NEW Shotgun Pattern Test Results - Detail & Pic' heavy...

Originally Posted By: GC PART FOUR...

50 Yard Patterns...

Byron South and I have discussed this, we both feel you need at least five solid hits for reliable kills. I don't believe in the "magic pellet" and hoping for one or two lucky pellet strikes. Many of these new fangled hi-tech loads have the pellet energy for five good hits to reliably kill coyotes at long range. But can you get the pattern out there.

 
Redcloud,
Here is an updated summary of my patterning after tweaking to my .670" Kick's and my Benelli M1S90. A cut-n-paste to compare your results with...

Using the same procedure as in my original post, the Outers target has a black inner circle of 8" and scoring rings the largest of which reaches out to 12". At 25 yards (and all the ranges) I shot 5 targets with the Tactical/.670" HD-BB and 5 with the Turkey Model/.670" HD-BB combo. In the other testing I felt the 24" barrel of the Turkey Model Benelli slightly outshot the shorter 18 1/2" Tactical Benelli. Not this time, the Tac Model outshot the longer barreled Turkey brother with the .670" GT.

25 yard patterns gave me a saturated 8" circle with from 37 - 40 hits. The outer 12" rings all contained 55 - 62 strikes. It was obvious the Gobblin' Thunder .670" was shooting a very center dense pattern. Both guns shot right to point of aim with the choke and HD-BB load. It was a pretty impressive looking 25 yard performance.

40 yard performance went like this. The inner 8" took 25 - 30 hits. The 12" total count average 35 strikes.

The long range 50 yard patterns still held 10 - 12 pellet strikes in the inner black 8" circle. The outer 12" scoring rings contained 18 - 20 strikes. Now we're talking a pattern and load that can easily get it done at the half field mark. Ok, I'm broke...
 
A little about me and where I hunt:

I’m from Texas and I recently lost my lease so I hunt in the Sam Houston National Forest (been hunting there off/on for 15 plus years) and the best hunting for predator’s is in dense cover so I decided to start using a shotgun in these areas.

Needlees to say, I'm new (January 2011) to predator hunting, but not new to hunting (coonhunted w/ hounds for over 22 plus years) and I still have a lot to learn!


Buckshot is not allowed so I must find a load/choke combo and I’m very grateful that GC and many others have shared their findings which have gave me some information and starting points!

My Goal:

To place at least 8-10 pellets within an 12” ring, with skin/muscle piercing and bone crushing results for an ethical kill (head or body shots)at 50yds.


Weather:

04-29-2011, Clear, breezy 5-10 mph, 60 degrees at 8:45 am and 86 degrees at 3:30 pm

Equipment and setup:

I’m using a 12 GA Benelli-Supernova w/ a 28” barrel (.723") bore,and a Bushnell Banner (Dusk & Dawn) shotgun scope. I built a target stand (1/4" plywood & 2x4) for a sitting position, tripod w/V-yoke, camo folding up chair, and I used a Nikon 550 Prostaff range finder for distance measuring.


Distances and targets:

25, 40, and 50 yds

12” X 12” paper target w/ 12” outer ring, 8” black outer ring , 2 “ black ring around bullseye.

I’m also using white pages (phonebook) w/ 525 pages for penetration/depth testing. I drilled a hole in the top of each phonebook, placed two of them side by side and used a heavy duty staple gun to attached my target to them and hung’em on a screw (cut off the head) in the center of the stand.


Chokes and Ammo:

Listed is what I’m starting with for now, but will continue to try other load/choke combos in the future.

Kick’s Howler H .690” ported choke that extends from the barrel approximately 1 3/8"
Manufacture’s suggested usage: Howler H choke are intended for use with Hevi-shot Dead Coyote


Kick’s Gobble Thunder .670” ported choke that extends from the barrel approximately 1 3/8"

"Gobblin Thunder" chokes are not recommended for steel shot or Hevi-shot.

