Patterned my shotgun today

jimbobborg · Mar 8, 2016

Since I have some time and all, I took my FN SLP to an indoor range that lets me shoot birdshot inside, so I took some shots on newspaper to try out a couple of theories. The bird shot is the 1 oz load from Estate. The buckshot is Remington 2 3/4" magnum buckshot with 9 pellets. The shotgun has sights and a 22" barrel.

00 Buckshot

Distance Choke Pattern size
7 yards Full Choke 4" x 4"
15 yards Full Choke 6" x 7"
7 yards IC Choke 5.5" x 4"
15 yards IC Choke 7.5" x 9"

#8 Birdshot

Distance Choke Pattern size
7 yards Full Choke 6" x 6"
15 yards FUll Choke 13" x 14"
7 yards IC Choke 9" x 9"
15 yards IC Choke 20" x 20"

I realize this is totally unscientific, but it shows a couple of interesting things. 7 yards, or 21', is about as long a distance as you'll find inside a house or other dwelling. I'd have preferred to shoot closer but the range had a minimum 7 yard distance for shotguns. The spread of the birdshot was pretty uniform, but not very dense. The buckshot was interesting. 21' and even with the IC choke, the pellet spread fell inside of the T for a head shot. But it also points to a fallacy that some people think. The shotgun, with buckshot, is not an area weapon. The pattern inside house distances is too small to just point in the general direction of someone and expect to make a hit. You still have to aim a shotgun with buckshot to make hits.

Uncle Duke · Mar 8, 2016

Yep! Probably too many old cowboy westerns, where the entire piano explodes into splinters from a single shotgun blast.

Interesting to pattern different brands of 00 buck also. The Federal Premium wad makes for some really tight buckshot patterns.

jimbobborg · Mar 8, 2016

I haven't seen Federal buckshot in a while. Dick's and Walmart had a ton of these Remingtons in stock so I snagged a few.

Stevie Boy · Apr 3, 2016

A bit late to the party, and this may sound dumb, but is a 18" or 20" HD barrel choked?

ziptiespec · Apr 4, 2016

The 18.5" barrel on my Mossberg 500 is not set up to take threaded chokes and the barrel itself is not manufactured with any choke restriction.

The 18.5" barrel on my Linberta LS01TAC is threaded and accepts chokes.

The 18.5" barrel on my VEPR-12 is threaded and accepts chokes.

So, I guess the answer is that it depends on the gun/barrel.

jimbobborg · Apr 4, 2016

The 20" barrel on my Remington 11-87 had screw in chokes and rifle sights. I put everything from a Skeet to a Turkey choke in it. I wish I had patterned that shotgun, but that's a long story. So yes, depending on the barrel, it's either cylinder bore, improved cylinder, or screw in chokes for the shorter barrels. I don't have any light chokes for my current shotgun, I don't use them. I should probably get a skeet choke just to have one.

Archeryrob · Apr 12, 2016

Inside a house a shotgun is flat out the most deadly weapon. I have seen people shoot rabbits at 15' and literal blow it in half. Seen them shoot 1" tree limbs while swinging on a rabbit at 10' and the tree limb explodes. My Modified choke duck gun with some #6 could take off arms or legs in a house or total destroy parts of a torso. Shot is much more deadly at very close range than 00 buckshot, but that changes quickly at 15 to 20 yards as you would have outside. 50 yards 00 buck is still deadly and shot is just pissing them off.

Get a cantaloupe, water melon or pumpkin and shoot it at 15' and it will blow up like it had fireworks in it. Then you'll know what it can do.

lazarus · Apr 12, 2016

Keep in mind a cantaloupe or even a tree branch isn't a person. Yeah it could still be deadly and you are delivering a staggering amount of energy almost instantly with shot, but little #8 isn't going to penetrate. It might chew a fist full or double fist full of a person up, but it is damned unlikely a pellet is going to penetrate to a lung or your heart. Which doesn't mean the damage couldn't be almost immediately incapacitating, but 00 or even #2 or 3 buckshot will break a rib and punch through your heart if it hits over it. Birdshot is going to have to be very well placed to put someone down immediately. 00 buck unless you only nick a person is pretty much going to put anything short of a charging bear down immediately.

If I had to go with spread, damage and penetration it would be something like BB or T tungsten out to at least 20 yards.

Archeryrob · Apr 13, 2016

Yes, #8 does not have the power or penetration 00 buck does, but it complete obliterates the entrance area. It penetrated 5" at close range and that would get a heart, veins or lungs between ribs. I'd still call it a deadly close range round.

I would probably use a load of BB, or even a waxed round. The later might as well be a pumpkin ball until it hits the target after a few inches.

Shotgun penetration tests

alucard0822 · Apr 13, 2016

Archeryrob said:
Inside a house a shotgun is flat out the most deadly weapon. I have seen people shoot rabbits at 15' and literal blow it in half. Seen them shoot 1" tree limbs while swinging on a rabbit at 10' and the tree limb explodes. My Modified choke duck gun with some #6 could take off arms or legs in a house or total destroy parts of a torso. Shot is much more deadly at very close range than 00 buckshot, but that changes quickly at 15 to 20 yards as you would have outside. 50 yards 00 buck is still deadly and shot is just pissing them off.

Get a cantaloupe, water melon or pumpkin and shoot it at 15' and it will blow up like it had fireworks in it. Then you'll know what it can do.

Patterned my shotgun today

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