Buckshot

[Blaine]

What choke do you think gives the best/tightest pattern at a longer range (30-40yds) with OO ? I always thought full, but now I'm being told cyl or I/C.....what say you?

[gamekeeper]

I have always assumed that a tight choke would deform buckshot and make it fly wide.
I once had an Italian D/B 12GA Hammer Gun with very tight chokes and one barrel seemed to throw buckshot in a vertical spread and the other in a horizontal spread, made almost a perfect cross on the patten paper.

[Doc Hudson]

I always understood that buckshot, like slugs needed a more open choke to prevent shot deformation. I've never even tried buckshot in a full choked gun. Tightest choke I've ever used with buckshot has been modified, which seemed to work reasonably well.

[Cliff]

Good question on what choke is good for Buck Shot. I found a modified choke one of the best. I have shot several thousand rounds of 00 Buck in training and testing while working at a prison. Found the 28 inch modified barrels gave the best group or pattern. I have also an Ithica riot gun, full choked and it will shoot a tight pattern sometimes but not consistantly. I also found different brands and makes of ammuniton plays a big part. New type shells usually have a shot buffer and shot cup which aids in preventing distortion of the buck shot. We used 20" cylinder bore as well. These didn't pattern as good as the modified chokes. If someone wants to use 00 buck I would suggest trying different makes of shells and find what your shotgun can do. We were issued Remington 870's and I helped wear a number of them out. This was over a 23 year period. Good to go is 30 yards, after that they open quite a bit. Found the modified choke helped if we wanted fifty yard patterns. Just my experience. ATB

[Slick13]

What choke do you think gives the best/tightest pattern at a longer range (30-40yds) with OO ? I always thought full, but now I'm being told cyl or I/C.....what say you?

Expecting 9 to 12 pellets to form a useful pattern at 30 to 40 yards is asking a lot of the load, IMO. A Cylinder or IC choke is going to open at least an inch per yard, and I think Modified is really about as tight a choke as you want to run buckshot through. I think you put buckshot through a full choke, you might be flirting with the same dangers (bulged barrel) that you'd be flirting by putting a slug through a full choke.

~Michael

[CEMENTHEAD]

+1 MODIFIED choke with 00 or 000 buck, patterns between 8-10" @ 40 yards, 12-15" @ 50 yards are routine. However I now shoot 000 buck with that same choke. MUCHO better penetration on deer. My .02$

Thanks, Tom

[Hobie]

Different guns with different ammo perform differently but IME, IC or C ARE generally the best for eveness of patterns. Some guns concentrate the shot less well but make more even patterns. I have had a M (modified) barrel shoot 00 buck VERY well with tight even patterns. That is my old Fox-Sterlingworth with barrels choked IC-M... I believe that that and use as a grouse/pa'tridge gun is why Uncle George had it so choked.

[dawei]

Blaine, I've hunted a lot w/ buckshot over the years and my advice to you would be.................

1. See what patterns the best in your gun & choke combo.
2. In all of the 12ga guns I've shot in over 40 years of hunting; Buckshot had the most even pattens in Cyl/Imp Cyl choked barrels. (In 16ga only a 12 pellet load of #1 Buck is offered. In my 16ga Ithaca® SxS, choked Mod/Full; the patterns were far better out of the Mod choked barrel. Interestingly the left/Full choked barrel was far more accurate w/ slugs than the Mod barrel. When using it I load a Buckshot/Slug combo and was very satisfied [but the deer were not!]).
3. Federal® Flite-Control™ Buckshot give the best 00 patterns I've ever seen in in a shotgun. The Flite-Control® wad holds the pellets together far longer and doesn't strip away as it leaves the barrel. I've often had the wad hit the target at 25 & 30yds! The patterns are the tightest I've ever seen.
4.Don't overlook #1 Buck (.30"). In a 2¾" shell you have 16 pellets, 20 in a 2¾" Mag; and 24 in a 3" Mag. You have far more pellets than 00 yet they are big enough to do the job. When I use my Mossberg® 500 12ga I load it with 2¾"" Mags of #1 Buck fired out of an 18½" Cyl bore barrel. It is a true 40-45yd "Deer Sammish" maker!

[Blaine]

Blaine, I've hunted a lot w/ buckshot over the years and my advice to you would be.................

