OZ of steel

[X-Force]

I just have a quick question. when hunting do you guys go for speed or steel to fling? i see that kent 3 1/2" comes in 1 9/16, 1 3/8, 1 1/4 oz number 2.
My question is do you want speed or more pellets?

[Tealer]

Yes.

[rebar]

I agree   

[banannaclip]

neither,i lay down out in the barley field cover up and  wait,decoys all around me ,then when they come in  hot feet down  i grab 'em by thier feet,save on shells that way,though sometimes they beat me pretty good with thier wings.

[X-Force]

Ive seen a guy hit a goose with his barrel as it flew in but i havent seen grabbing their feet... I may need to try it if money runs to short.

I broke down and bought the mid range 1 3/8 oz 3 1/2" #2... now i have to wait until next year to use them

[ducksdoom12]

if i was you i would not even bother with 3 1/2 get 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 oz. thats all you need. the rest of the pellets are just a wast of money

[teal101]

if i was you i would not even bother with 3 1/2 get 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 oz. thats all you need. the rest of the pellets are just a wast of money

They sure help on birds around 40yds.

[ducksdoom12]

i kill birds just fine in the 40 to 50 yard range with 1 oz of shot.

[Chesapeake]

I'm all about pellets in the air. For me its 1 3/8 oz or Federal Heavy High velocity 1 1/2 oz of #2's. 1500 fps and 1 1/2 oz of pellets is the reason for 3 1/2" shells. You cant stuff that kind of performance in a 3" shell.

1 oz of #2 is about 125 pellets. 1 1/2 oz(187) has about 30 more pellets than 1 1/4 oz(156). Thats 30 more chances to kill the bird. Or about a 16% improvement in performance.

[boots]

if i was you i would not even bother with 3 1/2 get 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 oz. thats all you need. the rest of the pellets are just a wast of money

I wouldnt necessarily say that it is a waste of money. 2 3/4 can get the job done, yes, but i feel like i have better knockdown power with 3". Could just be mental but i seem to get more one shot/one kill/dead when they hit the water when i use 3".  Obviously if you are within 20 yds its going to plaster the ducks either way.

As far as oz of shot, i prefer 1 1/8 with more velocity but thats personal preference

[wrangler]

if i was you i would not even bother with 3 1/2 get 2 3/4 inch 1 1/8 oz. thats all you need. the rest of the pellets are just a wast of money

yeah you know they banned lead 15 years ago right???   seirously though, if your using 2 3/4 with an oz of steel your just asking for cripples, unless your shootin powder puff local birds. just my  

i kill birds just fine in the 40 to 50 yard range with 1 oz of shot.

[X-Force]

I usually shoot 3" but my brother in law is all hyped on 3.5" so I bought them just to entertain him... it is 4 more dollars a box but now i have an excuse to buy more shells. 

Who sells 2 3/4" steel?

[Chesapeake]

I usually shoot 3" but my brother in law is all hyped on 3.5" so I bought them just to entertain him... it is 4 more dollars a box but now i have an excuse to buy more shells. 

Who sells 2 3/4" steel?

Mosts places sell 2 3/4. I know you were probably being factious.

This is how I look at it.

I like to have as cloase as I can get to 200 pellets in my pattern for good pattern density. With steel you have to use big pellets and send them fast to get the energy. The large pellets limit how many you can get in a shell.

1 1/8 of lead #6 is 250 pellets and a great load.  A load of 1 1/8 oz #4 lead has about 150 pellets. No body will argue these werent good loads, or that the #6 load filled the pattern better. But the same 1 1/8 oz of #2 steel is only about 140 pellets.

To match what was had with lead (200 plus pellets with good energy) you need about as close as you can get to 200 pellets for pattern density, #2 size steel and 1500 fps to get the energy.

Nobody would have ever recomended 7/8 oz load of lead #4 for ducks back in the day, but thats what you get with 1 1/8 oz of #2 steel, and people recomend it all the time.

Another thing to look at. The SAAMI spec for 3" 12 gauge is 11500 psi and for 3 1/2" its 14000. That alone adds a gain in performance 3" shells just cant play with.



 

[boots]

Another thing to look at. The SAAMI spec for 3" 12 gauge is 11500 psi and for 3 1/2" its 14000. That alone adds a gain in performance 3" shells just cant play with.

This is true, my shoulder will vouch for the extra performance 

[carpsniperg2]

i like 3.5 fast steel very quick but if you shooting at mid ranges a 2 3/4 will do fine, and ounce of shot is not as important as your pattern get a good choke tube and you should be o.k. with 2 3/4 shells but the quicker the more energy and knock down with steel shot