A common concern among competition shooters is shot shell selection. Especially in these days of shortages it can be a difficult task to choose which ammo to buy if your preferred shell is unavailable or if you are a new shooter, what to even look for. I have spent a lot of time and money buying and shooting all kinds of different shotgun shells and have narrowed my criteria to a few key attributes that I look for. Below I review those attributes and explain why they are important to me.
Antimony
If your goal is to kill birds then this doesn’t matter so much but in the clay target sports the hardness of the shot is the most important attribute you can consider when selecting a shot shell. When the shot is forced out of any constriction it is subject to a high degree of compressive energy, if the shot isn’t hard enough it can deform and cause erratic patterns. Hard shot tends to make it out of the barrel in its original shape, this makes for consistent, repeatable patterns. At distances exceeding 40-50 yard not only do you need a good pattern to break the target but you need that shot to transfer all of its energy into it. With softer leads, some of that energy is absorbed by deformation on impact, or deflections. That’s what happens when you see a target get “dusted.”
Since alloys like tungsten and bismuth are cost preventative and not allowed in most target sports, the percentage of antimony in the lead shot is what determines its hardness. From brand to brand this percentage ranges from 0% to as high as 8% with most budget loads having about 2% and most high end tournament loads having around 6%. Some brands advertise chilled or treated shot which may make for harder shot but does not substitute for antimony. There are even plated shot, copper, chrome, and nickel. These tend to perform pretty well but are often paired with high antimony lead so its effect is likely minimal but great for marketing. The first thing I look for in a shot shell is its antimony content.
Shot shape
Hard shot makes for good patterns only when it’s round. If it starts off deformed your patterns simply won’t be consistent and if the shot is a bunch of different sizes then there are even more variables. Many brands advertise “select” or “filtered” shot and I have found these claims to be mostly true. These brands usually have a transparent hull showing off their beautiful shot, but be aware they are usually softer lead alloys.
Some manufactures have special ways of making their shot so round, from huge shot towers to elaborate polishing processes. These processes are a huge cost burden on the manufactures and require a lot of effort, If they don’t advertise how they make their shot round then they probably don’t. If you’re not sure then it’s a good idea to cut a few shells open and roll the shot around to see if it is truly round and consistent.
Powder Burn Rate
I tend to be a little recoil sensitive shooting a light gun and doing a lot of it, for that reason I seek out shells with a slower burning powder and a modest speed. What I mean by slower burning powder is that the powder ignites at a slower rate inside the barrel. I can tell when I am shooting a fast powder because I get the recoil all at once, SNAP! But with a slower powder the recoil is more of a push. This is not to say that the velocity of the shot is slower and my favorite load right now is a 1275 FPS variety.
Why then do manufactures use fast burning powders? Because they are cleaner. A slow burning powered is dirty and leaves a lot of residue in and on your barrel. In a semi-auto a slow burning powder can really gum up an action in a hurry. It seems like people associate clean burning ammo with high quality ammo and most manufacturers are very aware of that bias. Some compensate for this with specialized wads and internal recoil mitigating mechanisms such as the Gordon Hull.
Wad design
The invention of the plastic wad was one of the most advancing revelations of shotgunning to date. With a soft shot cup to protect the lead and a cushioning column under it, the shot was protected all the way through the barrel and resulted, ultimately, in a huge increase in the shotguns range. Now days Every manufacturer has a plastic wad and each design comes with its pros and cons.
The reason a wad is necessary in the first place is so that it can form a seal between the igniting powder behind it and the walls of the barrel. This creates the pressure that pushes the shot out of the barrel. Apart from a spreader wad they all do about the same thing. As I mentioned earlier some are designed to mitigate recoil as well as protect the shot. The important thing is consistency. When the wad flys out of the barrel its shot cup pedals are supposed to open up and slow it down, separating itself from the payload. If it does this inconstantly then your patterns may suffer although marginally. I like to see the wad traveling in a consistent line behind the shot and I will stay way from two piece wad designs because they will go all over the place. Apart from the visual distraction I just can’t trust that the wad is doing its job.
The Hull and Crimp
Many people prefer to have a reloadable hull, they are high quality, and the shooter can recover some of the cost by reusing it. The composition of the plastic, however, does not impact performance. What does is its shape and its crimp quality.
The crimp plays a bigger roll than simply holding the shot inside of the hull, although that is an important job. The crimp holds everything back for a split second when fired, so that the wads piston action can become activated by the time it leaves the hull and creates that pressure seal as soon as possible. If the crimp is not consistent from shell to shell you are adding another variable to each shot although a very minor variation.
Some cheaper shells have a small flair where they are crimped. This can cause hang ups in semi-autos and pump actions if the flair is too wide. These cheaper shells also tend to have a cheap head and when fired expand slightly requiring more effort to eject introducing more possibilities for failure and undue wear on the gun. These are very small details that can make a huge difference, it’s best to test a few boxes of shells in the gun you are using before making a selection.
Primers
There are many different types of shotgun primers and it turns out they are just as important of a component as anything else. If the primer is too hard you may struggle with reliability in a worn gun and some steel primers are prone to piercing, which can lead to excessive wear and damage to the internals of a shotgun. Even a primers shape can have an impact on performance.
Some high end shells have primers made of copper or brass and you pretty much can’t go wrong with those varieties. Even some mid tier shells have a brass primer. With the softer metal your firing pins will last a lot longer and light strikes almost never happen. If you have a sensitive gun I would recommend looking for shells with these primers.
As I said steel primers tend to pierce but not all of them and most shells use steel. Not all guns are the same either, some will pierce a certain brand and not another. It’s best to test which brand your gun likes. If you run into a light strike problem it may be that your hammer springs need to be replaced and you should switch to a softer primer until you can have your gun serviced.
Finally the Recipe
There is often a debate between #7 1/2 shot and #8 shot and each have their camps. 7 1/2’s are bigger and therefore retain more energy at distance, however because they are bigger there are less of them in the payload. 8’s tend to spread faster but create denser patterns in short ranges. The bottom line is feedback. When you break a short target did you just break it or did you crush it? The shorter, easier targets make up the majority of a tournament, in most cases, and when you can crush them with 8’s it builds confidence that rolls into to the harder presentations.
On the other hand long targets will demand a little more energy. The 7 1/2’s will stay together more at distance and deliver more energy. The density in a 7 1/2 shot pattern of a modified choke at 40 yards is getting close to the density of an 8 shot pattern out of the same choke so the better choice is pretty clear in that case given the retained energy of the 7 1/2 shot. Also some targets such as rabbits will require more energy to break and I always recommend 7 1/2 for those.
Then there is the payload. 1oz or 1 1/8oz? The short answer is, choose the one who’s recoil you can handle. There is no doubt that 1 1/8oz is advantageous over 1oz because there are simply more projectiles, but what gives you the edge in competition is comfort and confidence. If the shell is beating you up then you are not performing at your best and that 1/8oz will never make up for poor performance.
What about speed? Again this is about preference more than anything. I like a speed between 1200fps and 1290fps. I find that there is no shot I can’t make in this speed range and the recoil is always manageable at least. Some say that slower shells make for better patterns but with good antimony content you can push for higher speeds. Avoid high speed cheap shells and most ammo will serve you well at those speeds.
In conclusion, there are so many different kinds of shells and a seemingly infinite combination of components, especially if you consider reloading, but if you stick to high quality shells you will rarely be disappointed. Hopefully this article will help you identify which ammo is best for you and clarify some of the mystery behind the plastic of those little cylinders that seem to be worth their weight in gold.