mrbb

I am just going to throw this out there, after being friends with countless gunsmiths and having a gun shop for yrs!
shooting slugs thru any TIGHT choke can and has damaged MANY shotguns over the yrs, and its been known to happen also with 00 buck shot too,
so,. honestly, I wouldn;t suggest shooting it thru any choke tighter than a modified choke!
YES folks do it, and many have ZERO problems, , BUT you can flip that too, and some HAVE had problems using tight chokes son buckshot and slugs!
your gun, your life, your call
I am just providing INFO, no BASH< or hate here, just giving advice from experiences I know of and have seen when things go wrong!

and I 100% fully agree with the BEST round will be found by TESTING in YOUR gun at ranges you expect to be shooting at, this way you KNOW what shoots best, as accuracy counts more than brand or size of the lead
a round in a NON vital is a round in a non vital, and can result in a lost deer!
doesn't matter the size of it! still have to hit vitals to kill cleanly!

Whitetailturkey01

Where I'm hunting my furthest shot is going to be about 30 yards and its VERY thick with brush so slugs really aren't an option. There's a few spots that are open enough for about 40-50 yard shots but they're few and far between. As for the 65, 80, & 100 yard shots, I don't believe in shooting past 40 yards with buckshot anyway NO matter what choke is in the gun ( even #4 buck thru turkey chokes which I think is just dangerous)

Whitetailturkey01

I cant figure out how to post pictures on here. But heres what I git. The 2.75 inch estate 00 buck patterned HORRIBLE took 2 shots at 30 yards and only got 2 pellets on paper. One was dead center and one was in the bottom left corner. So not this one for deer hunting. The 3 inch remington 00 buck was just as bad. Took 2 shots. The first shot didnt get a single pellet on paper. The second put 3, maybe 4 one might be a double hole in the right side of the target. It had a good pattern but was shooting WAY right. I used to have a saddle mount with a red dot on the gun. Would that change the POI? Also it was pretty windy when I shot. Would the wind affect the big heavy pellets at 30 yards or not? So as of right now the only thing I saw that did pattern good were some remington game loads in 7.5 shot at 20 yards I shot while I was out there. They had a NICE pattern good and uniform. No holes in the pattern at all. Thought about using them for squirrels since they pattern good but may just stick with 6 shot. Anyway those are my results. Looks lime I have to find a different load it like. Might try #1's next for 000 buck. Sorry for the long post but I have one more question. The 000 buck shells i have( just found them the other day) they stick in the chamber when I load them. I have to really muscle them in the chamber. Everything else feeds and rejects fine but they don't. I don't know if it's the chamber or the shells. One or two of them wont even chamber all the way. The ones that do chamber would they be safe to shoot. I'm thinking no because of the pressure but I dont know. I'm scared to shoot them any help would be appreciated with figuring out whats wrong with them. Thanks.

mrbb

what choke are you using?
too tight a choke can constrict things as they leave the barrel and cause erratic patterns, this is why most ammo company's recommend for slugs and buck shot to be in a cylinder/improved cylinder choke, so not to effect them as they leave the bore!( or a rifled choke for slugs)
and NO at 30 yards wind shouldn't effect buck shot, unless its like hurricane winds LOL

Point of aim also will change when you go to different loads, so, every time you switch you may have to fine tune to new round of choice, and this can vary from brand to brand on same size shot in shell!

Whitetailturkey01

I was using a modified choke.

mrbb

if you have a different choke, try that ans see if things get better or worse, , its all about finding out what your gun likes, a combo of choke and ammo/load, every gun can be different, so only true way to know is sending rounds down range inas much of a controlled set up as possible, a good rest consistent ranges and so on!
try enough sooner or later you find the one that works best

Whitetailturkey01

I have a full and improved cylinder choke. I'll try those but I only have 3 remington shells left. Cant find any more no one has them

mrbb

again, I DON":T recommend shooting buck shot or slugs thru a full choke, but do as you feel safe!
and well, Maybe have to buy more, maybe of a different brand to see ?
as if you cannot find more, pattering them is rather MOOT, no, as what will you hunt with if they worked ?? LOL

and to be honest to get a FAIR HONEST assessment of a load, you need to be firing 3 shots and getting a base line from the same rest and position and range IMO!

JUST shooting one, doesn't mean anything to me!, but again, not everyone is the same! and YES I know ammo costs money, never said it was a cheap game, but to do it right, there is a process to follow if you wish for the best results!

Whitetailturkey01

I shot at each target twice thinking "Maybe I flinched both shots" nope..i didnt flinch. I got.the same result both shots. Only a couple pellets on the paper. If I could figure out how to post photos here i'd do that but I cant. Just letting you know that I did take multiple shots at each target and did cover the holes when I shot.

Whitetailturkey01

Could I safely shoot any buckshot (preferably #1 up) thru a .687 extra full choke. If so what could I expect from a pattern(from previous testing I found that Full choke patterned tighter than Modified choke, but was still a HORRIBLE pattern, wondering if the Extra Full choke will give a better pattern for deer/coyotes)