hamernhonkers,

i have been testing 5 shot(all sizes of steel) during spring with lazered birds for along time (ever since the spring snow goose season has been open). the reason why i test in the spring is that you can lazer range the birds with ease and can get them marked with tape and magic marker with notes real easy after the shot). with the testing we have found with true field results no computer program that at 1450fps you are right at 33 yards with loads of 7/8 to 1oz, that is with true body hits only(no neck/head hits)... when the snows were just hanging over the decoys staright above us...then when you get to 1500 to 1550 fps it only gets ya another 5 yards(38 yards) for snows. that was for 12 gauge loads

so with that info if your patterns are dense enough with your choke/gun combo the 33 yard mark should be the same as what we have found to be truewhile using steel 5's.

hope this helps

goose

 

Goose that's exactly what I am after and I greatly appreciate it!

One other question, what elevation you at?

 

Hammer bring some up to Utah ill give them a try on a crane if I draw out ill keep under 30 yards head shot only :smile:

 

This field data supports what Sagebrush and Ned/Jon have been saying.
And again,, that's for a particular situation.

 

Hammer bring some up to Utah ill give them a try on a crane if I draw out ill keep under 30 yards head shot only :smile:

Only if you and slayer take me out to kill my swan buddy!

When we gonna get you loading for it? I just ordered 20 more lbs of hw13 and 20 more lbs of steel 4's and 5's + another choke tube. :thumbsup:

 

Goose that's exactly what I am after and I greatly appreciate it!

One other question, what elevation you at?

we hunt areas that the elevation is from 900 ft to 2100 ft elevation.

goose

 

There's 150 #5 pellets in a 5/8 oz load. At 1450 fps they will penetrate to kill to 40 yds and aught to be an excellent duck load to 30 yds and if choked right to 40 yds. I'm a fan of small fast loads with the 12 gage. Ned S

 

Goose that's exactly what I am after and I greatly appreciate it!

One other question, what elevation you at?

we hunt areas that the elevation is from 900 ft to 2100 ft elevation.

goose

Cool. I will be using these from 1300' to over 8000' up there I should be able to stretch them out a little further lol.

 

Ok guys I need some help with real world results with steel 5 shot. I would appreciate ranges/speeds and payload size and results on birds of all sizes.

I have experience with slow experts with 6 and 7 shot used on mallards and teal on small warm ditches jump shooting and what happens from 10' to 25 yards but I have never shot 5 shot. I am looking at this in the 28 at only 5/8 oz payload at around 1450 fps. It will only give me about 155 pellets but my intent and hope is it will kill up to mallard sized birds out to 30 yards max! over the blocks and of course I am sure it will do well when I jump shoot the ditches. I know what the ballistic programs say but I am really looking for anyone who can share real world findings.

Thanks much :thumbsup:

There's 150 #5 pellets in a 5/8 oz load. At 1450 fps they will penetrate to kill to 40 yds and aught to be an excellent duck load to 30 yds and if choked right to 40 yds. I'm a fan of small fast loads with the 12 gage. Ned S

Ned I should be able to get about 282 grains in these so it should be closer to 155 on the pellet count.

 

Honkers,

I have no direct experience with #5 steel other than as a swatter load, but here's a LINK to an article in Wildfowl Magazind by Brezny. Yeah, I know, it's Brezny and the article is pretty much full of ambiguities, but down towards the bottom he does list some interesting field tests on velocity and penetration that might be of interest to you. Apparently, at 35 yards there is a good bit more penetration into ballistic gel than one would expect.

Frank

 

Frank, its very much appreciated!

 

Roster shows #6 within two point of #2 shot out to 40 yards in field test.

Winchester has a new load using #5 that i always thought would make a great load. I would love to see how their new Blind Side load at 1700 fps in #5 perform on ducks and geese. They should put some pretty impressive holes through those birds.

 

Roster shows #6 within two point of #2 shot out to 40 yards in field test

I am guessing that is mostly due to so many head and neck hits with the super high pellet counts.

My problem is I am dealing with only a 280 grain max pay load. Just not that many pellets to work with.

 

Jesse

With the understanding of 155 plus pellets in a pattern and using a proper choke , isn't your load traveling in the mid-1300's ?
I see it as no problem on most exposures a birds would present over decoys , with steel shot , as long as your estimate of
distance of under 40 yds was correct ? Heck , we all should have that ability but ( like most shooters ) we stretch that more
than we should . With SSB telling us 5's (0.12) at 1550 fps would be boarder-lined at 35 yds , I would also say being a good
marksman with a tight choke would be in order if you're playing around 40 yds ? :huh:

 

Look up one of the old forums on shooting and see how many events hammer has won and we cant forget he is shooting the almighty 28 GA :thumbsup:

 

Jesse

With the understanding of 155 plus pellets in a pattern and using a proper choke , isn't your load traveling in the mid-1300's ?
I see it as no problem on most exposures a birds would present over decoys , with steel shot , as long as your estimate of
distance of under 40 yds was correct ? Heck , we all should have that ability but ( like most shooters ) we stretch that more
than we should . With SSB telling us 5's (0.12) at 1550 fps would be boarder-lined at 35 yds , I would also say being a good
marksman with a tight choke would be in order if you're playing around 40 yds ? :huh:

We put sticks in the water at 40 yds or use cattails already there. We always know where 40 yds is. A Rangefinder is mandantory hunting ducks and geese. Ned S

 

Good advice 'bout the yardage indicator!

