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
Last edited by Blood Trail; 08-23-2021 at 08:27 PM.
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
Last edited by W.R.Buchanan; 08-24-2021 at 03:20 PM.
"It's not how well you do what you know how to do,,,It's how well you do what you DON'T know how to do!"
www.buchananprecisionmachine.com
"We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"
unknown
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.
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.
Oh great, another thread that makes me spend money.
You got a response from the MNDNR?
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.
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.
Oh great, another thread that makes me spend money.
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.
"We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"
unknown
Claybuster CB-114
You can miss fast & you can miss a lot, but only hits count.
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
"My main ambition in life is to be on the devil's most wanted list."
Leonard Ravenhill
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.
"We take a thousand moments for granted thinking there will be a thousand more to come. Each day, each breath, each beat of your heart is a gift. Live with love & joy, tomorrow is not promised to anyone......"
unknown
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?
Last edited by RMc; 09-11-2021 at 02:24 AM.
BP | Bronze Point | IMR | Improved Military Rifle | PTD | Pointed |
BR | Bench Rest | M | Magnum | RN | Round Nose |
BT | Boat Tail | PL | Power-Lokt | SP | Soft Point |
C | Compressed Charge | PR | Primer | SPCL | Soft Point "Core-Lokt" |
HP | Hollow Point | PSPCL | Pointed Soft Point "Core Lokt" | C.O.L. | Cartridge Overall Length |
PSP | Pointed Soft Point | Spz | Spitzer Point | SBT | Spitzer Boat Tail |
LRN | Lead Round Nose | LWC | Lead Wad Cutter | LSWC | Lead Semi Wad Cutter |
GC | Gas Check |