00 buck pattern

[grrifles]

What size of pattern is good for 00 buck at 25 and fifty yards? I will be using a IC choke. I have some loaded up with buffer and with out. I am using 9 00 pellets in a fed 12s3 wad with universal powder.


Thanks
Chris

[John in WI]

hi Chris--buckshot can be "funny" when you're talking about patterns. I'm finding with my #1 loads that the speed is influencing the pattern as much as the choke is. Slower loadings seem to shoot tighter than fast loadings with the same choke.

I don't have a whole lot of experience shooting OO,and NO experience loading it, but I think an IC would be a good place to start. You won't be helping the pattern by choking it down too far where the balls need to squish through.

An excellent book on the subject, available from Ballistics Products is The Buckshot Manual III which sells for around $10. It's everything you could possibly want to know about loading and shooting all sizes of buck.

One way to find out--start blasting some cardboard!

[flounderman]

you have to pattern each gun to see how it works. I have used an adjustable choke at the improved modified setting and have a choke tube made for heavy shot. It seems to be about improved modified and has a way of keeping the wad from blowing into the pattern as it leaves the barrel. the cylinder and improved cylinder are strictly close range spreader chokes. If you are deer hunting with 00, you want all the velocity you can get. Hornady has a hi performance load of 8 00 and 1500 fps. I would load 8 000 stacked in 2s and a maximum load of powder. side note, blue dot doesn't do well in the cold. you can't develop a load without patterning it and I have cut the petals off wads to get the right capacity. steel shot wads are heavier and I havent tried them for buckshot but I think 8 00 stacked in them would maybe work better than 9 00 in convential wads.

[grrifles]

I have some RSI wads Sam 1 that I load steel **** for duck in. I might have to try them with buckshot. My buckshot load is steel number 3 at 1730FPS. If I could get that to pattern with buckshot in it that would be great.


Chris

[375RUGER]

If you have interchangable chokes, then experiment. You might be suprised how much differece you get going to modified or full. At 50 yds I'd be suprised if your pattern was under 5' diameter for a 9 pellet load.
I remember from when I was younger that 9 pellets IC 22" barrel gave me a 14" pattern at 15 feet. that is opening up pretty quick.
If you don't have interchangable- than all you can do is experiment with different wads, or try recipes without wads.
The Sam1 i think doesn't allow 00 to lay down 3 in a layer. But that may not matter to you, I just like mine to stack evenly. BP may very well have recipes for buckshot with the Sam. If you remind me later I can look in the buckshot manual when I get home.

I load 00 with 9, 12, and 15 pellets. Next load will be with, holy cow!- 18 pellets.