Preferred 20 Gauge Shell

Curious if a longer shot string is really all bad. I think most will agree that straight away birds are the toughest to kill at longer distances. With my 3 inch 1 1/4 20 gauge golden pheasants, wouldnt I have an additional 25 percent of bb’s chasing that bird going straight away?

Shot string negative effects were debunked 50 years ago. Even a 15 foot shot string makes it through the bird in a fraction of a second. Its just math, but was debunked by using a Chevy van pulling a trailer with a pattern board on it back in the day 😉
 
This is going to be used a lot for hunt tests and dog training as much as anything else. It comes with sling studs which will allow me to use a sling to put it on my back when I need two hands on a dog and it's cerakoted which is great for bad weather days too. I have guns I'm emotionally attached to but this one is just a tool and I can hand it to someone that's going to be a gunner for my dog and not get all puckered up. A lot to like about it on paper and if I don't like it for whatever reason, I'll move it on down the road.
Yeah as a tool it would be great. I definitely see the pros for that gun, especially at its price point. CZ probably sells a ton of them given that they are a sub 6 pound O/U for about $800
 
I don't have any 20 gauge lead 7.5's at home, so I decided to buy a case this week. Inventory isn't the best this time of year but I did find some Winchester Super X 2.75", 1 oz loads @1220 fps for $142, shipping and tax included. I thought that was a decent price and should work well enough for hunt tests, training and some quail in the fall. I just ordered a CZ Upland Ultralight in 20 gauge that can shoot a 3 inch shell but I have an older A5 20 that is limited to 2.75" shells, so I'm sticking with the shorter shell in 20 gauge just to keep it simple.

I don't reload shotgun ammo and normally prefer to buy Kent or Fiocchi w/ Winchester as my fall back.
That Winchester load is my preferred round for the last few years, it’s just right. Mater of fact I’ve got 2 more cases in the mail as we speak. Works well in my ou and an old a5, also bought a half case in #5 for sd last year and they worked great. Plus they have been easy to find last couple years.
 
Dont think you can use 3 inch 20s in any hunt tests or trials that I know of for safety reasons for others around you. As far as 11/4 loads, be much easier on you, and distance to use a 12. I field trialed for 10 years and a 11/4 of 71/2s out of my 12 was deadly on quail,pheasant and chuckar in those trials. 3 inch and magnum loads werent allowed out of any gauge.
 
Curious if a longer shot string is really all bad. I think most will agree that straight away birds are the toughest to kill at longer distances. With my 3 inch 1 1/4 20 gauge golden pheasants, wouldnt I have an additional 25 percent of bb’s chasing that bird going straight away?
I read a ton and watched numerous videos on shot string. Don’t try to outthink it. While the string could be long in most instances depending on distance to target the great majority of the string isn’t more than a couple feet and arrival time on target is milliseconds. When you put the same load on a pattern board, more shot typically results in more hits on target.
 
Dont think you can use 3 inch 20s in any hunt tests or trials that I know of for safety reasons for others around you. As far as 11/4 loads, be much easier on you, and distance to use a 12. I field trialed for 10 years and a 11/4 of 71/2s out of my 12 was deadly on quail,pheasant and chuckar in those trials. 3 inch and magnum loads werent allowed out of any gauge.

1 1/4 20ga 1300fps are unsafe, but 1 1/4 12ga 1330fps are great? This sounds like something our government came up with 😆
 
This is why we really shouldn't even be talking length of shell. It's such a red herring in most discussions.

Hevishot sells a 3" dove load. Its only 3/4oz of shot but in a 3" hull at 1300fps for some reason. Tell someone you are shooting 3" shells for dove and theyll tell you how overkill it is, while they shoot even more shot in their 2.75"
 
Hevishot sells a 3" dove load. Its only 3/4oz of shot but in a 3" hull at 1300fps for some reason. Tell someone you are shooting 3" shells for dove and theyll tell you how overkill it is, while they shoot even more shot in their 2.75"
Just checked and even their 12g is 3 inch with only 1 oz shot. Curious if they are doing that to have a good cushioning wad, or because they want people to think their 3 inch justifies the cost. But yeah really is proof that length is not the main thing anyone should look at other than if their gun allows it.
 
3 inch in a super light weight ou takes the fun out of shooting a light weight gun
While this might seem to be true, having run 3 inch hevimetal at 1450 fps vs 1300 fps I’d have to say the velocity has way more to do with the felt recoil. I shoot 3 inch Fiocchi golden pheasant loads at 1300 fps and dont feel anything significant. I can’t say the same for t faster loads. I also use Fiocchi 2 3/4 in my 12 gauge. Those are 1485 fps. Between the 2 I prefer my 20 with the slightly slower load. Maybe I’m off the mark but I know what I feel. I will say that felt recoil in any lightweight shotgun is different from heavier shotguns.
 
