12 gauge 7/8 ounce load effectiveness
 

I went over to the range this afternoon and put the left barrel of my DHE 12ga straight grip 30" Titanic bbls on paper to see how it was actually performing with a 7/8 ounce load of magnum 8's. Barrel has a choke constriction of .038.

The load was AA hull, Fiochhi 616 (209 type) primer, 16.5 grains of Red Dot, Claybuster brand copy of Win AA12SL wad, 7/8 ounce of Lawrence brand magnum 8 shot. (My MEC 7/8 bar throws slightly heavy, 29/32 of ounce when weighed, 385 #8 pellets)

The pattern at 40 yards was 318 out of 385 pellets in a 30" circle for 82.57% I deliberately held low for this shot because the gun is stocked for trap shooting and it shoots a high point of aim.

Not much is going to get away from this 7/8 load out to 40 yards. If you have not tried shooting clays with a 7/8 ounce load in a 12ga you should give it a try as they really perform well, give much less recoil and stretch a bag of shot a little further.

http://i269.photobucket.com/albums/j...psbb44dde0.jpg

good pattern pete..a fellow can load several shells useing only 16.5 grains of powder...the old8 ga needs at least 30 to 50 grains depending on powder type used.so a 1 lb of powder dont last to long...this new load for the 12 looks to be a good hunting load... charlie

7/8 is all I load in a 12 and have never felt handicapped except by my own poor shooting. That's a great pattern. No flyers and an even distribution.

Welcome to the world of light but effective shot charges Pete. If you get a chance to load up some 3/4oz. you would be amazed at the pattern and total lack of recoil out of a 12. I have some patterns shot with my VH's ranging from .010 to .034. I'll dig them up and post them when I find them. What with the cost of lead these days they are a real money/lead saver.

Daryl I have been shooting 7/8 and a few 3/4 ounce 12ga loads for a few years now. The DHE I shot the pattern with is a gun I have been using for trap shooting for a couple of years. I was always impressed with quality of the target breaks using 7/8 ounce of 8 through the left barrel as I prefer the feel of the back trigger for singles. I had never patterned this gun before today and was very pleased with results and I wanted to share them.

Same here Pete. My double trap has a ball grip and the back trigger feels much more comfortable when shooting singles. Who needs one of them fancy SBT's.:)

I have shot 1 1/8, 1, 7/8, and 3/4 oz loads at trap and 1 and 7/8 oz loads at skeet and The only difference is recoil- not score. I don't think much of reducing pay load as a means of saving money but I like it a LOT from the comfort standpoint. Find another way to save money.

For trap I use them in either a VH or a SBT SC. Both guns like the light loads a lot. Patterns are superb. And they destroy targets when I do my part.

Jeff, although the cost savings between 1 1/8 and 7/8 ounce traps loads is only 75 cents a box, getting more loads out of a jug of powder and a bag of shot is a good thing in this time of component shortages. I can get almost 15 more boxes of shells out of an 8lb jug of Red Dot using 7/8 and 4 more boxes of shells out of a 25lb bag of shot vs. 1 1/8 loadings. The lower recoil of the lighter loads is better for the gun and less fatigue for the shooter.

Looks like a win/win/win situation for your pocketbook, your shoulder and your gun.

I like the lighter loads for the reduced recoil and they break targets just as well maybe better than the heavier loads due to better pattern density. BUT if you think your saveing money on the increased number of shells per bag offset that with the increased use of primers and wads. I think the cost saveings in dollars is very small.

The savings per box however large or small is easily and quickly calculated using an on-line reloading cost calculator, link below. Obviously the cost per box varies depending on the cost of components we each pay. Presently for me a box of 7/8 ounce 12ga reloads costs 75 cents less per box of 25 vs 1 1/8 ounce loading. Your milage may vary.

http://www.trapshooters.com/rlcalcadv.htm

Rich, the only increase in primers and wads is more shells loaded. :banghead: It's good to know I'm not the only crazy old fart in Michigan.:bigbye:

Pete, thanks for the link - but I can't get it to work. I filled out the top part - couldn't see how to do the bottom. Hit calculate and a bunch of junk came up. I've been reloading 3/4oz shells for about a year now and have found no difference than when shooting 7/8 or 1oz loads. A fellow at our club who shoots register trap tried the 3/4oz loads and claimed they didn't shoot as high as his 1oz loads. I've never pattered mine because I've been doing so good with them I'm afraid to. Ya that's stupid, but if I can break SC's targets out to 40/45yds hard, I don't want to know. I just got this old rusty beat up 10ga 1882 Rem hammergun and using Gaugemates to shoot 12ga 3/4oz loads I've been shooting some of my best scores, and it has over .030 chokes. Since I had the chambers of both guns opened to 2 7/8", tomorrow I'm gonna try my Parker 10ga lifter with the Gaugemates - hope I do as good. Both guns are about the same except the Parker looks a lot nicer seeing how someone before me had the damascus barrels redone. It's fun to shoot 3/4oz through a 10ga.

You fill out the top part of the calculator with cost and amount and number of grains of powder, cost of shot, weight of payload, primers and wads cost and amount and hit calculate. The "junk" is the cost info of the load. You can do it with or without hull cost. If you want shoot me your cost/amount/weight data and I will tell you what it comes up with.

Pete, I can't get the calculator to work either.

I am not sure where folks are encountering problems with the reloading calculator, it is working fine for me. Below is a snapshot of what it returned for me on my cost for a box of 25 12ga 7/8 ounce load ($4.12). Hopefully this will provide clues as to what was not entered correctly. It could be an issue with the web browser one is using. I did this with IE 8.

pete this price of 4.12 a box is that by already having your own hulls.. and that is a good price for a box of shells..about the cheapest factory load at wal mart is 6.00 a box..quite a bit of savings... charlie

That is without the cost of the hull, I have thousands of them in my basement from my years of active ATA trap shooting so it will be a very long time before I buy any hulls.

When I added a cost of $7 per hundred hulls and 6 reloads per hull the cost of a box of 25 7/8 ounce loads is $4.41 using current prices on components I am paying this year.

If I increase the payload to 1 ounce cost goes to $4.78 a box with that hull cost.

If I increase the payload to 1 1/8 ounce and increase powder charge for it the cost comes to $5.16 a box buying hulls for .07 a piece.

I wasn't hitting the right key - the "calculate" isn't on the bottom but about 1/2 way down the gray area. I was clicking on the very bottom - and that was wrong.

Paul, thanks I was also clicking on the bottom, now it works

I had to " bookmark " the page - when I tried to save it by clicking on what they said to do all I got was a page with a picture. Now I can go to it whenever I like.

My calculated savings on loading 7/8oz vs. 1oz. For target shooting is about 25 cents per box. I have not noticed any difference in effectiveness when it comes to breaking them.

I dragged out my homemade Excel spreadsheet to check out the savings. It's been a while since I used it - Shot was $13 a bag!. Updating it, I figure that reducing shot from 1 oz to 7/8 oz. would save me a buck a box

The "savings" in 7/8 and 3/4 oz. 12-bore loads is not so much monetary as it is physical. My shoulder feels better... and I know my gun does. The targets still break. And we're giving a break to some grand old guns...