Which Shotgun for buckshot ?

[Huntsmans Bane]

I'd look to a moderately priced OU such as a CZ or Yildiz. You can add sights, if desired, to the rib and you have two choke choices which can also contain two different sizes of Buckshot. I.E., 000 & 00, or maybe #1 and 00.

You're now able to have a load for up to 30 yards and a better one for perhaps out to 40-50 yards.

Added: I forgot to mention, you may also want to use one barrel with a good slug and the second for the best buckshot load. You can utilize the barrel selector or double triggers to use which load is most appropriate.

 

[archer36]

Browning made a series of 425 OUs with 3.5" chambers. I missed out on one and keeping an eye out on the 2nd hand market.

Scrummy

I can't imagine the recoil on that gun. It's bad enough on my gas operated semi- auto.

 

[Forrest Halley]

I'd look to a moderately priced OU such as a CZ or Yildiz. You can add sights, if desired, to the rib and you have two choke choices which can also contain two different sizes of Buckshot. I.E., 000 & 00, or maybe #1 and 00.

You're now able to have a load for up to 30 yards and a better one for perhaps out to 40-50 yards.

Added: I forgot to mention, you may also want to use one barrel with a good slug and the second for the best buckshot load. You can utilize the barrel selector or double triggers to use which load is most appropriate.

Most any shotgun will pattern at 30 yards. Most decent shotguns will get you an effective pattern with factory chokes at 50 yards. The key is figuring the hold and not flinching and throwing the pattern off.

Sights are a very good idea for any kind of longer distance shotgunning. It makes holds repeatable and it amazing how much more consistent patterns get when we improve upon the vent rib or bead.

I don't really care for having different chokes in different barrels in the gun and having to think about it when I fire. I have successfully done it with double triggers, but the one choke constriction just makes sense.

I thought about the Charles Daly Triple threat as a potential hunting shotgun since you'd have three very quick shots without even waiting for an action to cycle or having a reciprocation of mass. I'd essentially end up with a 3 shot shotgun that I'd need to buy three buckshot chokes for. Since it's a single trigger I'm going to have to fire the barrels in some particular order every time so I feel my ability to pick and choose goes away quickly.

I can't imagine the recoil on that gun. It's bad enough on my gas operated semi- auto.

I don't think it's something that you're going to shoot several boxes of shells through each day hunting. I have often found that a semiautomatic that kicks hard is worse than another action because the impulse is longer and less clean of a hit to the shoulder pocket.

 

[BeeMaa]

I can't imagine the recoil on that gun. It's bad enough on my gas operated semi- auto.

Waterfowl loads out of an O/U aren't that bad compared to a gas or inertia drive. The added weight of the double barrels helps mitigate some of the felt recoil. I've shot several hundred goose loads from a Browning Cynergy (3.5" chambers) O/U and my SBE3 and of the two, I much prefer the inertia drive of the Benelli along with the ability to carry 3 shells instead of 2.

For comparison sake I made a few short videos on YT of me shooting the exact same load from three different kinds of shotguns; gas, inertia and O/U. Here's one of them so you can be the judge.

 

[Scrumbag]

I shall watch that video with interest.

Just checked we can get the Browning Cynergy and 525 Game One over here with 3.5” chambers…

Add LPA sights for Buck / slugs….

LPA Ghilardi

www.lpasights.com

 

[mark-hunter]

I am ashamed to say, I never shot 3'' shell from my O/U (chambered in 3inch), never felt a need for it... always shooting 2-3/4.

 

[Doug Hamilton]

I will be changing to using buckshot for deer hunting is there any shotgun you have experienced that gives you the best patterns. What choke works best for you?
Can you tell any difference in barrel length?
Is the aftermarket cokes that much better?
I will be using a 12 gauge
Would it be worth going to a 3.5" gun?
I know these are questions that are opinions but I would like to here from someone with real experience

While I prefer a s/s for upland birds, most anything you want a shotgun for can be handled with a Remington 870. Get one with 3" chambers and shoot either 3" or 2 3/4". I have two.of them and 4 barrels. I worked in the prison system for many years, and we trained with 870s and 00 buck. The chokes were cylinder bore. We were told that the open choke was required for buck shot and I never felt a need to experiment with my own shotguns. The one I keep for home or camp defence has a 20" barrel and a cylinder bore choke. Friends of mine in Belize use the same set-up for whitetail, peccary and gibnut (paca). You can add a peep sight, red dot or scope as you prefer. These things and the mounts are readily available for the 870.

