doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com #7.5 vs #8 Shot Performance in the Field

What is everyone's thoughts on #7.5 versus #8 sized shot when hunting for smaller feathered quarry (i.e. doves, woodcock, grouse, quail, etc). Comfortable shot ranges? How about speeds: 1100, 1200 or 1300 fps? Any differences on clay birds?


I would love to hear everyone's preference. Please feel free to share any hunting anecdotes, preferred loads, anything!

7.5 is best for the light birds you have listed. In 12 bore I like 1 oz at 1200fps. In my experience down birds not pulled feathers. They liked them in Argentina and the loads for all birds were very light ( shot weight)by our standards down there.
Ducks 1 oz, geese 1 1/8

bill

The shot performance is better of course with 7-1/2. On the other hand, I like to use the bigger shot because there is less to pick when you prepare the birds for the table!

For clay pigeons, I like 8's at 1200fps for just about everything. But I only shoot 3/4oz in the 12, so it gives me a few more BBs. I have friends who shoot only 7 1/2s at clays but use 1 1/8oz of shot.

FSJ,

The difference in the 7 1/2's and 8's in our forest has a lot to due with the density of the forest habitat. Early season when the habitat is like the Viet Nam Jungle here in Pa, Ny, Vt, NH and WVa the 7 1/2 shells push the habitat a lot better for downing flying Grouse. In fact 6's work even better for shooting thru the edges of big Hemlock Tress and Giant Grape Vines. When the leaves are partially down and a gunner can get a closer better view of the Grouse, the 8's work well. In fact at this time I go to the SpredR shells with great success.

This also holds true for different double gun use, in the very early season I have been known to use my 12 Gauge for cutting thru the thick foliage, using Fiocchi hi grade quick 7 1/2 and 6 shells, then when the leaves are partially down, I go to the 16 Gauge, with SpredR shells, 8's under the 1st trigger and 6's under the back trigger. When the leaves are almost completely down I use the 20 and 28 gauge double guns in the same manner.

Ryman Gun Dog
L.C. Smith Man

Ken Graft watches his Gordon Setter Ruby on Point, at the edge of the thick forest, with his 16 Gauge Parker DHE.

RGD,

I hear you. And yes the Hemlocks, might as well be body armor.

I want to say I was reading Burton Spiller and he was discussing the merits #8 on grouse and woodcock especially due to the slightly more fine, but much more plentiful pellet count filling out the pattern more densely. However, it appears 7.5 seems to be winning so far...

FSJ,

Remember in Spiller's era the forests were a lot different with lots of edges to hunt. Also the shells were quite different with slow burning powders, before the invention of the Nitro type shells, so the 8's worked very well with the more closed choked double guns, in Spiller's era.

Ryman Gun Dog
L.C. Smith Man



We still have places in our mountains today that the forest edges go on for miles and miles, still good places to use the 8's, when the leaves are fully down. We have some of the greatest Grouse & Woodcock habitat on earth here in Potter County, Pa. Along with some of the spookiest birds, due to our forests large number of predators.

These guys are using 8's under the 1st trigger and 6's under the 2nd.




If everything works out correctly and the shot is true, this is the end result, using good shells.

This may have been Gunny Bowman's last Grouse hunt, glad he got a couple nice big birds that day, he may never be able to walk the mountains again, his Agent Orange has finally caught up with him. He is a world class Grouse Gunner and one of the Best Marine Sniper Instructors who has ever lived.

I do not live in an area which has grouse. My experience is thus with quail, dove & woodcock. I have used both #8 & #7� on these. I never had a problem killing any of these with either size "IF" it was hit. If I m shooting 7/8 oz I will normally go with #8 for the extra shot. More than 1 oz I would normally go with #7� to avoid putting so many shot in the bird. For 1 oz I might go either way depending upon the gun's choke. Althoug I never kept records I know that one gun with which I had the highest percentage of birds killed to shots fired on quail & woodcock was a 12 gauge firing 1 oz of #8's at around 1125 fps. This gun had 28" Damascus barrels choked � choke in both barrels & weighed a couple of ounces under 7 lbs. For some reason I never carried it on a dove shoot, though it should have been ideal for all except very high fliers.

This was some years back & shells were loaded with the old original DuPont HyScore (pre 700X) to around 8-8�K PSI, never felt a need for any lower pressure. I foolishly sold it but it has since come back home, but by that time I was not able to get out & hunt as I had previously.

It was also a most excellent cottontail gun with same load but #6 shot. At that point my Dad loved rabbit hunting with a pack of Beagles, so I went with him a lot. He passed away back in 1996 but had been unable to hunt for a few years prior to that.

No difference between #8 and #7.5 up here on grouse and WC during "bird season" (October). Talking .410 through 12. #7.5 is easier to find in 3" .410s.

#6 with some constriction makes sense for late season grouse, especially dogless. Probably makes sense as a second bbl load - for all I'd know. Early season #6 tears them up too much.

OTOH, saw a noticeable difference between #8 and #7.5 on preserve phez.

The difference probably isn't worth thinking about though I admit that I have pretty much settled on 1 0z of 7 1/2 for grouse. If all I had were 7/8oz 8s, I wouldn't stay home. On one week of hunting many years ago, all I had was a box of High brass 20 gauge sixes. I killed grouse and woodcock with them just fine. When I was a kid, no. 6 was what most people used. We like to imagine that small differences in shot size matter but in my experience, the difference isn't very noticable if both charges weigh the same. The extra pellet number seems to balance out the decrease in energy per pellet within the range that most small birds are shot.