It isn't the choke. It isn't the gun (except maybe fit).

Get out and practice. It's fun! :cool:

Rob!
 
the best load is the kind you make yourself in the basement. I use 7/8oz of #8 with 18.2gr of Red Dot, Lightning Wad, Remington hull and a Fed209A primer.
Way better and more consistent then the budget crap the factories are turning out these days.
I just shoot Sporting for fun though, if your competing and have restrictions on your loads you can just scratch out everything i just said.
 
Misses are rarely due to the load. More shot and more open chokes make up for less than perfect aim on closer targets, not so much on farther ones.
Misses are more often about not enough swing, or stopping the swing of the gun.
Less recoil (less shot, lower velocity) causes less fatigue, resulting in better shooting over 100 rounds.
Pellet count is getting pretty low with 7/8 oz. of #7 1/2 when compared to 1 1/8 oz. of #8. Shoot 7/8 oz. #9 skeet loads at the closer targets if you want really low recoil with high pellet count.
Everyone makes their own choice based on the compromise that suits them.
 
Sporting clay courses are highly variable, so is the advice. I'm too lazy to cart around different shells for different presentations. We have a few long shots (~35 y). I have found that #8's often don't have the steam to break the bird - inspection of picked up birds often shows several strikes without a break. I have switched to 7.5 (1 oz), and am satisfied that those long shots are breaking the birds effectively.
 
Working at the gun counter for Cabelas I get asked about chokes and loads fairly often.

The evolution of sporting clays is still an on-going thing better courses harder targets more and different presentations from same stand ect. So there really is no right answer as has been mentioned.

The majority of targets offer a big juicy face rather than on edge this of course increases the amount of target actually being shot at, modified chokes can break them why out there when there is lots of face.

The problem being with sporting clays in particular, targets are normally dyeing slowing down and where never thrown that hard in the first place, the number of pellets on target of course matters to break the target, but if the target its self doesn’t have much rotational spin they can end up with multiple strikes and you won’t break the bird.

A good score at a sporting clays shoot 10 or so years ago would be in the hi 70s low 80s. Today its amazing some of the scores hi 90s all depends on how far you want to take it but top level shooters have really taken the game further.


There are very few actual accessories for clay shooting chokes are just another way to have more shinny stuff.

I don’t need to beat you buy 10 targets just one will be fine at the end of the day.


Skeet and skeet 5/8 ounce loads, wish more would shoot with that combination
 
JIMMY 808 said:
Working at the gun counter for Cabelas I get asked about chokes and loads fairly often.

The evolution of sporting clays is still an on-going thing better courses harder targets more and different presentations from same stand ect. So there really is no right answer as has been mentioned.

The majority of targets offer a big juicy face rather than on edge this of course increases the amount of target actually being shot at, modified chokes can break them why out there when there is lots of face.

The problem being with sporting clays in particular, targets are normally dyeing slowing down and where never thrown that hard in the first place, the number of pellets on target of course matters to break the target, but if the target its self doesn’t have much rotational spin they can end up with multiple strikes and you won’t break the bird.

A good score at a sporting clays shoot 10 or so years ago would be in the hi 70s low 80s. Today its amazing some of the scores hi 90s all depends on how far you want to take it but top level shooters have really taken the game further.


There are very few actual accessories for clay shooting chokes are just another way to have more shinny stuff.

I don’t need to beat you buy 10 targets just one will be fine at the end of the day.


Skeet and skeet 5/8 ounce loads, wish more would shoot with that combination
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So you wish more shooters would take a gun choked skeet and skeet with 5/8 oz loads to sporting clay's shoots?
 
Falconflyer said:
So you wish more shooters would take a gun choked skeet and skeet with 5/8 oz loads to sporting clay's shoots?
Click to expand...

Well ya!

Why wouldn’t I want others in my class to limit themselves?

Plenty say it makes no difference so manufacturers must make premium shells and heavy loads on fish hook theories.
 
I see what you're getting at.

I stopped worrying about competing with the next guy and started competing against myself a few years ago when I stopped shooting registered targets. Too many politics and politicians in the association and too many guys out there cheating at registered shoots for my liking.
 
That’s to bad falcon.

Unfortunate that for some guys it has come to what you say, personally the more people at a shoot the better.
 
Pattern Pattern Pattern...

When I started my mentor insisted 1oz of 8s was better then 1 1/8 of 7.5s or 8s. Sure enough in my cynergy 1oz #8 patterns better then 1.125 oz 8s and 7.5s but my BPS likes 7.5s the best. My sx3 will not cycle 1oz loads even though its best pattern is 1oz of 8s so I use 1.125 of 7.5s.

Depends on the guns even the ammo. I only use challengers because they always go bang.
 
YoungestPiperCub said:
Pattern Pattern Pattern...

Depends on the guns even the ammo. I only use challengers because they always go bang.
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Challengers pattern like c rap in my Browning XT. Winchester Super Target work good for me. Have been playing with different factory loads, but 1 1/8 oz 7.5 1145 fps have been my go to shells.
 
2tall2 said:
Challengers pattern like c rap in my Browning XT. Winchester Super Target work good for me. Have been playing with different factory loads, but 1 1/8 oz 7.5 1145 fps have been my go to shells.
Click to expand...
Also using super targets in my Citori, seem to be working great. Just picked up a reloaded on the weekend to try the art of that next.
 
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