Good Skeet/Trap 12G ammo?

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  • MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    What's a good Shotgun ammo for trap/skeet in a 12g shottie?

    has anyone ever shot Rio Ammunition?
    I can get this for 12ga 2.75-Dram 1oz 1210fps #7.5 250/cs @ 48.99
     

    august1410

    Marcas Registradas
    Apr 10, 2009
    22,561
    New Bern, NC
    The only Rio ammo I have used was the reduced recoil 00 buck.

    For skeet or trap, I generally use the Winchester White Box #7 or #8 shot. It's cheap and ALWAYS available at Walmart.
     

    travistheone

    Usual Suspect
    Dec 11, 2008
    5,600
    cockeysville
    Basically whatever they have at walmart. I find the federal ran better in my gun when it was new, and now it will run the winchester without a hitch.
     

    august1410

    Marcas Registradas
    Apr 10, 2009
    22,561
    New Bern, NC
    I like the Winchester because it's $5.97 for a box of 25 and Walmart ALWAYS has it. I don't feel guilty missing a clay (or six) when the shells are that cheap. I also use an old SxS, so I have no concerns of whether the shells will cycle the action of a semi auto.

    I have heard that some semi autos are particular.

    Don't be fooled by a lot of the different ammo choices at say, Bass Pro. A die hard skeet/trap shooter will probably disagree, but as long as it busts the clay, the cheap stuff works just as well as the stuff that is $39.99 for 25 shells.
     

    wyomingboy

    Active Member
    Jan 26, 2009
    422
    RIO is better ammo than what you buy at Walmart and that's a very good price you found. Who is selling RIO at $48.99.... and what variety do they have? I need about 20 flats of one ounce Top Sporting.

    The only complaints I hear and have observed with RIO is that it's not the best cold weather shell.... the plastic used in the wads is a little on the hard side and doesn't alway expand enough to seal the bore when they are really cold, causing an occasional blooper. To cure this, simply keep the ammo inside the house or in a warm car and you won't have a problem.

    Other decent ammo other than premium stuff would be Remington Gun Club and Federal Estates. The best of course is the Remington STS & Nitro, Winchester AA and Federal Gold Medals.... but they are considerably more money.

    Generally, the same sort of load you found in the RIO (2 3/4 dram X 1 ounce #8) is good for trap, skeet and most sporting clays targets.
     

    HardHatMan

    FBHO
    Jul 14, 2009
    5,473
    Virginia
    The only Rio ammo I have used was the reduced recoil 00 buck.

    For skeet or trap, I generally use the Winchester White Box #7 or #8 shot. It's cheap and ALWAYS available at Walmart.

    My 870 has had problems cycling the Winchester White Box. The metal will sometimes expand and make the action stick. I switched over to Remington and Federal and haven't had a misfire yet. Some guys I shoot with use Rio and have had problems with dead or delayed primers. I think most places only allow #7 1/2 as the biggest shot. Basically you will have to find out what your gun likes and go from there. Maui, what gun are you using?
     

    smokey

    2A TEACHER
    Jan 31, 2008
    31,412
    alucard patterned the federals from walmart in his 391 and they patterned like crap. he switched to remington club loads and says they're much better....so i'd go with the club loads.
     

    00-Guy

    Active Member
    Feb 15, 2008
    168
    Which is it?

    Which sport are you shooting? Trap or Skeet? Are you shooting just to throw lead downrange, practicing for competition, or competing?

    I have shot Rio's in my trap gun. Sometimes the "brass" expanded and I had to use the "stick" to get it out. Never had that problem with the Win AAs or the Remington STSs. All three work well and pattern good. I prefer Win AAs when all is said and done. 1oz (7.5 or 8) Low Recoil and I'm good for a flat at practice or competition.

    For Skeet usually I shoot for fun, so whatever I find in 8 or 9 1oz or 7/8 is good enough.

