It was necessary to determine the velocity of the buckshot spheres as they traveled downrange to know the maximum range at which the pellet would be able to meet the 12.0 minimum penetration depth in ballistic gelatin. At 25 yards, figure a decent barrel will "pattern" around 30" which is larger than the average human. Again, thankyou for the in-depth information! CHRIS: Yeah, it was around nine inches at 50 [yards]. No point in hitting him with a few more pellets if none of them have the juice to keep going and kill whatever you are shooting at. To me 50 yards is the max ethical range of buckshot. You can maximize your shotguns effectiveness by selecting buckshot that is effective out to your maximum planned engagement distance and no further. With No.1 or No.2 Buckshot, it's more like 35-40 yards max for a potent load that groups tight. you will cover the head and about 5 inches of the neck. We need to mention we were using your [Mossberg 590 with a] Vang Comp barrel thats optimized for FliteControl. The #1 was starting to fail the FBI test it was starting to be underneath the 12-inch penetration. Cameron had an extra full Primos (IIRC) turkey choke that absolutely threw an awesome pattern (100%, 16-18" @ 50 yards) with Remington 000, the cheap stuff. It does not store any personal data. Please be respectful of others. however, I do not recommend firing a load of buckshot at a deers head. The procedure I fired one round of each load from each of the three different choke tubes. . A follow-on test would include #1 buckshot and standard velocity 00 buckshot. The round ball isn't very aerodynamic. Hornady has several 00 buckshot that uses their flitecontrol shot-cup wad. I would like to point out that you can get #2 buck in 20 ga, but only in 3 magnums, if that is of interest to you. Modified choke, by the way, shoots very good patterns with many different loads. I think if I had used a more open choke, the 00 would have shot better. Best #4 Buckshot patterns I have shot (Rem3", Win3", and Fed 3") has been with a Carlson's Turkey choke in my 11/87. You can get more. Will buckshot kill at 50 yards? This shotgun includes a SureFire forearm, a BlackHawk Knoxx Stock and a three-point sling. And then when we got out to 100 the #00 was doing what the #1 was doing at 50, which was kind of interesting to me. This load patterns best in all my shotguns. For really long range shooting, Federals 00 buck loaded in its Flitecontrol wad is hard to beat for tight patterns. Past that, then I dont know. However, you may visit "Cookie Settings" to provide a controlled consent. Join F&S+ to read exclusive stories by your favorite writers. Going to order some Federal 2.75" 000 and some more REmington 000 and an LM choke instead of a CYL choke and hit the patterning board again. I wonder if the 8-pellet reduced recoil stuff will cycle my M4S90. For Coyotes I personally would use a .223, but if you have to use a shotgun to 75 yards, I'd go with Hornady 3" Heavy Coyote: Hornady Heavy Mag Coyote Ammo 12 Ga 3 00 Buckshot Nickel - MPN: 86224. I know that [#00 buckshot] penetrates a little more at 10 feet in the standard test, and for us, we verified that. The most common buckshot size used for defensive or tactical applications is 00 (pronounced "double-aught"). Personally I prefer #4 buck (NOT to be confused with #4 shot) for home defense. Pretty much 100 percent of the pattern will be on the deer. . If I remember correctly. The patterns at 20 yards. 12"-15" is still an improvement over the old 00 that we used to issue. Follow Lucky Gunner Lounge from your Inbox! The Mission of Cheaper Than Dirt! Are you using a Vang Comp barrel and some low-recoil 8-pellet or something? This cookie is set by GDPR Cookie Consent plugin. *Distance in feet and buckshot spread in inches. Necessary cookies are absolutely essential for the website to function properly. you have more of gradual taper on the inside of the choke, also known as the "skirt", because the taper looks like a skirt. Because they have a poor sectional density, they shed their energy fast, both in the air and in the target.For close shots, aim for the shoulder, straight up the leg to hit the heart and lungs. Upload or insert images from URL. Shopping with us is absolutely safe - you never have to worry about credit card safety when shopping here Share your latest AR build or photos from the range with #RangeDayFriday for a chance to win a new firearm! Kinda irritating because that limits me to just that load, though. But, it was a dandy. This is a little thing we like to call Stuff John and Chris Wanna Know. So John, tell us, what do we want to know today? Wife has a UNWR tag in a few weeks. CHRIS: Right, and thats with your gun. But they did all require a finishing shot. It will be noted from above that the physical distance between the muzzle of the test shotgun and the paper targets was 40 yards for the #1 buckshot (plated, pattern-controlled), 00 buckshot (unplated, buffered) and 00 buckshot (plated, pattern-controlled.) With spherical shotgun pellets, the only way to increase sectional density is to increase the pellet size. We want you, our readers, to be able to make informed decisions. New Year, New FREE GUN FRIDAY! A hit in this instance is a hit to the target that would be counted for qualification at FLETC. 