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I don't know about windjammers with their 8 lovely petals but I do have data for Federal 12S4 and 12S3 which I would intuit may have a better chance of success. I really like federal wads and they seem to leave less plastic fouling in the bore.Quote:
Originally Posted by Buck Shot
I wrote an article for the Reloaders Network a couple years ago about hunting at extended ranges with buckshot.
Where buckshot catches a bad name is what Hog Tamer mentioned earlier: hunters throw a full choke on and call it a day.
I got loads that preform better at 50 yards with a Mod choke than full.
My favorite size for hunting is #1’s. I don’t throw #4’s at anything but critters.
Anyway, here’s that article if you get bored:
https://www.thereloadersnetwork.com/...slug-reloaders
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
My Vang Comped barrels for my M500's Consistently pattern OO Buck into 7" at 25 yards. That is 2 different barrels on 2 different guns. But neither one shoots Lee slugs very well.
The point of the Lee Slugs is that they are the easiest and cheapest Slugs to reload there is, and they should work just fine with the right combo of barrel and load. What I am looking for is a barrel that shoots both Buck and Slugs well enough to justify the Rifle Sights. Lee Slug reloads in Federal Blue Hulls are mostly for practice and target shooting so performance and economy are key to a good final result.
My A5 "Buck Special Barrel" which has essentially a Cylinder Bore Smoothbore with an IC choke at the end does about 10" at 25 yards. It shoot slugs well! so far my A5 is in the lead with it's barrel.
Another option is Round Balls and I have had good luck with them in cylinder bore barrels.
Below are pics of how I recon my Federal Hulls so they Roll Crimp perfectly everytime. The hull rotates with the Spud and then you push it onto the spud as the heat gun warms the plastic. Results are perfect everytime unless you over heat the plastic. You'll know when to stop, it's pretty obvious.
The M500 barrel I am sending out today will get Rem Choke threading, and with an IC choke tube should shoot Lee Slugs well and be acceptable with 00 Buck.
Excellent article Leon !!! Well done Sir!!!
Randy
Me too! The Federal 12S3 is my all-around favorite wad!Quote:
Originally Posted by quail4jake
I'm sure I've read that article a bunch of times, but it never gets old. I love that picture of the lungs, that says it all. People like to downplay buckshot, saying each pellet is only about like a 32 ACP. Yeah, maybe, but those holes sure aren't a lot different than you get with 357 magnum or even 44 magnum hard cast bullets. Just two buckshot hits to the lung is far superior to any single handgun round. I've always been a proponent of buckshot, but even I'm amazed all but two passed all the way through at 56 yards considering the angle. It's hard enough to get any slug to shoot accurately enough from an open sighted smooth bore to 60 yards. Here is a handloaded buckshot load good to 60 yards, that is even more effective, and opens up a world of possibilities on deer that don't stand still.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blood Trail
18 pellet 3.5" load, was that in stacks of two I suppose? Nice article, I emailed the Minnesota DNR about opening up to the idea of buckshot for hunting and they responded in a way that was similar to deer getting lost and wounded. But any change would have to go through the legislature. My thought was hunters using buckshot would pattern their shotguns like turkey hunters do and with modern loads could shoot out to 45- 50 yards.Quote:
Originally Posted by Blood Trail
You got a response from the MNDNR?:shock:Quote:
Originally Posted by pmer
I've been messaging them ever so often for years, usually you get the old brush off "I'll pass on this email". Calling gets even less. Minnesota is an absolutely fantastic state to use buckshot in. The southern 1/3rd and far western is mostly open farmland, although I'd actually think buckshot would be safer on deer drives. The central and northern parts of the state have a ton of areas that are unhuntable with a rifle or slug unless you are an expert shot. I've written a few long explanations, and I don't want to do it again. The short version is most people choose to plop down next to a farm field, or in the wide open woods of old growth. Buckshot would not benefit people at all there. Most of the public land in the state is aquatic managed for ducks, and the sad thing is they are terrible for duck hunting. The untold secret is they hold a ton of deer. The problem is deer in the cat tails and swamp grass don't dilly dally around. The swamp bottoms are full of dead trees and other brush. I've been shooting a long time, and I still don't feel confident on even 1/2 the deer I see trotting through the muck. Good luck getting them to stop where you want.
