[TrapperReady]

On Sunday I finally got to try out some of the light 12ga loads I made last week. These are made primarily with Remington components and Clays powder, pushing 7/8 oz of #7.5 shot around 1200fps. Creampuffs.

To get an idea of how they would do, I went to a SC course and shot some 5-stand and a round of clays. My initial impressions were pretty favorable, as they certainly do reduce the recoil substantially. I did all of the shooting out of my Browning 425, which is notorious for causing bruising to my right cheek. With these loads, there was none of that, and the recoil was quite acceptable.

That being said, I was not wholly satisfied with the way I was breaking the targets. Out of a round of 50, I shot 37. Normally on that course, I would have been more in the 45-48 range (using my "regular" 1 1/8oz loads). I also had fewer dusted targets, and more that just split into a few large chunks.

So, I've got some more experimenting to do. There are a few different explanations, which I'll have to test. First, I may have just had a bad day. Second, in an attempt to make up for the decreased shot density, I went to tight chokes. It seemed that most of my misses were on closer targets, and I think that I may benefit from IC chokes instead of the F/IM I was using. Third, I may have to play with the load a little bit at the pattern board to get a handle on EXACTLY what my patterns with those shells in that gun. I also plan to work up some loads using different shot and see if #8.5 works any better than the #7.5.

BTW, just for kicks I had my wife try some of the shells in her Benelli Montefeltro. Even though those loads are "supposed" to be too light to cycle the action, they functioned just fine. One benefit is that the shells only ejected a few feet to her side, as opposed to the normal 8-12 feet. I'm going to have her keep using them for a while and see if they stay reliable in that gun.

[Dave McCracken]

TR, thanks for posting. Your load is similar to mine for trap. I note less smoke, more chips, but scores run the same.

Also worked up a "Winter" trap load. Tried 8s as well as 7 1/2s, an oz of each at 1175 FPS or so. The 7 1/2s seemed to be better, but a little more testing is in order.

Try the 8 1/2s and see how they compare. They work fine for me in the summer for 16 yard trap, and a variant is now my skeet load.

For starters, try 5 POC more choke than you'd use with your old 1 1/8 oz loads. I don't think that much more will benefit, and these pattern tighter than the heavier stuff.

Think of it as using just the core of the pattern.

HTH...

[45auto]

I use a similiar load only going about 1300 FPS.

Once you get used to them, they are very nice and do break targets well.
But, as we all know, there is less shot so the "inkplots" aren't as dark and the killing pattern is smaller than than 1 1/8. No free lunch as they say.

I might recommend you stick to the same chokes that you used with 1 1/8, and see how they break with your gun. If in doubt, one choke tighter wouldn't hurt on the longer distances past 25 yards.

Good shooting!

[TrapperReady]

45Auto - My next plan is to shoot the same course with my normal chokes. Most of the targets are close to mid-range, and I typically use IC. A couple weeks ago, I did quite well with a full-choked 20ga, but that was on a far tougher course and much longer targets.

I may very well use this as a training aid. I figure if I can get consistent using the light loads and full choke, that I'll be that much better when I switch to "full" loads either for hunting or clay games.

Dave McC - I've found that #8.5 works very well at breaking targets either at the 16 yard line, or at all but the longest SC distances -- as long as the weather is warm (no ice). Once the temps start falling, I use #7.5 exclusively and seem to do much better.

[Dave McCracken]

I think you'll like the 8.5s. A little more punch for each pellet over 9s, a little denser pattern than 8s. I've used them for the second shot at trap doubles, And doubt the lost birds were the load's fault.

As for light loads and hunting, except for preserve birds and quail over a tight working pointer I stick to an oz of 7 1/2s, minimum, for a quick, humane kill. Better wingshots may do well with less, but I know my limits..

[TrapperReady]

Followup - I went out an shot some more SC and 5-stand with the 12ga 7/8 oz loads today. For comparison, I shot the same course as last time.

The results... last time 37/50... today 41/50.

Last time I was using F/IM chokes. Today, I used IC/IC.

The missed targets were pretty much the inverse of the last round. Then, I had missed several closer targets, but hit the longer ones with regularity. Today, all of the misses were on longer shots. Given the choke selection, that's consistent and to be expected.

I did have a couple misses that I would swear were well-centered, but pretty long. Perhaps a pattern getting ragged. Perhaps an overestimation of my shot-placement.

In any event, the looser chokes worked better, but not as well as when I'm throwing 1/4 oz more lead.

I figure I'm still down 4-6 shots on the SC course, and I was consistently about 3 (out of 25) shots lower than my normal average on the 5-stand course.

Next time, I'll mess with M/M chokes and see if I notice any improvement. I do plan to get to the pattern-board (in a couple weeks), but for now I'm having fun with some seat-of-the-pants testing.

As I did all my shooting with an O/U, I didn't have any further results of testing in the Benelli. That too will follow...

[Dave McCracken]

Sounds good, TR. More testing will show what load works best with what choke for a given shot opp. No Tablet of Stone says,"Thou shalt stick to one load for the whole rounds". Mix it up as needed.

You also may want to try LM/M.

Over on Shotgun Report, Bruce Buck has some stuff about choosing loads and chokes.

[TrapperReady]

Dave - When I'm shooting a serious round of SC (like when the lunch tab is on the line), I almost always use two kinds of shells. For the close and mid-range stuff, I'll use 1 1/8 oz of #8.5 moving around 1180fps. For long-range shots, I'll usually use 1 1/8 oz of #7.5, moving around 1250fps or so.

This is typically instead of changing chokes between stations. However, since I've now got the 391 with extended chokes, I've played with that some. It is kind of nice to be able to go a little tighter for the longer shots.

Maybe I just need to put some wheels on my reloading bench, so that I can take it out with me and crank out a few shells customized to the particular station. Heck, that wouldn't take much more time than some of the fussier shooters I've seen, and it couldn't weigh more than what some guys drag around. ;)

[Dave McCracken]

You have a point about not much more time, who among us hasn't contemplated strong language to some guy who's changing a choke for a shot maybe 4 yards further than the last one?

I don't shoot SC and 5 stand all that much, and tend to go with one load, one choke, and let the chips fall where they may. If at all. Whatever's on hand tends to be the supply.