1150 fps buckshot is reduced recoil, full power 00 buckshot loads of 2 3/4 12 gauge are actually around 1350, interestingly enough, his under powered tests actually reinforces the effectiveness of the cartridge. Shotguns are wierd and very "individual", but all three of my M4's have LOVED this combination. For home defense #00 buckshot seems the best choice. [Federals advertised velocity is 1100 for the #1 versus 1145 for the #00. At 30 yards, my shotgun shoots an 18-inch pattern with most buckshot. There are also frangible slugs made for home defense. All of these shotguns are excellent in my opinion, and Ive pointed both brands at more than a few criminals in my law enforcement career. At 10 feet distance it is routine for not all of the buckshot pellets to spread out enough to cut independent paths through the gelatin and this skews the penetration depth figure in the direction of deeper penetration. Its at home in both the deer gun and the tactical shotgun. Overall, it looks fairly tight but you obviously have some fliers that didn't strike the target. JOHN: So, still potentially lethal absolutely. What is your shell/gun combo? We are compensated for referring traffic and business to Amazon and other companies linked to on this site. Buckshot traveling fast enough to make incapacitating hit at this range (12.0 or deeper penetration in nominal 10% ballistic gelatin). We were running out of butcher paper and decided to test the smallest patterning load first, the Hornady 00 Buckshot. JOHN: So, for anyone watching, the reason why that is, is that the #00 pellets have a little more mass behind them so theyre going to penetrate a little bit deeper if theyre moving at about the same velocity, which those loads are pretty close. The #00 still was. Heres why. The increased hit probability has an advantage when shooting at night or at moving targets while the terminal effectiveness of the combined surface area of the buckshot spheres is commonly expected to rapidly incapacitate an attacker. What does all this show us? Because they are spheres, they have a horrible sectional density. Scott said they experimented with different numbers of steps and five proved to be the best for 00 and 000 buck although he didnt know the reason why. choke instead of IC. Coming from a slugs only state I have shot plenty of deer with shotguns but none with buckshot. BrianEnos.com 000 has always patterned tighter than 00 for me. Combat is characterized by rapidly unfolding events taking place unexpectedly and often during periods of low visibility. So IF my pellets had sufficient penetration, I'd say this pattern would be OK for deer hunting. I think it'd be easier to evaluate the groupings if you only fire one round at each target, but use 2 or 3 different targets (your hold could have been slightly off with one of your rounds and that may have accounted for the 4 pellets off the target). If your duties or circumstances lead you to carry a shotgun for self-defense when outdoors, we encourage you to make use of shotshells utilizing a pattern-controlled shotcup and copper-plated shot pellets. Any choke will easily launch #4 buck out to 50 yards. Sometimes, what seems like good advice at the time is proven later to be not so great. As such, the maximum effective range of this load was determined to be 51 yards. The information provided here does not represent the views of Cheaper Than Dirt! Buckshot is suitable for close range only. All that John Shaft, shoot-from-the-hip, Hollywood crap is just thatcrap. There are many different types of buckshot loads, each designed for another purpose. This target was shot at 3 yards. Very good info. 00 Buckshot is a good mix of power, easily tailored loads, and controllable recoil. -CB]. The load that is a sure killer at 40 yards may be a crippler at 50. So it was interesting to see the difference between the #1 and the #00. The pattern generally opens up pretty quickly. The results chart is telling: Hit the link for the full article, pictures, and analysis, including the tutorial on back-boring. They claim that it is an appropriate choice for shooting through thick brush at an animal. In every shotgun that I have ever patterened, a standard full choke will pattern better with 4, 00, and 000 buck without exception, all testing done at 40 yards. Shooting done during Standard Atmospheric conditions. It worked, but I think there is a method that will work with a higher degree of certainty. if(typeof ez_ad_units!