In the military, we use 9 pellet Winchester buckshot but I've been loading with 12 pellet Federal shells. Any advantage of the 9 pellet loads over the 12?
00 Buck...9 pellet or 12?
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USMC03Grunt
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In the military, we use 9 pellet Winchester buckshot but I've been loading with 12 pellet Federal shells. Any advantage of the 9 pellet loads over the 12?
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larger pellets
When I started my career our load was Remington 2 3/4" magnum 00 buck which has 12 pellets. Once more females can on board and were having difficulty qualifying, the state went to standard 2 3/4" 00 which is 9 pellet. At close ranges I feel the magnum loads were a disadvantage due to the recoil making it slower to get back on target. However, with the recoil reducing stocks of today that is not an issue. I wish we had those back then. So it comes down to what is the intended use of the load. For HD the magnum loads are over kill, no pun intended. I would avoid them for HD. For duty, hell yes, with a Mesa or knoxx stock recoil is not an issue and they even seem to work better with the heavy load. It just makes sence in a gun fight to put more lead out there. One of those extra pellets may be the one that ends the threat against you.
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For pattern density I don't think anything can beat Federal's load. It is far better than Remington or Winchester.
It's also 3 more wound tracts. My 870 and S12 both shoot Federal Flight Control the best, but S&B 12 pellet 00 also patterns well out of either, as well or better than other standard 00 loads.
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Like it was said before, see which one patterns better. Out of my 870P with 18.5" VCS IC barrel, the Federal Vital Shok 12 pellet 00BK produced a group several inches smaller than the Remington or Winchester 9 pellet 00BK. Out of a unmodified 18.5" MOD choke barrel Remington 12 pellet 00BK did significantly worse than Remington 9 pellet 00BK.
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For HD I use mainly 0 buck which has 12 - .32 caliber pellets and #4 buck which has 27- .24 caliber pellets -
I also have a few 000 buck around for a rainy day :whistling: which is 8 - .36 caliber.
Nothing scientific in it - but doesn't
27 - .24 caliber
12 - .32 caliber
8 - .36 caliber
Just seem better than 9 - .33 caliber :dunno:
Give up .01 per pellet but add 3 pellets
Give up 1 pellet add .03 per pellet
The #4 buck was used when I was going through a - I don't want over penetration through the walls phase - :upeyes:
I also have a few 000 buck around for a rainy day :whistling: which is 8 - .36 caliber.
Nothing scientific in it - but doesn't
27 - .24 caliber
12 - .32 caliber
8 - .36 caliber
Just seem better than 9 - .33 caliber :dunno:
Give up .01 per pellet but add 3 pellets
Give up 1 pellet add .03 per pellet
The #4 buck was used when I was going through a - I don't want over penetration through the walls phase - :upeyes:
Good tips, I'm not sure I would have thought to pattern Buckshot at HD distances. I now know better. In my younger years I just would have stocked up on the hottest super zingy 3" magnum's and not thought a thing about it. Now my concern is absolute control of the weapon and quick follow-up shots if needed.
Howdy Z71bill,
Individual "OOO" pellets will penetrate things that "OO" will not. Same with "O", #1, and especially #4 buckshot.
To me #4 buckshot is totally useless. The same arguements that everybody uses against using birdshot is the same one I use for #4 buckshot.
If you are going to use buckshot of HD, use the biggest and baddest round you can buy.
I have some old Fed. Premium 2 3/4" "OOO" that keeps all 8 pellets on an IDPA target at 40yds and clocks around 1,360ft/sec out of my Rem 1100 12ga. I also haave some Rem Express "OOO" that shoots as good but a little slower at 1320ft/sec.
I have a bunch of the Remington 15rd packs of 2 3/4" "OO". It shoots pretty good in all my 12gauges except there is always one flyer out of my 1100.
Paul
One thing to remember is back to the birdshot thingy.......The bigger the shot, the better the penetration.
Individual "OOO" pellets will penetrate things that "OO" will not. Same with "O", #1, and especially #4 buckshot.
To me #4 buckshot is totally useless. The same arguements that everybody uses against using birdshot is the same one I use for #4 buckshot.
If you are going to use buckshot of HD, use the biggest and baddest round you can buy.
I have some old Fed. Premium 2 3/4" "OOO" that keeps all 8 pellets on an IDPA target at 40yds and clocks around 1,360ft/sec out of my Rem 1100 12ga. I also haave some Rem Express "OOO" that shoots as good but a little slower at 1320ft/sec.
I have a bunch of the Remington 15rd packs of 2 3/4" "OO". It shoots pretty good in all my 12gauges except there is always one flyer out of my 1100.
Paul
Z - with all the variables in a defensive encounter it's difficult to be "scientific"...but we do have one point to consider, and that is the longitudinal track record of the standard 9 pellet 00 Buck..., since the 1800's it has proven to be - all things considered - a very reliable choice...the smaller shot sizes don't have anything near the "data base" to suggest that their selection is a better idea than the standard load.
I did the same thing.., in my younger years I bought and used massive amounts of 3" and 2& 2/4" magnum buck in both 00 and 000 buck...after much shooting..., I settled on the standard 9 pellet 00 buck load - I don't particularly like the "tactical" loads - though some prefer these for comfort.
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That's what I am using. As soon as I get some more cash saved up a Knoxx Recoil reducing stock is in the works. Once the whole thing is set up its 6 extra pellets and reduced recoil over the standard 9 pellet load.
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I use the S & B 12 pellet load.. it's a great value and some extra payload, and yes it patterns well out to 25 yards or so out of my FN SLP 22 inch
I also load my own "0" 12 pellet load which patterns even tighter, I use buffer in that load, it seems to help
If you need more than around 25 yards in a normal urban zone you should switch to slugs or use a rifle
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