Range results with the 10 and 8 ga

[Milton C Starr]

Just got back from spending 4hrs at the range and doing some pattern testing with the 8 and 10 gauge. I may be forget some things but anyhow first the heat treated Ts not much of a pattern there but they penetrate well I think, they went straight through the 1/4" ply wood and I recovered some in the 100 yard clay berm and they had no deformation. One picture shows what is either lead #4s or the bismuth #2s stuck in the plywood and you can see the holes where the Ts went straight through. My 8 ga has no choke so perhaps they would perform better if it did? I think the large shot would be more suitable for maybe a 2 1/4oz buffered load. I also decided to test some bismuth 2s in the 8 ga out of curiosity, with this load I wrapped it in masking tape because I have been getting alot of powder burns on my 8 ga cases. Some of the Winchesters have a red sticker partially around them and that protects the cases from powder burns. So I tried masking tape and yep that seams to work.
I patterned some RST 10 ga loads as well and a bismuth handload with a fiber wad. Im probably forgetting some details its been a tiresome day and im about to take me a old man afternoon nap. I ordered some BPI nickel plated 5s last week so im curious to see how well those do and I finally ordered nitro cards for the 10 and 8 ga. Oh on the 10 ga bismuth handload I shot low and to the left, it was the last round I fired and after 4hrs I was ready to pack it up.

[Milton C Starr]

Heres the recovered T shot I heat treated and found at the 100 yard berm and the 8 ga shell I was testing the masking tape on. I noticed the 8 ga has loose chambers compared to my Parker 10s so perhaps thats why im getting scorch marks on the cases. I cant tell if the pellets imbedded in the plywood is the lead 4s or bismuth 2s but you can see where the Ts sailed through.

[charlie cleveland]

looks like you gave them guns and loads a good work out...them t shot would kill at 100 yards if they hit something...I shot a load of lead bb s at a coyote at about 100 yards it did not kill him dead at the moment but it made him run side ways and it went in a hole in the ground I m pretty sure it died later...I wish I had some of those tss no 2 and bb shot to try out....interesting stuff your doing....charlie

[edgarspencer]

Apologies because I know you've said it before, but what powder are you using in the 8ga?

[Milton C Starr]

Apologies because I know you've said it before, but what powder are you using in the 8ga?

Bluedot for the 8 and 10 ga.

[scott kittredge]

The lead 4s pattern looks good and i think the bismuth 2s too if i see it pic correctly.

[charlie cleveland]

bluedot is good powder for the 8 and 10 ga heavy loads...I use it in my guns....charlie

[Milton C Starr]

I noticed with the bismuth the pellet fracturing doesn't appear to be as bad as I've heard. I counted maybe 4 or 5 pellet fractures per shell in the pattern with the bismuth. Just got the shipping notice this morning for my #5 shot from BPI I guess they are getting caught up on their shipping times. I've always had good results with #5s in any gauge. I think with that 8 gauge T pattern I counted 38 hits out of 56 pellets which should be 67% percent. I don't know if this is anyone else's case but for me Bluedot is a pretty dirty powder.

[Keith Doty]

I shoot #5 bismuth for ducks in both 12 ga. and 10 ga. Wicked effective, much better at long range than steel.

[Milton C Starr]

Im going to pattern these 2 1/4oz of nickel plated 5s next and I have some
1 3/8oz loaded for the 10 gauge.

[charlie cleveland]

that 2 1/4 ounce is a good load...I load this load and 2 1/2 ounce load the 2 1/2 ounce of no 6 lead is my turkey loads im using this year....tried 3 ounce load but it did not pattern well with no 6 does ok with bb and no 2....... charlie

....

[Jim McKee]

Sad these shotguns cannot be used (legally) for waterfowling
Jim

[Milton C Starr]

Charlie I rolled some #5s for the 10 ga this morning. If the #2s and 4s are anything to go by I think the 5s should work fairly well in the 8 and 10 ga so I should be covered for most small game and turkey.

For the 8 ga you technically do have 125 species of waterfowl not protected by the migratory bird act which outlawed the 8 gauge for most waterfowl. Finding one of those 125 birds not covered by it though is a different challenge :rotf: Some northern states do protect invasive species I still havnt figured out why though.