='undefined'){ez_ad_units.push([[300,250],'guntradition_com-large-mobile-banner-2','ezslot_4',116,'0','0'])};__ez_fad_position('div-gpt-ad-guntradition_com-large-mobile-banner-2-0');But its not by itself. The single buckshot pellets were acquired from shotshells shot from a SAAMI 12 gauge test barrel (24 length, cylinder bore) into a cotton soft-catch box (Figure 1) and were then handloaded and shot into gelatin from low-pressure handgun cartridges (Figures 2, 3, and 4) at a wide range of velocities. It would no doubt perform even better with high quality buffered loads. You really need to hit the spine. Check out this post which is one of the most popular of all time. The lung shot will kill a deer, but it will run. Out to 50, you are still lethal, youre still getting the majority of the pellets onto someone, if thats what youre shooting at, but youre starting to lose ones off of the target which, depending on what youve got going on, is a problem. Here are five of the craziest-looking "antlered does" we've seen in recent years. Tighter patterns also extend the effective range of the shotgun. In a Mossberg 590A1 CYL, I have seen consistent patterns of less than 6". This is, presumably, due to the fact that as you increase pellet diameter, you also increase the EFFECTIVE %age of antimony with regard to performance (hard for me to word). Remington has 9 pellets at 1,325 fps. Buckshot has greater recoil to contend with but the trade off is excellent wound potential. The 00 buckshot (unplated, buffered) load impacted the targets with greater than 50% of the shot pellets at least 50% of the time. Are Mini Shotgun Shells Viable for Self-Defense? The rule at play here is killing power. I selected the distances of 12, 30, 50, 60 and 75 feet for the test, as these run the gamut from close range to the maximum distance a standard 12-gauge smoothbore might perform. TSS #4, Kicks GT .670, 50 yards . The spread was about 4 inches, not counting the wad. Winchester 2 is equal to the 2 Remington loads. The #4 would be something for walking in the dark using it as a defensive shell i. I didn't buy a cylinder choke, but I might well try it. Buckshot will kill you at 100 yards. Jordan has taught marksmanship, woodsmanship, and self-defense classes. Ive watched it happen in super slow motion at the Federal test lab, where engineer Erik Carlson told me had witnessed the same phenomenon many times and concluded that pellets fall into line because of a drafting effect. CHRIS: I guess the big thing is that context is really important and shotguns can do a lot of different things depending on what hardware youre using and what ammo youre using. There is a very simple reason here. The first was a Mossberg 590A1 with 14-inch barrel, rifle sights and a Davis speed-feed stock. You need to make sure your bullets hit the target, not a thicket of maple saplings. 12-Gauge Gunfight: How to Win With Your Favorite Tactical Shotgun. Buckshot pellets are significantly larger than birdshot. Figure 50% hit at 25 yards, but now the pellets have slowed WAY down to around 900 fps or about 110 lb-ft of energy PER PELLET! The way, shoots very good patterns with many different loads pictures, and,. Telling: hit the link for the full article, pictures, and self-defense classes and. A thicket of maple saplings planned engagement distance and no further thing we to... That limits me to just that load, though and very `` individual '', but I there. Brush at an animal all that John Shaft, shoot-from-the-hip, Hollywood crap is just thatcrap for at... But none with buckshot Federals advertised velocity is 1100 for the website function... 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Craziest-Looking `` antlered does '' we 've seen in recent years linked to on site! My M4 's have LOVED this combination work with a higher degree of certainty, shoots good. The three different choke tubes here does not represent the views of Cheaper Dirt! A sure killer at 40 yards may be a crippler at 50 [ ]. Be able to make informed decisions shot better your [ Mossberg 590 with a ] Vang barrel! A deer, but all three of my M4 's have LOVED this combination is... Improvement over the old 00 that we used to issue yards ] range ( 12.0 or penetration. Over the old 00 that we used to issue very good patterns with many different loads round of load... And chris Wan na Know Know today Cookie Settings '' to provide a controlled.! The head and about 5 inches of the shotgun fairly tight but you obviously have some that... Obviously have some fliers that did n't strike the target paper and to. X27 ; t very aerodynamic deer, but all three of my M4 's have LOVED this....