Spartan brand buckshot

Willie Lowman · August 27, 2022, 06:57 PM

I picked up a case of this stuff recently simply because it was less than a dollar a shell.

I put 50 shells through my new Benelli M1014. Went home to clean it and had never in my life see such fowling in the barrel. Thick black crud. I ran wet patches and it barely touched it. Patches came out black with silver flecks on them. I'm guessing lead fowling. After a full hour of regular cleaning methods there was still a bunch of crud in the end of the barrel by the choke. I resorted to extreme measures... I coated the inside of the barrel with solvent then I chucked the brush rod into my drill and ran it at high speed for about 5 minutes. Flakes of crud came out of the muzzle. The drops of solvent that ran out had a silver hue to them. Finally I ran a couple wet patches (that came out black) and the spots were no longer visible in the barrel.

I have never fired such a dirty round through any shotgun. I have never had to use a drill to break up chunks from the inside of in my bore.

On top of being by far the dirtiest shells I have ever fired they patterned like crap.

I would not recommend to anyone Spartan brand buckshot.

Virginian · August 28, 2022, 03:16 AM

Many buckshot loads did that before shotcups, but most people were hunting and rarely fired more than 2 or 3 rounds.

dahermit · August 28, 2022, 07:04 AM

Could it be plastic shot cup fouling?

Several years ago my Browning SxS barrels were fouled badly. Hoppie's #9 had no effect. I switched to Shooter's Choice (I think that is what it was), and the plastic fouling turned to mush, wrinkled up and came out on a dry patch. I stopped using Hoppie's after that.

musicmatty · August 28, 2022, 11:39 AM

Great post and thanks for sharing this info! With a shortage of ammunition over the last two years, I’ve tried a few off brands myself. Needless to say, I’ve had the same results with heavy fouling and no accuracy.

Fortunately, shotgun ammunition is starting to become plentiful once again with name brands… I really prefer Winchester and Federal. It’s my understanding, that there is a resin that is used in the plastic shot cup to help resist heat and melting which causes fouling. I think we can now see that good shot cup ammo is going to cost a little more. Also I should note, I only noticed fowling when shooting several rounds of slugs. Yesterday I shot 30 rounds of slugs… All of which were Winchester and federal. When cleaning the shotgun last night, there was very minimal fouling. I also use the cordless drill with the bore brush and it always Makes the barrel look like glass afterwards.

Here’s a picture from yesterday shooting 5 slugs open sights bench rested at 50 yards using Federal 2-3/4 1oz…1610fps. The shotgun is a Winchester model 120 ranger with a smooth slug barrel (rifle sights) *** this ammo kicks like a mule***

August 27, 2022, 06:57 PM	#1
Willie Lowman Senior Member Join Date: March 5, 2009 Location: Uh-Hi-O Posts: 3,006	Spartan brand buckshot I picked up a case of this stuff recently simply because it was less than a dollar a shell. I put 50 shells through my new Benelli M1014. Went home to clean it and had never in my life see such fowling in the barrel. Thick black crud. I ran wet patches and it barely touched it. Patches came out black with silver flecks on them. I'm guessing lead fowling. After a full hour of regular cleaning methods there was still a bunch of crud in the end of the barrel by the choke. I resorted to extreme measures... I coated the inside of the barrel with solvent then I chucked the brush rod into my drill and ran it at high speed for about 5 minutes. Flakes of crud came out of the muzzle. The drops of solvent that ran out had a silver hue to them. Finally I ran a couple wet patches (that came out black) and the spots were no longer visible in the barrel. I have never fired such a dirty round through any shotgun. I have never had to use a drill to break up chunks from the inside of in my bore. On top of being by far the dirtiest shells I have ever fired they patterned like crap. I would not recommend to anyone Spartan brand buckshot. __________________ "9mm has a very long history of being a pointy little bullet moving quickly" --Sevens

August 28, 2022, 03:16 AM	#2
Virginian Senior Member Join Date: February 11, 2012 Location: Williamsburg, Va. Posts: 1,528	Many buckshot loads did that before shotcups, but most people were hunting and rarely fired more than 2 or 3 rounds. __________________ What could have happened... did.

August 28, 2022, 07:04 AM	#3
dahermit Senior Member Join Date: October 28, 2006 Location: South Central Michigan...near Posts: 6,501	Could it be plastic shot cup fouling? Several years ago my Browning SxS barrels were fouled badly. Hoppie's #9 had no effect. I switched to Shooter's Choice (I think that is what it was), and the plastic fouling turned to mush, wrinkled up and came out on a dry patch. I stopped using Hoppie's after that.

August 28, 2022, 11:39 AM	#4
musicmatty Senior Member Join Date: September 30, 2009 Location: Eastcoast Posts: 346	Great post and thanks for sharing this info! With a shortage of ammunition over the last two years, I’ve tried a few off brands myself. Needless to say, I’ve had the same results with heavy fouling and no accuracy. Fortunately, shotgun ammunition is starting to become plentiful once again with name brands… I really prefer Winchester and Federal. It’s my understanding, that there is a resin that is used in the plastic shot cup to help resist heat and melting which causes fouling. I think we can now see that good shot cup ammo is going to cost a little more. Also I should note, I only noticed fowling when shooting several rounds of slugs. Yesterday I shot 30 rounds of slugs… All of which were Winchester and federal. When cleaning the shotgun last night, there was very minimal fouling. I also use the cordless drill with the bore brush and it always Makes the barrel look like glass afterwards. Here’s a picture from yesterday shooting 5 slugs open sights bench rested at 50 yards using Federal 2-3/4 1oz…1610fps. The shotgun is a Winchester model 120 ranger with a smooth slug barrel (rifle sights) * this ammo kicks like a mule*