 

[mark-hunter]

What is effective range for buckshot and cylinder bore, in hunting?

 

[BeeMaa]

What is effective range for buckshot and cylinder bore, in hunting?

Depends on the load and barrel length but it should be pattern tested if you plan on hunting with it.

3" 00-BUCK shells typically have 12 (lead) pellets. Getting even some of them into an 8" circle at 50 yards with a CYL choke with any consistency would be a real accomplishment. I'd expect a pattern of at least 24-30 inches. Doing the same on a whitetail deer and expecting a clean harvest...might not turn out that way.

Not pattern testing your shotgun would be like showing up on safari with a rifle/scope combo that was bore sighted at the store and expecting the best results.

 

[mark-hunter]

Got that! Thanks!

 

[archer36]

I was experimenting with my Franchi Alcione T, O/U. I was patterning it to use on Turkey. I figured two choke options may be beneficial. I used 3" 1 1/2 oz of shot. The kick was harsh. As much or more than my semi-auto with 3.5 inch shells. My Beretta A390 is much softer recoiling with the same 3" load I used in the Franchi.
If you are going to shoot 3.5", use a gas operated semi or you are just looking to punish yourself with a double gun.
Just my opinion.

 

[Forrest Halley]

While I prefer a s/s for upland birds, most anything you want a shotgun for can be handled with a Remington 870. Get one with 3" chambers and shoot either 3" or 2 3/4". I have two.of them and 4 barrels. I worked in the prison system for many years, and we trained with 870s and 00 buck. The chokes were cylinder bore. We were told that the open choke was required for buck shot and I never felt a need to experiment with my own shotguns. The one I keep for home or camp defence has a 20" barrel and a cylinder bore choke. Friends of mine in Belize use the same set-up for whitetail, peccary and gibnut (paca). You can add a peep sight, red dot or scope as you prefer. These things and the mounts are readily available for the 870.

Law enforcement and military shotguns and buckshot loads are horrible datum points to gauge the effective range of a shotgun or buckshot. With that bead sight we're holding on belt buckle trying to hold the pattern in the rectangle of shoulders to waist at 25 yards with a standard 9 pellet 00B load from a cylinder bore. Every shotgun I take hunting can do that at forty yards with ease. Rifle sights were an absolute blessing on that type of shotgun. At least then you could have a hold that made some form of sense.

What is effective range for buckshot and cylinder bore, in hunting?

If you're willing to go with a smaller shot size like 1B or 4B and go up to a 3" payload you can get nice full patterns out to 30-40 yards. If you use Flitecontrol buckshot you can possibly extend to fifty yards or greater depending on your gun and having a sighting system to properly index the pattern on target. Sights are important for consistency at distance. Single bead is so far off target that it doesn't provide a repeatable index of the gun.

I was experimenting with my Franchi Alcione T, O/U. I was patterning it to use on Turkey. I figured two choke options may be beneficial. I used 3" 1 1/2 oz of shot. The kick was harsh. As much or more than my semi-auto with 3.5 inch shells. My Beretta A390 is much softer recoiling with the same 3" load I used in the Franchi.
If you are going to shoot 3.5", use a gas operated semi or you are just looking to punish yourself with a double gun.
Just my opinion.

Pacmayr makes some wonderful recoil pads. It's hunting and you're shooting only a few rounds at an animal or two. I'd not get too concerned with the recoil unless it was concussive.

