I have looked high and low all night for any information on buckshot loads using more than one size of buckshot. Thus far I have found a lot of semi-mythical BS about the "Malaysian load" used by the British in the 1950s, and a few links to the Aguila mini shot shell buckshot loads. Why isn't there more out there?
I have been experimenting with this, keeping the overall weight of the payload within the limits from several loading manuals. And I have found that I can get a regular 12 gauge load of 12 pellets of #1 buckshot into a shell with tons of room to spare. So much that it rattles around. But not quite enough room for another layer of 3 #1 pellets. However, if I do alternating layers of 3 pellets of #1 and 3 pellets of F (0.22" diameter), I can get the same 4 layers of #1 and a total of 9 extra pellets of F, all fitting snugly in the shell. Without going over the maximum shot charge weight. So why isn't there more information on this kind of thing out there? Is there some taboo against it I haven't heard of? Is there some reason I shouldn't be doing this? I mean, I realize the 0.22" pellets aren't going to offer a ton of extra stopping power. They are a bit smaller than the regular 0.24" #4 buckshot. But extra hits are extra hits, aren't they? Has anybody else tried this? If so, how did it work out for you? What sizes did you use?
-Mb