doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com 3/4oz 12ga shells

Steve, what is the reported pressure? Thanks.Gil

GLS:
While you are certainly entitled to propel a 3/4 oz load at any velocity you wish, it doesn't mean it's a practical idea.

I used 16.1 grs. of Clay Dot for about 1150 fps. and broke any clay that I led properly.

Maj. Burrard proved long ago that high velocity - like 1500+ fps - is reduced to standard velocities in surprisingly short distances. Thus, you burn unnecessary powder and get unnecessary recoil for little or no gain. Then again, perhaps BPI has found a way around practical physics. Ask them what their 20 yd. velocity is.

Paul and Kensal,
Were you using 2 3/4" or 2 1/2" hulls?
Phil

I was at an L.C. Smith shoot Monday, one of the memebers of my squad and I were talking about some light loads, he uses 3/4 oz loads for his 12 ga. He uses a Claybuster wad. I was using 7/8 oz. loads because at the time, I didn't have the right wad for the 3/4 oz.
We got talking about velocities and he had read somewhere that the lead between 960 fps and 1300 fps at 21 yards is the difference of 3.5 inches.

The Downrange XXL Orange wads are also great for 3/4oz loads in straight wall hulls.

Aguilla makes a 1 3/4" 5/8 oz shell. Pretty neat for dove/quail. The pattern is super.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/255579/...-shot-box-of-20


I imagine the 3/4 oz loads with these new wads are fantastic patterning as well.

Have you done paper comparisons to a .410 or 28 with the same payload?

I've been using the 12ga 3/4oz loads listed here both in AA and Remington cases for 5 or 6 years now.
No complaints and low pressures.
They all run in the 1200 to 1300 fps range, use Clays powder which I use alot of anyway and Win209.

I do sub the C/Buster clone equivelent to the Federal wad listed.
But that's just me. You're on your own sub'ing componenets

http://www.hodgdon.com/PDF/ReducedRecoilShotshellLoads.pdf


Just to see,,, I took the shot charge weight down to as little as 1/2 oz.(12ga shell)
Popcorn (popped) filler to take up the space in the hull on top of the shot load.
At 9/16 you still get a usable load but incomplete combustion starts to take hold.
5/8 oz is about the lowest I could go and still have good clean burning as you expect from Clays.
The 9/16oz loads still did the job though (skeet) but some wondered if I was using a semi-smokeless powder at times.
Sure are cost saving little devils..

Rp,
I haven't shot a 28ga much. I only have the one Repro. The little I've patterned my 28ga was just to see POI and how a particular load looked. And I haven't done direct comparisions of an 12ga Aguila 5/8 oz vs either the .410 or 28ga. But it was very clear the pattern of the 12ga Aguila was much more evenly dispersed than anything I had seen out of the subgauges.

I bought a good size pile of the Aguila shells a number of yrs ago when they were on sale, as a little jab at a friend that was a hardcore .410 shooter. I was going to go dove hunting with him and shoot a big bore 12ga and then start shooting these little shells as a little joke. They worked really well at killing dove. I took them quail hunting as well. They take up much less space in your ammo pocket than a 2 3/4" box of shells.

I'm a fan of the reduced shot 12ga. loads for skeet & general clay target practice shooting.

The factory Winchester Featherlight loads utilize 26grams of shot & they break targets just fine inside 35 yards or so. Factory duplicate recipe for the WWAA Featherlight load & some others from 980fps @ 5600psi up to 1145fps @ 8800psi can be found in the Hogdon's Basic Reloading Manual printed January 2010. Alliant also lists a number of std. velocity/low pressure lighter shot loads.

As KR has noted, down range ballistics deteriorate rather quickly for target sized pellets. OTOH, bunker loads [24grams] are typically 1300+fps., but the reasoning as I understand it is more to get the patterns to open more uniformly than to do with terminal ballistics. Many of those loads use wads w/stiff &/or 'stitched' petals.

FWIW, I have loaded several 3/4oz. 12ga. recipies that provided too tight patterns at lower velocities using powders on the slow side. Cleaner burns [if that matters to you] and generally better skeet range patterns will be attained with the faster powders or in some cases with more of the same powder which may seem a bit of a paradox. Regardless, stay with published recipies, stay safe & use the pattern board/grease plate to KNOW what the loads do in your gun. The lighter loads can be a real joy to shoot & they function perfectly all the time w/two triggered or mechanical single trigger guns.