 

[cajunchefray]

I have been hunting Chital deer, Kakar deer and jungle boars quite a bit, by employing buckshot. I personally prefer a 12 Gauge 3 "Magnum sidelock ejector side by side, which was built in 1932 by Janssen Freres in Belgium. The barrels are 32 " long and both barrels are improved cylinder Choke.
View attachment 446512View attachment 446513
I used to prefer Sellier & Bellot "Red Hare" paper cased 2.75 " 35 gram eight pellet LG shells in the past. Each LG pellet has a diameter of 9.14mm and is the equivalent of American OOO Buck. Unfortunately, Sellier & Bellot discontinued manufacturing shotgun shells loaded with any shot size larger than SG/OO Buck a few years ago.
View attachment 446514View attachment 446515

I currently use Federal Premium 3 " Magnum Copper plated ten pellet OOO Buck shells.
View attachment 446516View attachment 446517

In regards to chokes, this is a very technical subject area. Buckshot which is unbuffered and uses a fiber wad, should be used only in open choked shotguns (such as cylinder or improved cylinder). Otherwise the tight chokes will cause the buckshot pellets to get deformed while passing through the barrel and your pattern will be erratic. Buckshot which is buffered and protected by a plastic wad can be used in even tightly choked shotguns (such as full or extra full), often with good results (i.e tight patterns).

I personally prefer side by side shotguns, but any format (be it over & under, pump action, semi automatic or single barrel) may be used for safely shooting buckshot. The platform is of no consequence. But side by side or over & under shotguns are more likely to have their barrel soldering eventually get damaged if heavy buckshot is repeatedly fired through them (especially the delicately built English shotguns). For this reason, double barreled shotguns (which you intend to use for shooting buckshot) should always have very strong walls.

In my experience, the bulk of the manufacturers of shotguns discourage using OOO buckshot in shotgun barrels which are choked tighter than improved cylinder. The reason being, that they believe that large buckshot through a tightly choked shotgun barrel will eventually cause a barrel bulge. These manufacturers include:
Winchester
Browning
Fausti
Rizzini
AyA
Grulla Armas
Armas Garbi
Ignacio Zubillaga
Merkel
Savage
Huglu
Baikal
Westley Richards
Watson Brothers
A. A. Brown
Verney Carron
Lebeau Courally (although they might not be manufacturing any new firearms, anyway)

Birmingham proof master, Sam Perry believes that shotguns which are intended for use with heavy Buckshot ... Should not be choked tighter than quarter choke with a good length of the cone leading in.


To the best of my knowledge... Only Beretta, Benelli and Remington (and the original Czech owned BRNO) encourage the use of OOO Buck in fully choked shotguns.

You definitely don't need a 12 Gauge with 3.5 " Super Magnum chambers. The recoil is absolutely beastly. But if you must get one, then the Benelli Super Black Eagle 3 is the greatest 3.5" Super Magnum shotgun ever to be made.

3 "Magnum chambers are far more reasonable and practical. And I've never found 3 " Magnum shells to be lacking in any department.

Very useful information. I'm testing 3" 12-gauge OO buck in a Huglu side by side. I have a variety of choke tubes. I will be testing Imp Cylinder for this test *(my gut feeling) but good to know based upon others real world experience.

 

[archer36]

Law enforcement and military shotguns and buckshot loads are horrible datum points to gauge the effective range of a shotgun or buckshot. With that bead sight we're holding on belt buckle trying to hold the pattern in the rectangle of shoulders to waist at 25 yards with a standard 9 pellet 00B load from a cylinder bore. Every shotgun I take hunting can do that at forty yards with ease. Rifle sights were an absolute blessing on that type of shotgun. At least then you could have a hold that made some form of sense.

If you're willing to go with a smaller shot size like 1B or 4B and go up to a 3" payload you can get nice full patterns out to 30-40 yards. If you use Flitecontrol buckshot you can possibly extend to fifty yards or greater depending on your gun and having a sighting system to properly index the pattern on target. Sights are important for consistency at distance. Single bead is so far off target that it doesn't provide a repeatable index of the gun.

Pacmayr makes some wonderful recoil pads. It's hunting and you're shooting only a few rounds at an animal or two. I'd not get too concerned with the recoil unless it was concussive.

True. Recoil is only felt when patterning. That's what I said I was doing. Shooting a round or two in the heat of the moment goes unnoticed. When patterning, you are shooting many rounds and usually with little or no padding. You may have lots of clothing on to take the edge off when actually hunting. We all could live with recoil. It's a matter of choice.

