doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com RST size 7 loads?

Mike, Jan in KS does qualify as "late season". And sometimes, depending on the conditions (a bunch of fresh, fluffy snow overnight will often make even late season roosters sit extremely tight), late season birds will sit as tight or tighter than opening day birds. But usually it's not a bad idea to go to larger shot, heavier loads, and tighter chokes because of two other late season conditions: 1. A lot of early season roosters, especially if there was a good hatch, aren't even fully grown by opening day. Not even fully feathered. A couple months AFTER opening day, they've grown up. And they've also grown fatter than opening day birds, because putting on fat is nature's way of keeping them warm in the winter. 2. Hunting in cold weather, you may not have put on fat, but you've almost certainly put on warmer clothes so YOU keep warm. Those clothes can slow you down a bit when you go to mount your gun. Playing those odds . . . while a light load of 7's might kill every rooster you encounter late season, they're not the choice I'd make. I'd go to both a larger shot size and a heavier load. And at least one barrel with more choke.

Larger shot have more "Killing Effect" due to two things. 1st the larger diameter punches a bigger hole. 2nd the heavier weight gives greater penetration.
Hole size of spheres is proportional to the square of their diameters. Weight, assuming identical material, is proportional to the cube of their diameters.
In US sizes a #7 should measure .100" in diameter with a # 7 1/2 going .095". Thus (.1/.095) squared = 1.108 so the #7 is approx 11% larger in diameter than a #7 1/2. (.1/.095) cubed = 1.166, thus the #7 is approx 17% heavier. In comparison we are obviously talking of two different shot sizes with the #7 being larger, heavier & thus having more killing power.
British #7 is very close in size to US #7 1/2 , thus having the effect of the smaller size shot. Shot sizes & charge weights need always to consider both adequate penetration of the individual pellets & also adequate pattern density to insure hits on the bird of a given size at anticipated range.
Thusly #8 & #4 shot would not be considered interchangeable on the same birds at the same ranges. The same applies, although to a much lesser degree, when comparing US versus British #7 shot.

I've read that concerning pellet density, somewhere around 260 pellets ensure adequate pattern density in the pattern. That would put #7's about right for a 1 oz. load in 12 ga.
Karl

Depends on the size of the bird in question, and the choke. Karl, are you talking about the number of pellets in the LOAD or in the standard 30" pattern circle? 260 in the load is about what you get in 1 1/8 oz 6 shot. But you could also get it with less than 3/4 oz 8 shot.

About 35 years ago, two friends and I bought 1 ton of #7 Lawrence Magnum shot, which has equated to a lifetime supply for me. I use it on all upland birds sans pheasant. I preferred #7 35 years ago and nothing has changed except the number of bags that I have remaining.

Of the four shot sizes commonly used for upland shooting, those being #6, #7, #7.5, and #8 I wonder why even consider #7.5 shot?
The shot sizes on either side of 7.5 are superior to 7.5. With #8 shot you get a denser pattern and with #7 shot you get larger and heavier shot, both being far superior to 7.5 on both accounts.

In answer to your question Tom, I use RST #7 a lot of the time for grouse and woodcock, often using #8 in the right barrel and #7 in the left earlier in the season and later when the foliage is down and birds often flush farther out I might use #7 in both barrels for the energy carrying capacity of the larger shot.
YMMV

So, riddle me this...

How many times have we read that Brit #6 is 270 to the ounce?

All the noted scribes seem to think that's so, but show me anything 270/oz. here http://www.hallowellco.com/shot_size_chart.htm

Perhaps the nice neat little divisions in diameter aren't actually the case? The chart represents calculated values or actual measurement of commercial pellets? Or what?

Brit 6 (Am 7, or 'thereabouts') works peachy on overhead driven pheasants. It's not so peachy up the tailpipe of a going away bird. You might as well throw rocks.

For pheasant, I like #6 I�m the first barrel, #5 in the second. Always 1oz (or recently 1 1/16 oz) RST falcon. If the bird presents a crossing or rising, going away shot, I reach for the #5 tube when I can remember to do so. Just yesterday two roosters presented a rising, quartering, long shot. I fired #6 at the closer bird, which rocked him the air, but he continued on to the nearby shelter belt. I think the #5�s would have knocked him down.

Larry,
I use #7's in the right barrel choked IC, and #5's in the left barrel choked MOD for woodcock and grouse. If I'm after pheasants, then it's #5's in both barrels. I use RST's 2 1/2 papers in 1 oz. for the 12 ga., 7/8 oz. for the 20 ga. The 28 ga. gets #8's in the right and #6's in the left, but I think that #7's would work great for the 28 ga.
Karl

Hum...

On Hallowell's chart 1.62 grains times 270 equals one ounce.

So, something isn't right.

Either the pellet count (292) is wrong or the diameter, or maybe we're talking lead with Antimony.

Q: Are real, actual, English 6's 270 to the ounce or not?