Range of a 12 gauge?
- Thread starter mr00jimbo
- Start date
different stuff
You have posted a thread that will get different answers from different people to add to the different answers you already have. The only answer is that there is no answer.
And....
Your question is too broad. Even if you had asked about a specific load by a specific manufacturer with a specific shot size in a specific firearm with a specific barrel length under specific hunting conditions on a specific game animal of a specific age and weight moving at a specific speed shot at by a perfect marksman, the answers would still vary as to where (and when!) each piece of shot, and how many, hit what body parts to what depth.
Each shooter gets to know his general limits in the field--and usually the limits are hell of a lot shorter the more experience you get. Why ask a question that might lead you pick and choose the answers that suggest the maximum limits of the gun and wound more game in the process?
Knowing that Uncle Bub once shot a goose at 85 yards and a woodcock at 75 yards and a slug on a deer at 150 yards is not useful information. Knowing, by experience, that your own gun and skill level will kill cleanly at maybe only 30% of those distances, at least, most of the time, is useful. Even asking about maximum ranges leads me to question the sportsmanship of the person asking the question. However, I hope I am wrong and your question is just academic and you do not intend to use this information in hunting live game.
You have posted a thread that will get different answers from different people to add to the different answers you already have. The only answer is that there is no answer.
And....
Your question is too broad. Even if you had asked about a specific load by a specific manufacturer with a specific shot size in a specific firearm with a specific barrel length under specific hunting conditions on a specific game animal of a specific age and weight moving at a specific speed shot at by a perfect marksman, the answers would still vary as to where (and when!) each piece of shot, and how many, hit what body parts to what depth.
Each shooter gets to know his general limits in the field--and usually the limits are hell of a lot shorter the more experience you get. Why ask a question that might lead you pick and choose the answers that suggest the maximum limits of the gun and wound more game in the process?
Knowing that Uncle Bub once shot a goose at 85 yards and a woodcock at 75 yards and a slug on a deer at 150 yards is not useful information. Knowing, by experience, that your own gun and skill level will kill cleanly at maybe only 30% of those distances, at least, most of the time, is useful. Even asking about maximum ranges leads me to question the sportsmanship of the person asking the question. However, I hope I am wrong and your question is just academic and you do not intend to use this information in hunting live game.
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There are two very different questions here: The maximum range of a shotgun as in how far will the shot go and the effective range of a shotgun in taking game or breaking targets.
The effective range of a shotgun is that range within which a sufficient number of pellets can be placed with adequate penetration and energy to ensure a clean kill. That's dependent upon the game being sought, the gun's gauge and choke, the size and hardness of the shot and skill of the shooter.
My general rules are these: Assuming adequate pattern and pellet size, 50 yards for birds. No doubt they can be killed further and I've done it myself once or twice. I picked that limit because I know can hit 50 yard crossing clays often enough to reassure myself that it's not luck and therefore have confidence in my ability to take a bird cleanly at that distance. I've also shot at enough clay targets in the 80-100 yard range to know that while they can sometimes be broken you are beyond a responsible range for consistent performance on live game. Shotgun pellets are not ballistically efficient and lose velocity and energy very quickly.
Buckshot isn't a favourite load for me. I've shot animals with it and patterned enough to be unimpressed with the results. With a modified choke I might use it up to 30 yards and no further. I prefer slugs. With my current slug set up, I will keep shots within 75 yards give or take 5 yards. If I went to one of the bolt action rifled shotguns with a good scope I'd extend to 125 maybe.
No doubt these are relatively modest limits and people have killed game at further distances. In hunt camps at night and on forums like this tall tales will frequently be told about ducks being shot on the other side of the horizon or geese killed with a .410 at 75 yards.
These tall tales are told in an attempt to convince others that the teller has superior shooting abilities. Having done my share of shooting and patterning these sagas usually have the opposite effect on me. Bragging about irresponsibly long shots doesn't raise anyone in my estimation. It only confirms they are someone with whom I don't want to share a blind.
As for how far shot will travel or the maximum range here's an article on the subject.
http://www.rangeinfo.org/resource_library/facility_mngmnt/design/how_far_will.htm
The effective range of a shotgun is that range within which a sufficient number of pellets can be placed with adequate penetration and energy to ensure a clean kill. That's dependent upon the game being sought, the gun's gauge and choke, the size and hardness of the shot and skill of the shooter.