1. See what patterns the best in your gun & choke combo.
2. In all of the 12ga guns I've shot in over 40 years of hunting; Buckshot had the most even pattens in Cyl/Imp Cyl choked barrels. (In 16ga only a 12 pellet load of #1 Buck is offered. In my 16ga Ithaca® SxS, choked Mod/Full; the patterns were far better out of the Mod choked barrel. Interestingly the left/Full choked barrel was far more accurate w/ slugs than the Mod barrel. When using it I load a Buckshot/Slug combo and was very satisfied [but the deer were not!]).
3. Federal® Flite-Control™ Buckshot give the best 00 patterns I've ever seen in in a shotgun. The Flite-Control® wad holds the pellets together far longer and doesn't strip away as it leaves the barrel. I've often had the wad hit the target at 25 & 30yds! The patterns are the tightest I've ever seen.
4.Don't overlook #1 Buck (.30"). In a 2¾" shell you have 16 pellets, 20 in a 2¾" Mag; and 24 in a 3" Mag. You have far more pellets than 00 yet they are big enough to do the job. When I use my Mossberg® 500 12ga I load it with 2¾"" Mags of #1 Buck fired out of an 18½" Cyl bore barrel. It is a true 40-45yd "Deer Sammish" maker!

Heading out to a firearm restricted island with Fred.....I may just slap the red dot back on the 629 and sight in real quick. It's either that, or the 1911, the .357 BH, or the SxS.....

[dawei]

Heading out to a firearm restricted island with Fred.....I may just slap the red dot back on the 629 and sight in real quick. It's either that, or the 1911, the .357 BH, or the SxS.....

I guess you should take your SxS & load up with Buckshot & your 44 Mag on your belt. I don't want to jinx you or Fred by wishing you L&%K so - Break a Leg! (I'm hunting Vail w/ my son this weekend).

[horsesoldier03]

What choke do you think gives the best/tightest pattern at a longer range (30-40yds) with OO ? I always thought full, but now I'm being told cyl or I/C.....what say you?

Havent tried it before. I suggest getting a larger sized target and shooting your shotgun at that distance and with each choke and be sure to share the results with us.

[Blaine]

What choke do you think gives the best/tightest pattern at a longer range (30-40yds) with OO ? I always thought full, but now I'm being told cyl or I/C.....what say you?

Havent tried it before. I suggest getting a larger sized target and shooting your shotgun at that distance and with each choke and be sure to share the results with us.

That's the best solution, it's just that I have hunting to do on my spare time right now, and have a rifle restricted hunt coming up.....Actually, I could fire up the old smokepole .54 and stay legal, as well......That's not a bad idea, though

[texasrick]

Shot a LOT of buckshot back in the days when running deer with dogs was legal in Texas. Each gun is a rule of it's own but "in general", a modified choke will give the best patterns with 00 buckshot, but occationally you will find a gun choked "full" that gives excellent patterns too.

For my own use, I always found that #4 buck was a better choice. The 12 Ga. load has some 41 pellets and from a full / full choke in my L.C. Smith double would keep 40-41 pellets in a 30" circle at 40 yards. Some feel the smaller pellets do not penetrate as well at longer ranges, but if you shoot much buchshot you will discover that the shotgun just isn't that effective much past 30 yards anyway. At that range the #4 shot will fully penetrate and 41 .24 caliber pellets do a number on a deer.

[Ridgerunner]

we do a lot of man driving on the Eastern Shore of VA, most of us use Buck Kicker or Pattern Master chokes. I currently have a Wad Wizard screw-in on my Benelli SBE and it seems to knock 'em down pretty good. I use 3.5" 00 buck, 18 pellets in mine. The 2.75 Federal Premium with 12 pellets of copper plated 00 buck works great through the PatternMaster....

[KCSO]

I tested buckshot in a multi choke gun to find this out. The gun was a Charles Daly semi auto with 24" bbl and I tested Cly, i/c, skeet 1, skeet2, modified, Improved modified, and full. The gun was tested for patterning at 25 yards with #1 buck and with slugs for accuracy. I don't happen to have the constrictions here right now. Remember that constriction is important. In that particular gun pellet count for #1 buckshot went up at 25 yards till I got to modified and from modified to full the pellet count went back down, so we decided that I/C was the best all round choke for buckshot and slugs. There arre so many variables here that about the only way to do this is to shooot and pattern your own gun and see what happens.