While this might seem to be true, having run 3 inch hevimetal at 1450 fps vs 1300 fps I’d have to say the velocity has way more to do with the felt recoil. I shoot 3 inch Fiocchi golden pheasant loads at 1300 fps and dont feel anything significant. I can’t say the same for t faster loads. I also use Fiocchi 2 3/4 in my 12 gauge. Those are 1485 fps. Between the 2 I prefer my 20 with the slightly slower load. Maybe I’m off the mark but I know what I feel. I will say that felt recoil in any lightweight shotgun is different from heavier shotguns.
You're right on track with that. Both velocity and payload increases recoil in a squared manner. So a 1450 vs 1300 has 25% more recoil. Which is like going from a 1 oz payload to 1 1/8 payoad. That's actual recoil. Felt recoil is more complicated but basically a faster recoil feels worse than a slower one even if the total energy is the same.
 
Shot string negative effects were debunked 50 years ago. Even a 15 foot shot string makes it through the bird in a fraction of a second. Its just math, but was debunked by using a Chevy van pulling a trailer with a pattern board on it back in the day 😉
Agreed. Take nearly worst case. 45 yd crosser flying 40 mph & a 15' shot string. In the extra time it takes the rear pellets to reach the bird, the bird has flown about a foot & a half. Not worth worrying about when the pattern is 4' in diameter & a shooter is establishing lead in terms of some, more, lots, & tons. When a bird is closer, slower & flying at a less severe angle (which is most of the time), the effects of shot string are even less.
 
Shot string negative effects were debunked 50 years ago. Even a 15 foot shot string makes it through the bird in a fraction of a second. Its just math, but was debunked by using a Chevy van pulling a trailer with a pattern board on it back in the day 😉
Agreed. Take nearly worst case. 45 yd crosser flying 40 mph & a 15' shot string. In the extra time it takes the rear pellets to reach the bird, the bird has flown about a foot & a half. Not worth worrying about when the pattern is 4' in diameter & a shooter is establishing lead in terms of some, more, lots, & tons. When a bird is closer, slower & flying at a less severe angle (which is most of the time), the effects of shot string are even less.

Shot string can indeed have negative effects. I'm not disagreeing with the sentiments of either of these posts, quite the contrary, but let me explain. If you have identical shells and compare a true crosser vs. a straight away bird the shot string has such a small effect as to be negligible and not worth worrying about. When two different shells are compared, then we can say that shot string has a negative effect. The general consensus is that longer shot strings are less desirable compared to shorter ones. Take an old shell with no protective shotcup and low quality soft lead shot. Deformation of the shot caused by a multitude of factors which could include barrel scrub, hot gasses of combustion getting past the wad, setback, etc. can lead to excessive stringing. This robs your pattern of density and that's not a good thing. So essentially find a shell that works good with your setup and don't worry about the shot-string. The old theory was that stuffing more weight of shot into a smaller hole creates pattern inefficiencies, and it does. But technology has narrowed that gap with modern shotcups/wads and higher quality shot, and probably an advancement in powders(I haven't studied that part). All things being equal a larger bore does throw better patterns, but that's not to say subgauges can't be used to good effect in upland hunting, because obviously they can.
 
Just checked and even their 12g is 3 inch with only 1 oz shot. Curious if they are doing that to have a good cushioning wad, or because they want people to think their 3 inch justifies the cost. But yeah really is proof that length is not the main thing anyone should look at other than if their gun allows it.

Yeah i honestly have no idea why they do it, i noticed it when a guy on Facebook was complaining because he bought dove loads and didnt notice they were 3" until they wouldn't cycle in his 2.75" gun. I reload the same payload in 2.75" at 125fps faster speed so it isnt a fitment issue.
 
Regarding the discussion on shot string, the following video is interesting and fits much of what has been discussed here.

Take a look at the high speed video of shot striking the pattern board. Note, if you are relying on a long shot string to hit your target, you are not using the core of your pattern, but are using the slow moving shot at the fringe of the pattern which is made up of the trailing pellets in the string.

 
Shot string negative effects were debunked 50 years ago. Even a 15 foot shot string makes it through the bird in a fraction of a second. Its just math, but was debunked by using a Chevy van pulling a trailer with a pattern board on it back in the day 😉

This video with illustrates your point.

 
Last thing I'll add about shot string. How would any regular person go about finding their shot string? It's very difficult to actually do and avoiding a shell because it "might" have a longer shot string is just straight up bad reasoning. Unless you know your string is really really long somehow, then go with what patterns well.

To Bobs point, if the shot is deforming and doing weird things that might cause a big shot string, it probably is also throwing a bad pattern anyways which means you can eliminate it by shooting paper instead.
 
Last thing I'll add about shot string. How would any regular person go about finding their shot string? It's very difficult to actually do and avoiding a shell because it "might" have a longer shot string is just straight up bad reasoning. Unless you know your string is really really long somehow, then go with what patterns well.

To Bobs point, if the shot is deforming and doing weird things that might cause a big shot string, it probably is also throwing a bad pattern anyways which means you can eliminate it by shooting paper instead.
You can check YouTube. There were some videos last year utilizing a super high speed camera to record and talk about shot string. The majority of shot string is under a couple feet and not worth trying to outthink. It was interesting data though.
 
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