Hi All,

Has anyone found better performance - with more payload hitting the target downrange - with LARGER shot size?

I usually use #6 but inadvertently picked up a box of #5 shot this spring, which I blame on my aging eyes. Serendipity at work - after running a test between #5 and #6, I'll be damned but the #5 drastically outperforms the #6. I'm getting a better pattern with no holes larger than 2", more hits and much higher percentage (almost 55% in an 8x11 target) of the #5 payload at 40 yards.

It's also a bit bizarre, largely because I've always used Winchester ammo in this gun and the pattern has always been slightly better when the barrel is a little dirty. I can honestly say that the #5 really love a clean barrel and performance tanks quickly with a dirty barrel. So I've actually switched from using #6 Longbeard in a dirty barrel to #5 Longbeard in a clean barrel - and actually seeing MORE pellets downrange. I never thought I would see more hits with #5 than #6 at 40 yards...

Considering I've run almost every commercial turkey load made since 2000 through that barrel (including those Hornady loads that should be outlawed) - I'm hypothesizing this new resin technology by Winchester really has changed the game.