Manufacture’s disclaimer: Gobblin Thunder chokes are specifically designed for lead shot.
The user assumes all risks from the use of Hevi-shot, Hevi 13, or other high density pellets (for people like me)


Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB, 10 per box

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2, 10 per box

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead), 10 per box


Benelli Factory Modified choke .704
Winchester 3” Drylok Super Steel, 1300 FPS, 1 3/8 oz # 3, 25 per box

Note: Made one shot at 50 yds, 22 hits in 8” and 26 hits in 12” , total of 48 hits out of 217 pellets (22%). Only 18% of the steel penetrated the white pages ½ way so I decided to stop testing this load.


Three (3) shots w/ ammo/choke combo at same distance, but using a different target each time for POI reference.

I shot one combo at 25, 40, & 50 yds and moved onto the next combo. After going through all the combos, I repeated the 40 & 50 yd combos 3 times each to ensure that my POA didn’t need to be adjusted or that my patterns results differed.

Note: I cleaned the barrel and chokes after shooting 3 rounds (to ensure consistency) which took up 65% of my time during testing.
 
Unfortunately; My camera went out shortly after getting started so I will have to post pattern pictures (saved targets) at a later date.

Summary(averaging) :


25 YDS, 12” circle = Yielded 91-93% of the load and penetrated the white pages and plywood backing:

Howler H .690 & GT ..670

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead), 254 Pellets

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2, 103 Pellets

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB, 72 Pellets
Note: All loads and choke combos will do the job at this distance!


40 YDS with Howler H .690

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead)
8” Black 82 + 12” White 63 = 145 hits out of 254 Pellets = 57%
Note: Penetrated white pages, but did not penetrate plywood

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2
8” Black 52 + 12” White 12 = 64 hits out of 103 Pellets = 62%
Note: Penetrated white pages, and 18% went through plywood


Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB
8” Black 25 + 12” White 19 = 44 hits out of 72 Pellets = 61%
Note: Penetrated white pages (twice the size exit hole than #2 &#4), and penetrated plywood 1/8”

 
40 YDS with GT .670

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead)
8” Black 94 + 12” White 58 = 152 hits out of 254 Pellets = 60%
Note: Penetrated white pages, but did not penetrate plywood



Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2
8” Black 48 + 12” White 16 = 66 hits out of 103 Pellets = 64%
Note:penetrated white pages, and 18% went through plywood



Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB
8” Black 28 + 12” White 16 = 44 hits out of 72 Pellets = 61%

Note: Penetrated white pages (twice the size exit hole than #2 & #4), and penetrated plywood 1/8”. Also the total hits are the same as with the Howler, but holds a tighter 8” pattern at 40 yds.

50 YDS with Howler H .690

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead)
8” Black 29 + 12” White 37 = 66 hits out of 254 Pellets = 26%
Note:penetrated about ¾ (pages 320-390) of the white pages

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2
8” Black 24 + 12” White 13 = 37 hits out of 103 Pellets = 36%
Note:penetrated white pages, and 10% went into plywood 1/8”


Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB
8” Black 18 + 12” White 20 = 38 hits out 72 Pellets = 53%


Note:penetrated white pages (twice the size exit hole than #2 &#4), and penetrated plywood 1/16” (if that)
 
50 YDS with GT .670

Remington 3” Nitro Turkey 1210 FPS, 1 7/8 oz # 4 (extra hard lead)
8” Black 40 + 12” White 44 = 84 hits out of 254 Pellets = 33%
Note:penetrated about ¾ (pages 320-390) of the white pages

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz #2
8” Black 32 + 12” White 16 = 48 hits out of 103 Pellets = 47 %
Note:penetrated white pages, and 10% went into plywood 1/8”

Remington 3” Wingmaster HD, 1300 FPS, 1 ½ oz BB
8” Black 22 + 12” White 10 = 32 hits out of 72 Pellets = 44%
Note:penetrated white pages (twice the size exit hole than #2 & #4), and penetrated plywood 1/16” (if that).

Conclusion:

The size of the choke had no effect on penetration depths from what I could see (eyeballing).


Turkey Nitro is just that for Turkey hunting. Even though testing shows it could kill a predator at 40 & 50yds, I would have to be ready for a follow-up shot. Morally - not a good idea for various reasons.