[charlie cleveland]

those 5 s will knock a turkey out of his tracks...ha I would roll some 5 s but aint got none at the moment....were I get my shot they aint got much of a selection guess I need to start ordering it....some day I m gona order some of those tss no 9 s and try it in my old single barrel 8 ga davenport it has some choke left in it my other 8 s have no choke s cut barrels...the hunters using these old 8 ga s must have thought they needed trimming....I bet 3 ounces of no 9 shot would be some thing...charlie

[Milton C Starr]

those 5 s will knock a turkey out of his tracks...ha I would roll some 5 s but aint got none at the moment....were I get my shot they aint got much of a selection guess I need to start ordering it....some day I m gona order some of those tss no 9 s and try it in my old single barrel 8 ga davenport it has some choke left in it my other 8 s have no choke s cut barrels...the hunters using these old 8 ga s must have thought they needed trimming....I bet 3 ounces of no 9 shot would be some thing...charlie

Charlie I ordered these 5s from BPI https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Nickel-Plated-lead-shot-5-31mm122-11lbs/productinfo/NP05/ . I had planned on ordering some #2s or 4s since it was all I could find in stock then when I checked BPI they had some 5s in stock again.

Charlie a 3oz load of 9s would be 1755 pellets :shock: throw in a spreader insert and youd have a nasty quail load :whistle: . Im not planning on shooting anything that heavy 2 1/4oz seems to be a good payload range for the 8 ga though.


Charlie I plan to do some patterning at 20yards since I would like to do some raccoon hunting and 20 yards is going to be around your max range here for them.

[charlie cleveland]

them see thru Winchester loads really look good....at 20 yards that raccoon is gona be buzzard bait....ha pelt will be hard to patch up them holes in....meat will be hard to eat with all that lead in it...charlie

[Cory Rams]

Those loads look awesome! Wish someone made clear 10 gauge hulls. I finally got my hands on 5 pounds of #5’s copper plated lead yesterday. Figured I would try it in my my 1873 Charles Daly 10 gauge SXS with my load I used last year for turkeys. A 100 grain of FG, a 1/4” nitro card, a 1 5/8oz payload, an overshot card, and a 4 pin roll crimp. I’ve used 2 oz of #5’s for decades in my modern 10…a browning gold National Wild Turkey federation gun. Both federal and Winchester 2oz #5’s pattern close to the same. No matter what choke I use in it every 2 1/4oz load I have tried with the the exception of the long discontinued Remington 2 1/4oz #6 load would not pattern as well as a 2 oz load in all three browning golds and H&R turkey rifle. All factory loads tested only of course. Wish I had some nickel plated shot to try but the copper plated will have to do. I just got my hands on a bag of SP10 wads and X10x gas seals. To bad the only powders I have will only work up to 2oz loads or I’d load up some 2 1/4oz or more loads to try. That #4 pattern is impressive at 40 yards! What kind of 10 gauge are you using? Didn’t see it listed in your post. The T shot penetration doesn’t surprise me. I still have some the original heavy shot factory loads in 10 and 12 gauge. Four years ago i was out at farm where coyotes were coming in and killing calves on a consistent basis. I called in and shot a coyote at 109 yards with a Remington HD 3” BB load that morning. Broke two of its legs with the shot and bloodied it up pretty good. I was calling and it hung up. It was coyote #4 for the morning in the same area and guessing he started figuring out what was going on because he hung up far enough out that he thought he was safe. I knew the coyote was out too far. I guessed it was around 80 yards so I took a Hail Mary and aimed a foot over its head and let the gun fly. I dropped it instantly. About two minutes later into my calling the yote literally came back to life and took three tries at belling rolling around. It got up to start dragging itself away at a snails pace. I shot twice again but I must have not connected as it kept dragging itself away. My buddy who was our 20 yards away facing the other direction immediately came over and finished it off with his rifle. The HD BB is tough stuff. I have a few rounds left of it in tripple B and T as well. I normally wait till the average yote is within 25 yards before pulling the trigger so it’s not a common practice to shoot that far. But I can tell you if it connects in the right spot it will get the job done.

[Wayne Owens]

Milton,
I am curious as to how many grains of BlueDot you are using in both your 8 and 10 gauge loads?

[Milton C Starr]

Milton,
I am curious as to how many grains of BlueDot you are using in both your 8 and 10 gauge loads?

34grs in the 10 ga 45grs 8 ga.

I did the math wrong on my F shot load it put 38/48 pellets on paper with the 8 gauge instead of the 38/54. 54 pellets is the T shot.

[Milton C Starr]

The shotcups I made are going to need some adjustments they were putting the whole pattern in a 3-4" group you could see the wad was just starting to open. I couldnt ever find the shotcups they went through the plywood and kept on going.

