I accidentally bought a case of bird shot during COVID and hung on to it. Anyways, I held onto the case of bird shot because I figured if nothing else if the EOTWAWKI happened I could cannibalize the shells for powder. I did find a couple of extra ways to use the shells in a way that would be better if I ever needed it to.
But I was on YouTube and saw this video about necking the bird shot shells (plus a couple of other old timers said they had used it that way from back in the day) that supposedly made the pellets stick together out to about 30 yards. I kind of want to try it.
Will have to look into that. Fortunately I only bought one box of the Mil Spec stuff but if I could get the Fiocchi DD stuff to perform closer to the Federal Flight Control that would save a lot of money in the future.
I also read about some sort of barrel modification that a certain company can do that supposedly makes even cheap buckshot pattern much better. Not sure what the cost of that would be and can’t remember the company name at the moment.
I had never heard of them before. I found this article interesting. It also explained the dangers of using them, and suggested they only be used in break-action shotguns:
[edit] A comment in the article:
really cool video of a cut shell in slow motion, fired into ballistics gelatin. It would seem that the penetration of the cut shell is poor; the cut shell just guarantees the shot all arrives at the same place at the same time.
VangComp was the company I was referring to. They modify barrels to have a gradual choke which leads to tighter patterns with regular buckshot but it actually usually gives Flight Control buckshot more open patterns because it interferes with how the special wad works.
I also watched a couple of other videos, and the results were similar, in that the shot is more concentrated, but the penetration is similar to the same shot without the cut shell.
Sounds a little risky. Think I will keep this in mind if I ever find myself in a situation where I need a slug but all I have is birdshot but I would not try it outside of an emergency.
It also seems that an ammo maker should be able to safely replicate the effect of a cut shell by using birdshot in a specially designed wad. If done right so it gets enough penetration on soft targets without easily going through walls it could be a useful self defense shell for people in apartments or with neighbors’ houses very close by. It would be kinda like the Glaser Safety slug for pistols but should be noticeably more effective than the pistol rounds which seem to perform very poorly. From a shotgun it should have noticeably more power and a much heavier load.
Not sure if you mentioned it somewhere, but do you know the choke on that barrel? Sometimes that will make a difference. If your barrel can, and you’re open to it, and you have spare chokes, maybe try the same test with a different choke?
You know… for science
I saw this on someone’s YT channel not long ago. Blew my mind. I haven’t had a chance to try it out yet though.
This jives with everything I’ve seen about milspec 12g in general, and that Winchester specifically. I wonder if that is part of the “spec” that it should have a wide spread to make sure you get at least 1 pellet at range…
I think I did fail to mention it. Was using my new A300 Ultimate Patrol which comes with an improved cylinder choke. My understanding is that it is best not to go with a tighter choke than IC for federal flight control buckshot or for slugs. I have also read that going much tighter for regular buckshot can deform the shot and lead to more flyers.
I probably won’t get a chance to play with the chokes before the snow closes down my nearby gravel pits. But I’ll try and keep that in mind the next time I can get out there. I think the A300 uses the same choke style as the cheap skeet gun I bought a couple years ago.
I’m not sure if the wide open patterns on the mil spec buckshot are intentional or just due to the spec not being updated in a few decades for the newer and better options. Out past 20 yards I felt you’d have to get lucky to get one or two pellets to hit something important enough to stop the threat.
The push pull technique along with the softer shooting gas operated semi auto shotgun made a big difference. My shoulder felt like I had been shooting a .223 instead of a mix of light and heavy shotgun shells. I need to play with it some more but I wonder if it might even help with faster follow up shots on a softer shooting semi auto rifle?
for those using Federal Flight control wadded buckshot, keep in mind these wads were designed specifically for cylinder bore or improved cylinder chokes ONLY. These were designed to help patterns in non game style shotgun barrels, IE military and law enforcement that have fixed choke barrels of Cylinder or improved cylinder. They will make your shotgun pattern WORSE in a full, modified or improved modified choke system because of the way the wad is designed.
IIRC, the LAPD issue 20 gauge Ithacas with 4 Buck at one time. Just about every other agency used 00 Buck in 12 gauges. Them LA guys always gotta do somethin’ wierd, LOL!
I have a Mossberg 590S Tactical…I usually use 2 3/4" with 8 or 9 pellets. I have #4 buckshot heading my way.
My shotgun can shoot 1 3/4, 2 3/4 or 3" shells.
What are your suggestings on using what shells and how many pullets for HD?
I do know I shouldn’t use bird or slugs…slugs because of what they will go through and bird because not enough behind them to out someone down.
My experience is usually you end up with a flyer on the 9 pellet buck, because of the way it stacks into the shotshell in 2 3/4 and 3". I prefer 00 personally, but #4 will still get the job done as well, 00 pellet size is .33", where #4 is .24", but you’ll end up with a significantly higher pellet count with the #4 per cartridge. I prefer the mass of the 00 vs pellet count, personally. once the shot starts to spread the heavier 00 will give you better individual pellet penetration at further distances.
At those ranges its going to go through and through still inside the shotcup so it really wont matter. All of the various buckshots will take a pound out of your intruder and sling it all over your walls
Every state has different hunting regulations. Be sure to check the regs for your own state and don’t rely on what someone from some other state tells you.