The original 12S3 12ga 1-1/8oz wad, was discontinued by Federal in 2017.Quote:
Originally Posted by centershot
In my letter to the MN DNR I mentioned how effective a factory load I used for turkey hunting was. It was a 3" 12 gauge shell using tungsten and it dropped a nice sized tom at 46 paces. It was 7 shot and a lot of the pellets went through the bird! With a extra full choke at that distance the patterns are excellent for what ever combo they assembled. I was sort of humbled to get a response and kind of dropped it there. Probably should contact our representatives and see if any of them would pick it up. Minnesota briefly had a wolf hunt and I suppose that must've originated in the legislature based on my experience with the DNR.
I hunt deer in a mix of fields and woods and I wait for closer range shots because of no trespassing signs around a couple sides of my place and buckshot would be helpful that way too.
Last night I had some nice patterns with the 10 gauge using 14 pellets of 00 stacked in twos with BPI multimetal wads. The base of the wad is not flat so I put 7 pellets of 6 shot in the bottom then cork and 1/8" nitro card to set the pellets on. 1/4" pieces of cork was used to set stack height and about 26 grains of buffer. It shot tighter with a modified choke than a full choke and was getting the bulk of pellets in 8 - 10" at 35 yards. It shreds a milk jug full of water better than a 30-06.
Thanks for letting us all know, that's unfortunate. The good news is that Claybuster makes a knock off and that's what I've been using. That's my favorite for trap handicap loads 1 1/8 oz, 3 1/4 dr eq loads. Claybuster also makes a Federal knock off of the discontinued F12C1 called CB3118-12AR or red 8, that was originally made for paper hulls.Quote:
Originally Posted by RMc
Yes, sad to say, that is true. I'm working off of my last three bags of those. Downrange and Claybuster make clones but I've not needed them yet.Quote:
Originally Posted by RMc
Claybuster CB-114
I’ve recently used the Claybuster sub for 12S3 and could not tell the difference, even thickness of the petals. In fact, used them in 3” OO loads. https://castboolits.gunloads.com/sho...Pretty+in+Pink
whooooaaa! I am in awe, you are truly a buckshot master. Well, this proves that target wads can be used for good buck loads! That buffer is really interesting...Quote:
Originally Posted by Hogtamer
If you've never held a 12S3 in your hand, you'll understand when you do. They're thicker, tougher than any of the AA series wads. Tougher than Windjammer's and a lot of other target wads. It's a shame that Federal ditched them! It's the only wad I found that would take the torque and pressure of my sabot loads without destroying themselves.Quote:
Originally Posted by quail4jake
That too has been my experience and the 12S4 much the same. I make some my best 1 1/4 loads with the 12S4. I think the Claybuster knock off of the 12S3 seems as tough as Federal originals...thoughts?;-)
My thoughts are the 12S4 is better suited for buckshot anyway, since it offers more volume. I wouldn't miss the 12S3 one bit for that. I load a lot of 1 3/8oz #5 lead, and 1 1/2oz #4 bismuth loads with the 12S4.Quote:
Originally Posted by quail4jake
So far the MG 42 wad has grouped the best by far out of the 4-5 available wads I have. Longshot seems to be the best powder as well.Quote:
Originally Posted by kycrawler
This may explain what happened to the occasional "missing" pellet(s) when evaluating factory load patterns!Quote:
Originally Posted by RMc
The large pellet "tolerance range" is actually designed to accomodate pellet sizing needed to fit the pellet stack to the wad or shot collar used in factory loads.Quote:
Originally Posted by MrHarmless
The high speed swaging systems used to manufacture commercial buckshot pellets are quite precise.