It all depends on the gun you are shooting....ive always used teh remigton 11-87...full choke--copper plated 3 in. 00 buckshot worked the best putting 8-10 pellets in a 20" x 20" target at 50 yards..lead 00 did not work nearly as well as copper plated..recently i bought a winchester supreme over/under...put the top barrel full n bottom modified and that gun put 9-11 pellets in about a 12 in. spread at 50 yards...that was also copper plated 00...lead worked good but it didnt have the tight pattern like copper plated did...you just have to try different rounds and different chokes i patterned both guns with every type of buckshot i could htink of until i found what shot the best...