Shotshell Selection - Can Less Be More?
Crow Staff Advisor Skip Woody's search for the most effective factory crow shotshell.

Introduction

Over the 40-odd years I have scatter-gunned crows, I have probably used about as many different shot shells as anybody. Not a claim to fame, just a way of saying I have not been too particular about what I shot as long as a satisfactory number of targets hit the ground.

If they went bang and things fell, I was happy. Well, things have changed. I have seen posts from members saying they use everything form 3 mags, high brass, various target loads, various re-loads to 7/8oz 20 ga. to slay brer crow. Plus, in the past few years, the shell market has seen many new marvels and devices (some really are) designed to improve/enhance shell performance. The shell manufacturers tell us that we can kill targets farther than ever and that we might be behind the curve if we are not using ALL of this new technology. Well, I felt compelled to take them to task and check things out for myself.

In my estimation, some of the good things to come along include: improved one piece wads, nickel, copper, magnesium, Teflon plated lead shot, harder lead shot, improved hull design, Hevi-shot and others. With all this available today at reasonable cost, I decided to test a number of these new shells to see if could improve my ability to kill a crow simply by changing ammo. Specifically, I was looking for that shell that would add an additional 2, 5, 10 or more yards in effective range. A shell that I could kill a crow with further than I was accustomed to without relying on a lucky hit now and then. I included several high brass (3 3/4 dram) shells to the test batch since many tout their extended range capabilities and that was what I was looking for.

I wanted to see if it was possible to get from my current limit of about 45 yards to 55 or 60+. I can tell you right now it is! Two months of patterning and chronograph work coupled with field trials gave me several shells that would meet my requirements, confirmed some conventional wisdom regarding velocity vs. patterning and cleared up some misconceptions I had. I am sure there are more shells that will do just as well, but I could not test ALL of them. Here are my test results for your review and how they were conducted.


Test Criteria

Gun used was a 28 Browning Gold 12 ga. with ported barrel with lengthened forcing cone. Choke was Light Mod. (.15)

• Patterning was done at 50 meters (55 yards).
• Pattern circle was 30.
• Gun was placed on a bench rest device for aiming.
• 10 shots were fired with each shell for patterning with the average hits recorded.
• 10 shots were fired over the chrono and the average velocity recorded.
• All chronographed shots were taken with muzzle three feet from the chrono.
• Temperature was between 36 and 45 degrees for all tests.

I tested at 50 meters because it worked well at the pistol range where the evaluations were done AND I was primarily interested in seeing shell performance at the range I wanted to be able to kill crows. Most patterning figures you typically see are done with a 30 circle at 40 yards.

Note: Some factories test for velocity at the muzzle, some at one yard or at one meter and probably use a 30 barrel. Consequently, my velocities will vary from published stuff but not enough to matter. Warmer temperatures would also produce higher speeds.


Test Results

**All unspecified loads were 1 1/8oz

• Note: 1 1/8 oz #8 s = 460 shot, 7 1/2 = 410
• *Denotes Diamond shot (magnesium/Teflon coated)
• Buffalo, White Gold Extreme and Fiocchi HV were 3-3/4 dram.

Gamebore is made in the UK and B&P in Italy. Some of our best shot shells come from these two counties and I wanted to include some of their products. I also wanted to check out shells with diamond shot . Each shot looks like a shiny chrome ball bearing and is advertised to slip down the barrel with less flattening. Shooting with the sun at your back makes it possible to actually see the shot, sort of like using a tracer.

Hevi-shot is an alloy of iron-tungsten-nickel, and is another story unto itself, and far too expensive ($1.35 per shell) to shoot at crows. It could replace lead (it is 10% heavier than lead) if the cost ever gets competitive. Currently, it is a top choice of duck/geese/turkey hunters and it will slay crows at amazing distances. Some advertisement from Hevi claims their #9 s will break clays at 90 yards! You can check this out on Remington's website. They have a great video.

The Remington Dove & Quail box cost $3.49 at Wal-Mart. At 30 yards its pattern was as good or better than any. It contains softer shot and soft lead tends to flatten more readily at ignition and during its trip down the barrel. Shot with flat sides tend to spin out of the pattern more so than round ones and that characteristic is a detriment to pattern density beyond 30-35 yards. These shells are OK for shooting some clay pigeons and close in straight away shots, but this stuff will break you heart on those 40+ yard passing shots.

Now, with these notes made, the one thing that jumps off the page for me is the faster the shot is pushed the poorer the pattern. This has been conventional wisdom for years. I honestly thought new technology might have changed the velocity vs. pattern dilemma. It does not appear so. The #1 choice these days for live pigeon shooters all over the world is the Win. Live Pigeon load. It sure tested well for me. These guys shoot for a lot of money but what I did not know, they shoot at some long distances. I’ve learned they routinely kill birds at 60+ yards dead with 7 1/2 starting at 1200+ fps. These shells (Win. AA Live Pigeon) retail at $13.00 per box! They would be unaffordable for crow work, for me anyway. But there are several candidates I can afford that will bag a crow at 60 yards: the Rems., Fiocchi White Rhino, Win. Heavy Target and B&P F2 and all cost $5.00 per box or less and their performance is near or equal to the Live Pigeon!

I am quite satisfied I can expect to down crows at 60 yards with any premium shell with 3 drams and 1 1/8 of 7 1/2 shot. I did not think that before counting all the holes in the paper. This is what I mean by LESS IS MORE. I suspect many will still find this hard to believe. I did. Guns do not pattern the same. I suggest you touch off a few 55 yards shots yourself. But there is more. Not only are the high velocity high recoil shells not needed to kill crows at long distances but their use actually reduces the chances of doing so. There was almost a 15% reduction in hits from the high brass shells vs. low brass and 15% of 400+ shot is a lot of shot! It also surprised me to put 40% or more of the pellets (200+ hits) into a 30 circle at 55 yards with a light mod. choke! A crow cannot fly through that pattern and live. This, I believe, is the real advancement in shot shells I was trying to find and I intend to take advantage of it.

A couple of other things make sense to me now. With my level of shooting skill, using a tighter choke will only put me at a disadvantage with birds under 35 yards and, most importantly, not give me any advantage on the longer shots. In fact I will kill more at long range with my .15 choke because I have a larger, but still quite effective, pattern. This finding will help me in future crow hunts. Secondly, the need for shot larger than 7 1/2 to kill crows is just about non-existent. They (7 1/2) have the energy to cleanly kill pigeons at 60+ yards and pigeons have thicker feathers than crows. Disciples of larger shot may find this hard to believe. Truth is, larger shot arrive at a 60-yard target (or any distance) with a less dense pattern, and mathematically decrease your chances of hitting the bird at all. To put it another way, the top shells averaged a 47% pattern at 55 yards. The shot count for a 1 1/8 oz. load of 7 1/2 vs. 6's is 410 and 251. Take 47% of the difference and you will find 75 more shot arrive at the target with 7 1/2's. I like the idea of 75 more messengers arriving at the scene of what I hope is an accident for Mr. Crow.

Special thanks to Crow Busters Staff Advisor Skip Woody for the information in this section.