 

Jesse

With the understanding of 155 plus pellets in a pattern and using a proper choke , isn't your load traveling in the mid-1300's ?
I see it as no problem on most exposures a birds would present over decoys , with steel shot , as long as your estimate of
distance of under 40 yds was correct ? Heck , we all should have that ability but ( like most shooters ) we stretch that more
than we should . With SSB telling us 5's (0.12) at 1550 fps would be boarder-lined at 35 yds , I would also say being a good
marksman with a tight choke would be in order if you're playing around 40 yds ? :huh:

I have no intent of stretching this load past 30 here in the desert and maybe 35 back home.

When we get the teal down here thick this should be a good choice for them and the larger birds in close.

This load is the lilgun and 4756 which are both over 1450 fps. Should be solid out to 30 I would think.

 

Jesse

With the understanding of 155 plus pellets in a pattern and using a proper choke , isn't your load traveling in the mid-1300's ?
I see it as no problem on most exposures a birds would present over decoys , with steel shot , as long as your estimate of
distance of under 40 yds was correct ? Heck , we all should have that ability but ( like most shooters ) we stretch that more
than we should . With SSB telling us 5's (0.12) at 1550 fps would be boarder-lined at 35 yds , I would also say being a good
marksman with a tight choke would be in order if you're playing around 40 yds ? :huh:

We put sticks in the water at 40 yds or use cattails already there. We always know where 40 yds is. A Rangefinder is mandantory hunting ducks and geese. Ned S

Where I am hunting in the desert we hunt mostly over bull rush checks. These are ponds that most of which are 40 to 50 yards across and 100 to 200 long.

The blinds are normally in the middle on the dikes so the blocks are usually 30 yards out at most. Its very easy to gauge distance on them.

 

Look up one of the old forums on shooting and see how many events hammer has won and we cant forget he is shooting the almighty 28 GA :thumbsup:

That was a few years back man. I think my shooting skills have slipped a little since then man. :crying:

 

I'll try to give you an idea of what I am hunting. This a crappy cell phone pic but should give you some idea. The decoy's are about 20 yards from the blind to the west. The willow/trees to my hard left (very left corner of the pic) are 50ish yards.



And here is just how mixed the bags can be and are most day's.

I think you guys know that not many would put this kind of effort into so many loads, chokes and patterning unless they intended to insure clean kills of the birds they are hunting. I can tell you that I really have no reason or desire to stretch the steel past its range. That is why I already have 200 rounds of HW13 6 shot loaded up along with 100 rounds of HW15 6 shot for geese. If the birds are just not working well one day and I feel I have to take longer shots, I will have it covered :beer:

 

Jesse

I know what you're saying , the object of putting lethal holes in a bird comes with shooting experience and understanding
what you have loaded in your ammo . That's one of the reasons I shoot pigeons around my area at dairies , not only checking
loads on my F1 along with patterning them but , actual putting them on birds . On a normal morning I usually shoot between
80 and 120 pigeons , this gives me a darn good idea of the loads ability along with choke selection for the load .
I still haven't loaded the recipes you were so kind sharing with me but , I will be loading them before this season starts .
I don't have any HW13 6's , I'll have to order some just to see what all the crowing is about . I have a case or 2 of nickel 7's
1 1/4 oz pigeon loads I'll cut and use the shot in the 28 ga , that should give me an idea of its range on pigeons versus steel
shot ?

Thanks
Larry

 

.. hope is it will kill up to mallard sized birds out to 30 yards max!

If your gun/choke gives good patterns with this load, and you can center the bird in that pattern, it will kill mallards out to 30 yards. NO MORE THAN THAT...no matter what you "elevation" might be.

 

Kpy sasy 40 yds at 600 flps. Ned S

 

.. hope is it will kill up to mallard sized birds out to 30 yards max!

If your gun/choke gives good patterns with this load, and you can center the bird in that pattern, it will kill mallards out to 30 yards. NO MORE THAN THAT...no matter what you "elevation" might be.

mudpack...5's work great for mallards out to the same 38 yards as snows that i have tested with ranged birds...but i will say that when the birds get to 4o yard mark they come down but are still alive but sicker then heck... it is surprising on how well the smaller shot works ...both wings are broke neck folds under some but not all times the cart will over and over tell they hit the ground...

5's work best at 1500 to 1550 fps...but even at 1450 fps they get to true 33 yards with drt results with body hits...no head neck strikes...

my buddies shoot 6 shot of steel all the time when they hunt with us with good results too...but i set my lowest size shot to be 5's. heck i have killed ducks with 7 steel at out to 25 yards....and they are only going 1300 fps...cripple loads that i forgot to take out after going after honkers that swam away and got out to far in the lakes/reservoirs for the dogs...

4's at 1275 fps is the same for yardages as the 1450 fps of 5's....which we have found to be 33 yards for body hits only with actual ranged birds(no guessing) for drt results...alot of people shoot those remington 11/4 loads in 23/4inch hulls in nitro mag whihc they are right at the 1275 fps average...

here is a pattern of one of the loads that i use with 5's which is 7/8 oz load going 1550 fps at 40 yards: