Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
There used to be a handful of folks out there in shotgun land who were interested in experimenting with the maximum range they could get buckshot to pattern effectively. What they were doing was trying to push the "A Zone" as far out as they could, to avoid having to go to slugs to achieve needed precision with shotguns at only 15 yards or so, as was then the case. Most experimenters found that buckshot penetration fell off a good distance before patterning did.
I was using target frames made from pressure treated 2x4s at that time (late 1990s). At 100 yards, 000 buckshot pellets from 3" Magnum Federal Premium loads (which would generally put 40-50% of their pellets into an E type (GI) silhouette at that range) would fully penetrate the 2X4s. This was using a Patternmaster choke tube in an 18" 870 barrel, which had had the forcing cone lengthened as well. The internal barrel work was done at Patternmaster, and a GR sight installation was done at Scattergun Technology well before Wilson bought them out. Yes, I am telling my age again.
If I were planning to use buckshot at extended ranges, I would use the best patterning 000 loads I could find. Buckshot = round ball as far as sectional density is concerned, and round balls shed velocity faster than any other projectile shape. While single buckshot pellets can be lethal at extended ranges, counting on the effectiveness of buckshot 'way out there' is wishful thinking IMHO.
I would push buckshot use to 40 yards with the good 00 loads I use now, in a pinch, if I had to, as long as I had no concerns about where stray pellets went or what collateral damage might be caused by pellets that landed off the intended target. As a rule I do not anticipate using 00 buckshot past 25 yards at this point. And the issue is penetration, NOT patterns- I get 4" patterns at 25 yards with Federal LE 127-00, and there is enough of it on hand not to have to buy buckshot for a while yet.
JMHO, YMMV, etc.
lpl
I was using target frames made from pressure treated 2x4s at that time (late 1990s). At 100 yards, 000 buckshot pellets from 3" Magnum Federal Premium loads (which would generally put 40-50% of their pellets into an E type (GI) silhouette at that range) would fully penetrate the 2X4s. This was using a Patternmaster choke tube in an 18" 870 barrel, which had had the forcing cone lengthened as well. The internal barrel work was done at Patternmaster, and a GR sight installation was done at Scattergun Technology well before Wilson bought them out. Yes, I am telling my age again.
If I were planning to use buckshot at extended ranges, I would use the best patterning 000 loads I could find. Buckshot = round ball as far as sectional density is concerned, and round balls shed velocity faster than any other projectile shape. While single buckshot pellets can be lethal at extended ranges, counting on the effectiveness of buckshot 'way out there' is wishful thinking IMHO.
I would push buckshot use to 40 yards with the good 00 loads I use now, in a pinch, if I had to, as long as I had no concerns about where stray pellets went or what collateral damage might be caused by pellets that landed off the intended target. As a rule I do not anticipate using 00 buckshot past 25 yards at this point. And the issue is penetration, NOT patterns- I get 4" patterns at 25 yards with Federal LE 127-00, and there is enough of it on hand not to have to buy buckshot for a while yet.
JMHO, YMMV, etc.
lpl