Shotgun Ammo

[kjm]

Having hunted doves, ducks, hogs and deer with shotguns and having owned one nearly all my life, I am surprisingly ignorant of how the ammo works. I am primarily only concerned with 12 gage, but here's my question: Is there a website or can somebody tell me the difference between the many types of ammo?

I use 4 or 6 for ducks

I use #4 buck or 00 buck for hogs

I use #6 or 7 for doves

but I don't have a clue about what that means. I only took a recommendation from another person and bought what they said to get but I don't know why they recommend it.

What does "T" mean and what is the difference between all of these and "BB" shot?

What is "Dram Eq" and what do the ounces have to do with anything?

I think I understand between magnum and 2 3/4" but for all I know, I could be wrong there too.

Can somebody educate me?

[perazzimx14]

Do a search on Google under "shotshell pellet size" it will give you sizing charts and their measurment.

As far a dram is concerned it is/was a measurement used for blackpowder. With todays modern smokless powder the term grain is used. There are 7000 grains in one pound. There is no cross reference from dram to grain. Dram is an old term that has just stuck with shotshells.

A 2-3/4 dram shell is considered a lite shell. But in reality it depends on the type of powder used. With modern powder depending the powder anywhere from 15 to 19.5 grains can produce a lite load.

The ounce or fraction of and ounce part of the shell is the ejecta weight. If you are shooting a 1 ounce lead filled shotshell that means ther is 1 ounce of lead pellets regardless of pellet size contained in the shell.

[.45 COLT]

These are the common shot sizes. Size is for all shot, weight is for lead shot. If you want the weight of a steel shot of the same size, multiply the weight by 0.69.

#9 - .08” – 0.76 Grains
#8 ½ - .085” – 0.92 Grains
#8 - .09” – 1.09 Grains
#7 ½ - .095” – 1.28 Grains
#7 - .10” – 1.50 Grains
#6 - .11” – 2 Grains
#5 - .12” – 2.6 Grains
#4 - .13” – 3.3 Grains
#2 - .15” – 5 Grains
B - .17” – 7.4 Grains
BB - .18” – 8.75 Grains
BBB - .19” – 10.3 Grains
T - .20” – 12 Grains
TT - .21” – 14 Grains
F - .22” – 16 Grains
FF - .23” – 18.2 Grains
4 Buck - .24” – 20.7 Grains
3 Buck - .25” – 23.5 Grains
2 Buck - .27” – 29.5 Grains
1 Buck - .30” – 40 Grains
0 Buck - .32” – 49 Grains
00 Buck - .33” – 54 grains
000 Buck - .36” – 70 Grains

Factory 00 Buck shot shells are actually loaded with pellets somewhat smaller than 0 Buck. That’s the only way they will stack properly (in layers of 3) in a 12 Gauge shot cup.

Dram Equivalent is a measure of velocity and that velocity figure is dependent on the weight of the shot charge. A 3 DE load with 1 1/8 ounces of shot has a muzzle velocity of 1,200 FPS. A 3 DE load with 1 ¼ ounces of shot has a MV of 1,165 FPS. Usually the manufacturer labels the loads with both DE and MV. I think they retain the DE for people like me who still think in that term.

DC

[kjm]

Thanks!

[BigJimP]

Pellet size also affects the amount of energy it hits the bird with - so with tougher birds like ducks you want a larget pellet like a 2 or a 4 , pheasants you may want a 4 or a 6 since it isn't quite as tough to penetrate, for somethink like doves or quail 8's or 9's are common. But every hunting situation is a little different - flushing range, kill range, etc. But in general a larget pellet ( like a 6 ) will hit harder at 30 yards than a ( 9 ) will. But with 6's you have less pellets in a 1 1/8oz charge that you would if the same shell were loaded with 9's - so it's also about density.

Like others told you - Dram is an old measurement - but just remember a 2 3/4 dram equivalent is generally a slower velocty shell than a 3 Dram. So as you go up in Dram - velocity is higher / recoil typically higher. For clay target games a 2 3/4 or 3 Dram equivalent shell is plenty. But it also comes down to what you like. I like a shell that is typically about 1225 - 1250 fps and depending on what I'm doing 1 oz of shot is usually enough. If I need to really reach out there - I'll go to a 1 1/8 oz shell at maybe 1300 fps (but they'll clear your sinuses, if you're shooting 3 or 4 boxes of them ..).