[Milton C Starr]

Those loads look awesome! Wish someone made clear 10 gauge hulls. I finally got my hands on 5 pounds of #5’s copper plated lead yesterday. Figured I would try it in my my 1873 Charles Daly 10 gauge SXS with my load I used last year for turkeys. A 100 grain of FG, a 1/4” nitro card, a 1 5/8oz payload, an overshot card, and a 4 pin roll crimp. I’ve used 2 oz of #5’s for decades in my modern 10…a browning gold National Wild Turkey federation gun. Both federal and Winchester 2oz #5’s pattern close to the same. No matter what choke I use in it every 2 1/4oz load I have tried with the the exception of the long discontinued Remington 2 1/4oz #6 load would not pattern as well as a 2 oz load in all three browning golds and H&R turkey rifle. All factory loads tested only of course. Wish I had some nickel plated shot to try but the copper plated will have to do. I just got my hands on a bag of SP10 wads and X10x gas seals. To bad the only powders I have will only work up to 2oz loads or I’d load up some 2 1/4oz or more loads to try. That #4 pattern is impressive at 40 yards! What kind of 10 gauge are you using? Didn’t see it listed in your post. The T shot penetration doesn’t surprise me. I still have some the original heavy shot factory loads in 10 and 12 gauge. Four years ago i was out at farm where coyotes were coming in and killing calves on a consistent basis. I called in and shot a coyote at 109 yards with a Remington HD 3” BB load that morning. Broke two of its legs with the shot and bloodied it up pretty good. I was calling and it hung up. It was coyote #4 for the morning in the same area and guessing he started figuring out what was going on because he hung up far enough out that he thought he was safe. I knew the coyote was out too far. I guessed it was around 80 yards so I took a Hail Mary and aimed a foot over its head and let the gun fly. I dropped it instantly. About two minutes later into my calling the yote literally came back to life and took three tries at belling rolling around. It got up to start dragging itself away at a snails pace. I shot twice again but I must have not connected as it kept dragging itself away. My buddy who was our 20 yards away facing the other direction immediately came over and finished it off with his rifle. The HD BB is tough stuff. I have a few rounds left of it in tripple B and T as well. I normally wait till the average yote is within 25 yards before pulling the trigger so it’s not a common practice to shoot that far. But I can tell you if it connects in the right spot it will get the job done.

The reason I bought the F shot is it was highly recommended by some predator hunters. They shoot alot of the HTL shots but the BPI nickel plated Fs are a good alternative. Before I got into doubles I owned a few 10 ga 3.5" magnums best lead turkey load I found in the 10 magnum was the Winchester 2oz of #5s at 1300 fps. I also used a bit of the Remington 2 1/4oz #4s for squirrels.

That #4 pattern is out of my 6 frame NH 10 ga, I believe its choked full/full but Id have to look to be sure. Going back and looking what surprises me is the point of aim is about dead on with the point of impact. Every pump action I ever owned the poi and poa were usually way different.

I just got in a order of nickel plated 5s from BPI think it was $58 and $15 for shipping these are up next in the 10 and 8 gauge.
I really like the clear hulls for when im loading buckshot so I can get each pellet positioned how I want. I wish Winchester would use the plastic in these industrial hulls in other gauges, perhaps sell them as a reloading component only.

[Milton C Starr]

them see thru Winchester loads really look good....at 20 yards that raccoon is gona be buzzard bait....ha pelt will be hard to patch up them holes in....meat will be hard to eat with all that lead in it...charlie

Charlie I figure for meat just head shot them, Charlie at least in my neck of the woods when it comes to selling the pelt they toss the pelt and bbq the rest.

[Milton C Starr]

Found this penetration chart.

[charlie cleveland]

some good penetration on those loads I guess bb is my favorite shot size ....use to see bb and no 2 on the boxes of shells for turkeys.....them old blue peters paper hull 10 ga were my favorite....can not legally use bb for turkey now but I ve got some no 2 layed out .....charlie

[Milton C Starr]

some good penetration on those loads I guess bb is my favorite shot size ....use to see bb and no 2 on the boxes of shells for turkeys.....them old blue peters paper hull 10 ga were my favorite....can not legally use bb for turkey now but I ve got some no 2 layed out .....charlie

Probably could in Florida I mean if you can legally shoot them there with a 300 win mag, BB shouldn't cause a stir lol.

Charlie I was testing my heat treated shot using a scale to determine how much force it takes to flatten different pellets. The untreated Fs were 45lbs of force to flatten and the treated ones even at 80lbs they were barely marred. The nickel plated #5s I tried heat treating but it doesn't work on them. From my reading heat treating lead depends on the arsenic content of your particular lead. I find it Interesting how doing this you can get the hardness of linotype but without the brittleness.

Charlie Hornady still makes a 12 ga lead bb load its called coyote magnum or something like that. The heaviest load I see for the 12 ga even up to 3.5" with the F shot is 1 3/4oz. Makes me wonder if that's all that will fit in a 12 ga. For the 2 1/4oz 8 ga loads the F shot requires 1/4" less fiber wadding compared to #5s.