 

[Forrest Halley]

3" 00-BUCK shells typically have 12 (lead) pellets. Getting even some of them into an 8" circle at 50 yards with a CYL choke with any consistency would be a real accomplishment.

Incorrect. 15 pellets is the standard for 3" 00B. 12 pellets is often found in a 00B 2¾" magnum load. Winchester Double X Supreme got weird and dropped pellets off the standard loadings to increase speed, but it suffers blown out patterns from my testing in 14" cylinder bore. Who else is loading 12 pellets of 00B in factory loadings?

True. Recoil is only felt when patterning. That's what I said I was doing. Shooting a round or two in the heat of the moment goes unnoticed. When patterning, you are shooting many rounds and usually with little or no padding. You may have lots of clothing on to take the edge off when actually hunting. We all could live with recoil. It's a matter of choice.

I'm not saying recoil is only felt when patterning sir and perhaps it's even a bit of a stretch to say when it matters as there are situations in the field where it matters such as shooting from a tree stand while standing. I have had such concerns as I am not the heaviest built. I have felt recoil while hunting mainly due to the fact that shoot enough that I'm very familiar with my gun before I go afield. I feel the hit and I'm cycling that action to shoot again.

Personally I wear a recoil pad when doing pattern testing as I don't want to throw off a shot due to a flinch or get a tender shoulder unnecessarily. There's a time for that IMHO and it's after the gun and load is dialled in. If we're trying to be he-man and take the big hit with grace and get the load dialed in all at once it makes for a very short period of effectiveness. In this case I am talking about deer or turkey hunting where we're firing a maximum of maybe six shots in a day as opposed to waterfowl hunting where one might see a bit more.

 

[BeeMaa]

Incorrect. 15 pellets is the standard for 3" 00B. 12 pellets is often found in a 00B 2¾" magnum load. Winchester Double X Supreme got weird and dropped pellets off the standard loadings to increase speed, but it suffers blown out patterns from my testing in 14" cylinder bore. Who else is loading 12 pellets of 00B in factory loadings?

You are 100% right…15 pellets, not 12 in 3” 00-BUCK. Not sure how I fat fingered that in.

For those that don’t know, @Forrest Halley has a veritable plethora of buckshot information. My specialty is more along the lines of wing shooting waterfowl, upland birds and turkey.

 

[Forrest Halley]

You are 100% right…15 pellets, not 12 in 3” 00-BUCK. Not sure how I fat fingered that in.

For those that don’t know, @Forrest Halley has a veritable plethora of buckshot information. My specialty is more along the lines of wing shooting waterfowl, upland birds and turkey.

I figured you had bought that high dollar Winchester load and loved it in your SBE3...
Or that someone else had followed them down that road in the name of progress. It surely would not surprise me.

You'd be amazed at the odd stuff you'll find from time to time. Herters made some really neat concept buckshot shells like the a new take on the old buck and ball and a reduced length loading of 00B, but I think that's all done away with now. I found a link to it: Herters Multi Defense
All of this was prior to the Aguila Mini shells and Federal short shells.

 

[BeeMaa]

I figured you had bought that high dollar Winchester load and loved it in your SBE3...
Or that someone else had followed them down that road in the name of progress. It surely would not surprise me.

You'd be amazed at the odd stuff you'll find from time to time. Herters made some really neat concept buckshot shells like the a new take on the old buck and ball and a reduced length loading of 00B, but I think that's all done away with now. I found a link to it: Herters Multi Defense
All of this was prior to the Aguila Mini shells and Federal short shells.

Never used BUCK shot in the Benelli, but I will say that the Beretta 1301 is so smooth shooting it. The Holosun optic along with the gas system and ergonomics made it a pleasure to shoot with super quick split times. I would have liked to timed the drill because it was wicked fast.

 

[Scrumbag]

Never used BUCK shot in the Benelli, but I will say that the Beretta 1301 is so smooth shooting it. The Holosun optic along with the gas system and ergonomics made it a pleasure to shoot with super quick split times. I would have liked to timed the drill because it was wicked fast.

I do find an optic helpful.

Scrummy

 

[BeeMaa]

I do find an optic helpful.

Scrummy

This is my current piece and it works great. What are you using?