    I also agree with WyomingBoy, $49 for Rios is good.
     

    wyomingboy

    Active Member
    Jan 26, 2009
    422
    The sticky case situation is cause by a combination of two factors, steel heads and large chambers. All of today's less expensive hulls are made with steel, rather than brass bases. Steel expends and does not contract much at all. When steel is allowed to over-expand in a chamber that runs on the large side, they can often stick. Brass, like found in premium shells don't have this problem because brass has more elasticity than steel. So, RIOs and othjer may or may not stick in your gun, depending on chamber size, steel configuration, pressure, etc. I can't shoot hotter RIOs from my Ljutic Trap Gun, but they work fine in four other trap guns I own as well as in several autoloaders. The RIOs mentioned, the light 1 ounce #8s, work fine in all of my guns and I'm assuming that's due to the lower pressure in those particular loads. To add to the sticky nature of some steel bases in some guns, some shells, like the RIO is a high base head as opposed to a low base head of say - a Remington Gun Glub, thereby giving more head surface to purchase the chamber wall.
     

    alucard0822

    For great Justice
    Oct 29, 2007
    17,643
    PA
    alucard patterned the federals from walmart in his 391 and they patterned like crap. he switched to remington club loads and says they're much better....so i'd go with the club loads.

    Not neccesarily, every shotgun/choke/shell selection can pattern differently. The most important thing is to pattern it in the first place.

    My 870 (with 28" barrel) patterns cheap federal shells from wal-mart well at 25-35 yards, they go right to the point of aim, and spread uniformly, more expensive Rem gun club, AAs, Estates, or Rem Nitros don't pattern all that much better, although with a modified or full choke for shooting trap, and especially handicap at 35-45 yards, the Estates and Nitros pattern much tighter and uniformly, especially with 7.5# shot.

    The Beretta AL391 patterns like crap with the cheap 1 1/8oz Federals, the pattern has some spots that are very dense, and nearly bare spots in between them. Out of that gun, the 1oz Rem gun club loads pattern great at most distances out of any choke down to Modified, for a good 45yard pattern with the full choke, the AAs are the best. I think a lot of the money that is spent on premium shells gets a much better wad, and better shot that is less prone to distory out of a tight choke, it must compress more uniformly or so as my results tend to be that while at close ranges with open chokes, there is not much difference between cheap, mid and premium shells(provided your gun likes them all), however out further and with tight chokes the better shells patten much more consistently, and tend to be tighter at onger ranges, where cheap shells have inconsistent blotchy patterns, and vary a lot more in how wide or narrow they pattern even with 2 identical shells fired through the same choke at the same target.

    I also found the best useable patterns out of both guns to be 1 oz loads of #9 with cyl at 15 yards, and IC from 15-25 yards, #8 at 25-35 from the modified choke, and #7.5 at 35-45 yards with IMP MOD and 40-50 yards with #7.5 and full choke. Going with different combinations like a IC choke with #8 shot tightens up the pattern a little at 25 yards compared to #9 and IC at the same distance, and using #8 at 45 yards with a full choke opens the pattern up a little compared to #7.5 at that distance, heavier 1 1/8 oz loads don't improve on the pattern, but do recoil more, and in a lot of cases pattern worse than 1oz loads. These are of course the particulars for my shotgun, your results may vary.

    If you have a place you can pattern it, get a box of several types, and experiment with different chokes and different brands/shot sizes at different ranges. Look for uniform patternings where about 1/2 of the pellets will hit a 12" circle, and look for where the pattern goes relative to where you are aiming, some brands shoot high or low. This can help you tremendously in learning the habits of your shotgun, and can help break clays that without this knowledge you may have missed.

