doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com # 9 shot.......usefulness?

Sam, I've recently moved to northern WI. Our grouse and woodcock seasons also overlap, woodcock having ended about 2 weeks ago. I shot a lot of woodcock and not many grouse this year. I was shooting 7/8 oz 8 1/2's in the R barrel of a 20ga (bored cyl), 7/8 oz STS target 8's in the L (bored IC). Woodcock, even those shot at fairly long range after the leaves were down, were coming down dead. I'd have to check my notes, but I'm not sure I killed anything--woodcock or grouse--with my 2nd barrel, when I did use it. The grouse I hit with the R barrel also died, or came down significantly incapacitated. I was very pleased with the results I got with no choke and 8 1/2's.

SOmeone gave me a bag of # 9 and I have loaded it and used it on Clays. I was surprised as it broke Clays well out to 30 yds, but I did not use it further. I think it is too small for birds over about 20 however.

Yeah, I'm with 11F on the rails, I've used #9 on them and they're murder. I don't think I've ever shot it at anything else with feathers that I can recall.

DLH

Larry, Thanks. I've only used shot sizes from #8 to #6 on WC. They all work fine. A single #6 or #7.5 seems 100% reliable, so I guess we shouldn't be surprised at the effectiveness of a decent #9 or #8.5 pattern. After a couple of years fooling with #6 (well, I had to see for myself) I've decided they're too much, unless I manage to place just one pellet on the bird. Possibly #8.5s are "optimal"?

I haven't had the guts to try #8.5s on grouse yet. I've had such good luck with the 3" .410s in #7.5 that I'm loathe to change anything.

As for clays, I think #8.5s are the best thing going for 90% of NSCA subgauge targets.

Sam

Put me in the Joe Wood camp....I do not have a pointer or shoot a .410, so it is at least 7's for feathered targets and 8's for clays.

One summer many years ago I thought #9's would be just the ticket for starlings around the barn. I killed some. On rare occasions I actually pulled a feather or two off. Some showed no sign of being hit but flew 40 or 50 yds and fell dead.

I switched to #8 and my kill ratio improved. Maybe I was just getting to be a better shot. But seldom did I pull feathers and it was still common to see them fly another 50 yds before dropping.

I changed to #7.5 and, once I got accustomed to a little more choke, I was completely satisfied. Birds died instantly, often in a hail of feathers without a second wingbeat,and sailed only as far as momentum would carry them.

Since that summer 40 years ago I've never shot a live bird with anything smaller than #7.5. Every game bird that is brought to bag was killed. To some people that validates the shot size that was used, no matter how small. But shooting starlings in an open pasture taught me that birds can be wounded and crippled, or perhaps soak up a mortal load of small pellets, and show no outward sign. My dogs have retrieved a number of grouse & WC that we wouldn't have searched for had it not been for a feather floating on the breeze. They've also retrieved birds with broken wing bones that may not have been shattered with a smaller pellet.

I only have 20, 16 and 12 gauges and find 1 ounce of #7.5 through the appropriate choke to be more than adequate for everything from starlings to grouse and skeet targets to FITASC. When I load 7/8 for targets (for no other reason than recoil reduction), I drop to #8 for virtually the same pellet count. Lately I've loaded 3/4 ounce for 20ga targets and use #8.5 for the same reason; nearly the same pellet count as my 1 ounce of #7.5.

I think allot of people that go to 9's think the extra amount of shot will make them a better shot while in truth the smaller shot doesn't kill or break targets as well as larger shot.

When I was younger, I shot skeet quite a bit and used Win. AA hulls with #9 shot. This was used in either a 20 ga. Winchester 101 or a 28 ga. Beretta BL4.

What jOe says, I don't agree with, it only takes one pellet to break a target, and if you don't think those extra pellets help, just ask most of the AA skeet shooters what they use.

Also because I had many reloads, I can't tell you how many pheasants I killed with 3/4 oz. of #9 shot in that 28 ga. These were stocked pheasants over pointing dogs, and any criples were soon dispatched.
I would not use them for the wild pheasants we had at the time, and never used the 28 ga for them, only 20 ga. with either 6's or 7 1/2's.

For woodcock and quail, I have used the 3/4 oz. #9's when I lived in N.J. and you could not hunt doves, considered a songbird.

When we bird hunt you never know whether you will be shooting ducks, Huns, Pheasant, ruffies, sharp tail or snipe etc, as all are open at hte same time. For a long time I have made 1 and 1 1/8 ounce loads of 1/2 and 1/2 mixes of 6 and 9 or 6 and 8 shot. I found these to be a perfect choice for everything from duck to grouse and pheasant. (now that we can't use lead on migratry can't iusethem on duck so carry some steel for those)Good dense patterns, and effective kills from 10 yards to out around 50 yards.

These were all 12 or 20 gauge loads so can't say how well this would work in a 410 but I know it is a scucome setup in the bigger gauges.

Already stated that I'm not a skeet shooter, sporting clays only, when it's not feathered. But, isn't the longest shot on a skeet field 21 yards? I've got no doubt 9s will break clays reliably at that distance.

Still ain't gonna use it on birds of any kind past about 25 yards.

Thanks for all the replies, interesting stuff. Especially the half and half mixture. I used to do that a little with 7 1/2s and 9s, but never reached any conclusion about it.

SRH