[kotengu]

Alright - after my dismal #6 shot performance at the 3-gun match I feel like I need to work into buckshot some more, so I bought a book on shotshell reloading (Lyman handbook) to help clear up some of the confusion, and I'm afraid it's made it worse.

I reload for long-range rifle and pistol, so I understand the basic process, but there are so many variables with the shotgun that I still don't comprehend, and it seems like finding a good load involves trying every one of them in random order until you find one your shotgun "likes."

There's got to be more of a science to this - who can help clear this up? do you have any "pet loads" that do well in you 12ga for buckshot?

[C.R.Sam]

What works in my gun may not work worth a hoot in your gun.

Shotguns are not an exact science.
Given two from the same production run...
Differences in choke, actual bore diameter and finish, cone etc etc.

Sam

[Andrew Wyatt]

in testing various factory loads for buckshot, i've come to the conclusion that the less pellet deformation, the better. this means plated shot and shot buffer material, along with a good shot cup.

[CWL]

A great start may be to pick the minds of your local competitors. Ask the winners what their loads comprise of and work out your own load from there.

[Dave McCracken]

A suggestion, get some RR buck of major make and see how you do with that. Onle established it's the ammo that needs upgrading the most, follow the above advice.

HTH...

[El Tejon]

kot, trial and error. I have a pair of 870s with consecutive serial numbers which I sent down to ST (now Wilson) in the Land of Orange to convert to the "FBI Model." One loves Federal #4, its sister loves Remington #00.

You do not know until you try it. If it helps your desire to be scientific, you can wear a white lab coat and some of those hornrimmed shop glasses like in 8th grade wood shop.:D

[Dr.Rob]

Tighten up your choke, use bigger shot.

At 10-15 yards with my 870 I can usually see the wad hit the target (maybe I'm just seeing the shot in a mass) but I can see it.

[kotengu]

That's the thing, it's a cylinder bore with no choke, so tightening up the choke is not an option right now. I do have a spare 22" barrel with screw-in chokes that I may end up switching to, but for simplicity's sake (and stories of choke tubes flying downrange with slug shooting) I'd like to stick with the basic and see if I can make it work with bigger shot.

What should a "good" buckshot pattern look like? I've read that at 40yds, a cylinder choke should put about 50% of the pellets in a 30" circle, but doesn that go for buckshot as well? Any idea at what range can I realistically expect to put 100% of the pellets in a "man-sized" (maybe 10-12" ) circle with a cylinder bore?

Do I just need to stop typing and get out there and shoot? :D

My biggest problem is $$$ - at $3.00/5 for the cheap stuff and a schedule that doesn't let me get to the range for long periods any more I'd rather eliminate as much as I can from the "try it" stage and learn from other's experience, but I guess that might not be possible in this case, huh?

I just can't believe that with todays manufacturing capabilities we still have that much variance in actual bore sizes and choke sizes.........

[Poodleshooter]

I reload all of the buckshot that I shoot.
So far what I've found:
1. The cheapest solution to better patterns is a long modified choke for large pellets. I use a waterfowling choke for steel shot. As you mentioned, not an option for you.
2. Big pellets are much harder to pattern well. Partly this is a result of squeezing big soft pieces of lead through a relatively small bore. OOO buck is tough to pattern when you only have 8 pieces of it. Try 4 buck.
3. The reloads that do work really well usually require expensive components (IOW, specialty wads,plated buckshot and poly fillers that raise you price per shot to nearly that of factory ammo.)
4. To get decent velocity comparable to factory loads, you need bulky magnum powders, and charge weights over 30 grains. This raises your cost per shot significantly over the 18gr charges of Clays or Titewad in trap loads.

I'm working on a load for 4 buck which might be better for the steel competition poppers than OO or OOO. There are too many gaps in the pattern with those sizes. One pellet missing loses 1/9 of your energy. I tend to use factory trap/hunting wads that run about $7 per 500 as opposed to the $7 per 100 for specialty buckshot wads.
With a bit of experimentation, you'd be surprised at the loads you can develop on your own.
My cylinder bore patterns are only tested at 20yds, but they keep 100% inside a 20"x24" square at that range. I don't know about 40 yds with cylinder though! 50% seems a little ragged.