The individual pellets in a load of lead 4s will kill way out there but I have rarely encounted a shotgun that would produce what I called a good pattern with lead 4s at 40 yards. Never seen one that produced a good lead 4 pattern at 50.
This is the catch 22 situation of lead. Lead 4s and 5s will kill way out there if a pellet hits the right spot. But the patterns start falling apart badly at 35 yards. Lead 6s can get you a good pattern to 40 yards with the right gun and choke but at 40 yards you are on the edge of their consistently lethal range. At 50, you are beyond it.
That's where the denser than lead stuff comes in. First it out patterns lead and not just by a little bit. Second it penetrates better so you can shoot smaller shot and stay lethal farther out. Smaller sized shot means more pellets inside the shell and therefore denser patterns. Denser than lead 6 shot in Hevi-13, Wichester Extended range or the custom Nitros will kill to 50 yards and with the right choke maintain a killing pattern to that range. Good chokes for this shot are the Heavy-13 chokes, Primos Jellyhead, Rhino, and Indian Creek BDS.
Last edited by Todd1700; 09-02-2012 at 01:52 PM.