Quote:
Originally Posted by Drew Hause
1220 fps 3' from muzzle is 665 fps at 40 yds.
1400 fps 3' from muzzle is 691 fps at 40 yds.
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Drew, I presume those figures are for lead shot but you didn't cite the shot size(s).
Smaller shot will "bleed off" speed more rapidly than larger shot.
Also, bismuth shot is about 0.8X the density of lead and thus a bismuth pellet will lose speed at a faster rate than a lead pellet of the exact same diameter. Who has figures comparing the same pellet diameter of bismuth, ITX, TM and lead, at the same muzzle speed, along with their respective 40/50/60 yard speeds?
The bottom line for me is to use TM which is about as dense as lead, and to use the same payload and velocity as we did 30 years ago. I'll make an exception with lighter loads of bismuth for closer work and decoyed birds but I'll let longer range birds pass without shooting if that's what I have in the gun and there's not enough time to switch shells.
We usually only hear about the day's bag. When was the last time someone posted how many birds were feathered, crippled and lost with light loads that were overstretched?