shot size

[marc020]

I currently use 28g 7.5's for clay shooting and was thinking of changing to 28g 8's.is there really much difference between the 2 sizes,should I just stick to 7.5's

or maybe even try 9's,I havnt been shooting for long but my scores are quite good and happy with what im getting so far

[TIGHTCHOKE]

Best way to decide is to shoot some practice birds with different shot sizes, that way you can see what is happening.

[aris]

I've wondered about this myself. It doesn't take much to break a clay. Would my chances be better with a larger spread of unchoked 9's. If it were, I'm sure everyone would be doing it, so I await reply from a more experienced member.

Edited April 15, 2013 by aris

[motty]

I don't do too much clay shooting, but i recently shot a round of 50 sporting ( at the PW Norfolk flush) and only used 9's. I think i hit around 43/50 and had good breaks on all of the birds on the layout.

[Guest cookoff013]

9s are really underated IMHO, so much i started homeloading them.

 

my guns are usually choked to death, so it wont make much difference. i just wanted the phenominally high shotcount.

 

i guess 99% of claygames and stands would be ok. i cant see how it could be too much of a dissadvantage.

[Hamster]

I currently use 28g 7.5's for clay shooting and was thinking of changing to 28g 8's.is there really much difference between the 2 sizes,should I just stick to 7.5's

or maybe even try 9's,I havnt been shooting for long but my scores are quite good and happy with what im getting so far

 

There are roughly 50 more pellets in 1oz of 8's, so yes it will make the difference of increasing the pellet count. I'd like to be able to report seeing a difference between 7.5's and 8's in breaking ability but I can't so I have shot 8's almost exclusively now for thirty years. I don't believe an 8 shell will cost you a single clay in a years worth of clay shooting but I do believe that throwing 5000 extra pellets around every round will gain a couple , not inconceivably within a single round never mind a year.

 

In short there just isn't enough of a kinetic energy difference between 2.2mm - 2.3mm to be able to formulate an argument for the bigger shot. Remember there is a good bit of difference between speeds, antimony content and choke performance in any case which would make quantifying the issue a nightmare.

 

9's are a different matter though, they can be very effective in short to medium ranges but will cost you breaks because the tiny pellets will run out of steam on certain distances and presentations. Since there is nothing an 8 won't break as well as a 9, there is little point having a mix in your bag either. At the sharp end of distant clays 9's also seem to lack the downrange speed to target that 7.5's do so another argument against their serious use. This I personally think is in fact the only real advantage of 7.5's !

Edited April 15, 2013 by Hamster

[marc020]

Wow thanks for all replies,I think I'll try some 8's next time and see what happens