HD # 2 pattern best with GT .670 and penetrates deeper (plywood) than the BB and does less damage to the phonebooks at 50yds.

HD BB patterns best with Howler H and does twice the damage (exit hole) to the phonebook, but doesn’t penetrate the plywood as deep as the #2 at 50yds.

I’ll let everyone else make there own conclusions from my testing. For now, I will use the BB because of it's size and the damaging effect on the phonebooks! However, either BB or # 2 will get the job done at 50yds in open country.

The question(s) for me is how will they do in dense cover or is there a better load/choke combo
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I feel a test coming on
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All the supplies used for testing and cleaninng.
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Chair, gun, and shooting tri-pod
1shotguntest004.jpg

Target stand with phonebooks and target
1shotguntest005.jpg
 
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Powerpoint slides: I would like to take the time and say thanks to my wife for doing this and for helping with the testing!


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Slide22.jpg

Slide32.jpg

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Thanks GC for your help and input, I won’t have gotten this far without your guidance.


At 50 yds, the steel and extra hard lead lost a lot of energy, which was evident on impact (looking through the scope), but the HD stuff rocked (shook) the stand!

After reading many, many posts, articles about loads/choke combos, the HD stuff seems to be on up there with the Dead Coyote stuff, but I haven't tried it myself.....not sure it's worth double the price!!!!

Also, after reading, it seems that the shorter (length) barrel on the same/similar make, models, & bore size, work better with the tighter chokes than the longer barrels which could be because of the (barrel lengths) taper from the breech to the muzzle, not sure though (just a thought).

One thing is for sure (as stated many times by GC), pattern, pattern, pattern that gun and load/choke combos before going hunting, because shotguns can be just as finicky about loads/chokes as any rifle can be with twists and ammo!!!
 
Again, I know how much work, time, effort and money goes into a test such as this, congrat's to you for going through all that and sharing it with us.

Buried somewhere in the beginnings of this thread Derbyacresbob did some penetration testing through catalogs bound together and his original testing confirmed that the HD penetrated very deeply. Considerably farther than lead and certainly further than steel. Your test add to the data base we are accumulating here.

My own testing on fur confirms this...
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Nice post TXCOONDOG. My tests came up with the wingmaster #2 giving me 18-25 in a 10" cirlce at 50 yards. Can't remember the shot charge offhand but it's written down and ammo is stocked. I rarely use my shotgun but I like knowing it's patterned and ready. I had hoped For a 50 yards BB load but tried many kinds and wasn't satisfied. I am curious if you have pics of the damage the #2 did to the plywood or phone books? I didn't do any penetration tests.
 
No pics of the phonebooks or plywood, my camera went out and I haven't replaced it yet because I keep spending my money on other things.

However, Both BB and # 2 went through the 525 page phonebooks @ 50 yds.

I've posted the depths from each load under notes of each combo.

Since this is birthing season for most predator's, I switched to fishing until fall so I haven't shot anything with the loads.

 
How about the Hevi-Shot/Hevi-Metal stuff in size BB?

Seems like I read somewhere in this thread where somebody did some testing with it, but I can't find it now.

(Seems like it was very brittle and turned to powder upon impact? Or do I have my ammo mixed up?)
 
Originally Posted By: doggin coyotesHow about the Hevi-Shot/Hevi-Metal stuff in size BB?

Seems like I read somewhere in this thread where somebody did some testing with it, but I can't find it now.

(Seems like it was very brittle and turned to powder upon impact? Or do I have my ammo mixed up?)

Look for derbyacresbob's post about penetration testing. Bob did a great job of that. And yes, there have been some guys complaining about a brittle mix of the EnvironMetal tungsten. BTW, the HeviMetal is a mix of tungsten and steel shot, mostly steel.
 
"BTW, the HeviMetal is a mix of tungsten and steel shot, mostly steel."

I looked for the actual composition of the stuff but never could find it. Mostly steel huh. I already don't like the sounds of that.
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Thanks Gary.
 
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