    However you really need to keep in mind how small the differences are, waiting just a fraction of a second on a bird that is flying twards you or away from you can change the distance 10 yards, and an "ideal" choke setting for the distance you expected, or even shot at in the first pair of clays could be off on the second pair. Also you can break a clay at 40yards with #9 and an IC choke, or with #7.5 in a full choke at 25 yards, and being clay games are dynamic by their very nature, targets are always moving different ways and shots are taken at different distances and at widely varying angles, so it is almost impossible to have the perfect choke setting and load for every shot, and in reality an inch or two difference in spread difference over a few yards of distance often times won't turn a clear miss into a hit, or vice versa. If you are still learning as I certainly am You are probably much better off using a single choke setting and a single shell type for a round, #9 in CYL for skeet, #8 in IC for clays and #8 in MOD for trap are probably the most popular and versatile settings. It will take a lot of rounds and possibly years worth of shooting before you can achieve a real performance advantage through minor choke and shot size changes, however you want a load that patterns well, fits your budget and functions reliably to give you the best chances, pick one that does well and stick with it, and wait till you get a lot of practice in before you change up settings.
     

    MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    RIO is better ammo than what you buy at Walmart and that's a very good price you found. Who is selling RIO at $48.99....

    Graf & Son's if you have a C&R FFL they discount to this price

    Maui, what gun are you using?

    Not me my brothers both have Shotguns I can't afford one right now unless I sell a Sig or trade for it.
    My brothers have the ones below

    1. Benelli Ultra Light
    2. Browning Gold Sport
     

    Mega

    Wolverine
    Feb 18, 2009
    1,206
    Lewes, DE
    I buy my Rio target loads in quantity online (1k rounds at a time) and have never had an issue with them.
    1 1/8 oz, 2 3/4", 7 1/2 shot, Trap 32 loads.
     

    MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    RIO 12ga 2.75-Dram 1oz 1210fps #7.5 250/cs

    Can someone explain to me what the 1oz refers to and what the #7.5 means?

    All the ammo I'm looking at costs the same but some is 1-1/8oz and #8 but the fps is only 1150

    Is a higher fps always better in skeet/trap? or does it depend on the gun?

    What is HDCP??



    fyi: I have a Beretta 390
     

    midcountyg

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2009
    2,665
    Preston, MD
    1oz or 1 1/8oz is the weight of the shot payload. The 7.5 is the size of the pellets. The larger the pellets, the smaller the number. Some people prefer 8 shot with the idea that more pellets are better. Others disagree, and it boils down to personal preference. 1oz loads are a little lighter recoil, but 1 1/8 again means more pellets/projectiles. And that's a damn good price. I know a few people that have been happy with Rio shells. I sell estates myself. I don't care much for the wally world stuff, as it is made using second grade shot. The pellets in the cheap value packs aren't perfectly round, which means they won't fly as straight. Hope that helps.
     

    midcountyg

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2009
    2,665
    Preston, MD
    Oops, forgot the other questions. HDCP loads are higher velocity, requires less lead time on the bird. As far as velocity being better, once again is back to personal preference. Some people trade velocity for the bigger shot payload and figure more shot in the air means better results. Me? I would prefer velocity so I don't have to lead as much. I like the handicap estate loads myself. But keep in mind I only shoot clay birds once or twice a year ;)
     

    MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    Midcounty thanks so much what size is the HDCP-Dram?
    is it 2.75 or 3?

    this is all it says.... RIO 12ga HDCP-Dram 1-1/8 oz 1250fps #7.5 250/cs
     

    midcountyg

    Ultimate Member
    Mar 7, 2009
    2,665
    Preston, MD
    HDCP is for handicap, and should be whats called a max dram load. Dram being your powder charge. That is a good load, from what I know, for all around clay shooting. The only down side would be a little extra recoil. With shooting the autos, I doubt you would realy notice that though.
     

    MauiWowie

    I have the SIGness...
    Nov 23, 2008
    7,347
    Harford Co.
    HDCP is for handicap, and should be whats called a max dram load. Dram being your powder charge. That is a good load, from what I know, for all around clay shooting. The only down side would be a little extra recoil. With shooting the autos, I doubt you would realy notice that though.

    Will it fit 2.75 or 3?

    my Beretta 390 shoots both but my brother has a Browning Gold that only shoots 2.75 will it fit his?
     

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