My general rules are these: Assuming adequate pattern and pellet size, 50 yards for birds. No doubt they can be killed further and I've done it myself once or twice. I picked that limit because I know can hit 50 yard crossing clays often enough to reassure myself that it's not luck and therefore have confidence in my ability to take a bird cleanly at that distance. I've also shot at enough clay targets in the 80-100 yard range to know that while they can sometimes be broken you are beyond a responsible range for consistent performance on live game. Shotgun pellets are not ballistically efficient and lose velocity and energy very quickly.
Buckshot isn't a favourite load for me. I've shot animals with it and patterned enough to be unimpressed with the results. With a modified choke I might use it up to 30 yards and no further. I prefer slugs. With my current slug set up, I will keep shots within 75 yards give or take 5 yards. If I went to one of the bolt action rifled shotguns with a good scope I'd extend to 125 maybe.
No doubt these are relatively modest limits and people have killed game at further distances. In hunt camps at night and on forums like this tall tales will frequently be told about ducks being shot on the other side of the horizon or geese killed with a .410 at 75 yards.
These tall tales are told in an attempt to convince others that the teller has superior shooting abilities. Having done my share of shooting and patterning these sagas usually have the opposite effect on me. Bragging about irresponsibly long shots doesn't raise anyone in my estimation. It only confirms they are someone with whom I don't want to share a blind.
As for how far shot will travel or the maximum range here's an article on the subject.
http://www.rangeinfo.org/resource_library/facility_mngmnt/design/how_far_will.htm
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Claybuster said:...In hunt camps at night and on forums like this tall tales will frequently be told about ducks being shot on the other side of the horizon or geese killed with a .410 at 75 yards.
You mean someone threw a .410 shotgun (must be nice walnut stock) 75 yards away and killed a geese? Since there is no simple answer to the question and why is patterning so important to shotgunning...
Wow! Just a second .... gotta dig out the Uni Calculus texts and come up with an equation that factors in wind, temp, meters above sea level, moisture, load, choke, gauge and of course luck .... and with my grades in that gunk .... I'll probably be getting back to you in a few years
Ahsan Ahmed
CGN Ultra frequent flyer
Fully concur with the views offered. There are no final/fixed standards given the various scenarios mentioned in above posts.
Personally, I am a lousy shot and have "conditioned" myself to mostly attempt shots roughly under 35 yds (hunting). Have witnessed enough crippled jungle fowl, waterfowl and doves escape..........starts to prick one's conscience after a while.
Personally, I am a lousy shot and have "conditioned" myself to mostly attempt shots roughly under 35 yds (hunting). Have witnessed enough crippled jungle fowl, waterfowl and doves escape..........starts to prick one's conscience after a while.
At that distance the shot was about spent and would have bounced off your skin. We call that "hard rain." I've been "rained" on a few times on preserve hunts and on poorly laid out sporting clays courses.Gatehouse said:I know that # 7.5 will bounce off a heavy jacket at about 250 yards
According to Shotshells and Ballistics by John Taylor, #7.5 shot will pierce skin up to 120-125 yards.
If your good with regular rifled slugs, you should have no problem shooting the 125yds stated. There are new sabots out that with a good scope and a good shooter behind the gun you can get up to 200yds. My longest kill on deer with slugs was around 145yds. And the few deer i have lost with slugs were all shot under 50 yards.
I'm switching to sabots this year and hopefully i keep my head on my shoulders and keep all my shots around the 100yd max range still.
I'm switching to sabots this year and hopefully i keep my head on my shoulders and keep all my shots around the 100yd max range still.
Claybuster said:
If your good with regular rifled slugs, you should have no problem shooting the 125yds stated. There are new sabots out that with a good scope and a good shooter behind the gun you can get up to 200yds. My longest kill on deer with slugs was around 145yds. And the few deer i have lost with slugs were all shot under 50 yards.
I'm switching to sabots this year and hopefully i keep my head on my shoulders and keep all my shots around the 100yd max range still. But you don't need a good bolt gun to make the shots.
I'm switching to sabots this year and hopefully i keep my head on my shoulders and keep all my shots around the 100yd max range still. But you don't need a good bolt gun to make the shots.
Claybuster said:
- Location
- Sudbury, On
Ah, but the bolt is so much fun!
mr00jimbo said:
Too many questions with too many variables. One can write a book about this subject.
To put it simply :
Birdshot : 99% of my shots are within 50 yards. Anything beyond will most likely result in a miss or a crippled bird that I won't be able to retrieve.
Buckshot: Excellent for home defense purposes. Good for moving targets up to no more than 30-40 yards. Very likely to miss beyond that, but may still be lethal.
Slugs : Without a scope, accurate to about 50-60 yards from a smoothbore barrel. Up to 100 yards from a rifled barrel. A scope will improve range and accuracy. However, the slug itself is lethal to ranges far greater than that.
