SG modifications for buckshot

[calif3gunner]

What modifications can done to a Benelli SG to get the best/tightest consistent patterns.

[bigbrowndog]

Before spending money on mods, I would suggest trying as many different loads as possible. Try getting the 8 pellet, Remington Tac 8 load, it supposed to be very good as is the Federal LR load. Myself and others have had excellent luck with 000 buck instead of 00 buck, somehow the 8 pellet load gets thru the barrel smoother and causes less dispersion. Don't be afraid to try chokes from Cyl. to Imp.Mod.

Trapr

[Neil Beverley]

I agree with Trapr's comments but add a couple more.

It is fairly common, certainly outside of the US to set a maximum of 9 pellets per cartridge. This is because in helps with match expediency when shooting buckshot at paper targets.

Secondly - Don't over choke the gun. Full choke for example constricts the barrel too much and causes the bellets to knock into each other resulting in a less consistent pattern. Yes the bulk of the pattern may be tighter but you will often see 1 or 2 flyers to are off to the side of the main pattern. This can bite you if there are no-shoots nearby. Personally I try not to shoot buckshot with anything more than Modified choke.

I wrote something on shotgun patterning for the IPSC Global Village and included a number of pictures. The link is below:

GV Shotgun Patterning

Edited February 18, 2008 by Neil Beverley

[benny hill]

Tried some fed. low recoil 00 buck in my benelli with a I.C. choke @ 22 yds & got a 10" pattern with 5 of the 9 pellets in the A zone-----done.

[calif3gunner]

Benny what lenght barrel? I run a 24" for Open. Fed and the Winchester Ranger low recoil seemed to pattern about the same.

I have never shot a match that required buckshot on paper, but reviewed the stages from the 06 European SG Championship and noted the match required buckshot hits on paper. I am thinking of trying it out at some of my matches (buckshot on paper) regarding scoring hits on no-shoots are you penalized for every buckshot hit?

[AlamoShooter]

How much attention has the "Three Gun" guys given to Forcing cones on shotguns? I know the forcing cone has more to do with controlling recoil and helping patterns than any other modification..... In a sporting gun any way, must act the same for all lead shot no matter the size

But I don't know much

[jobob]

Has anyone tried heavy loads of #4 buck? I was thinking of taking some to Ironman this year to play with the spinners. I'd think a fairly dense pattern of 27 pellets would be a good option for getting a lot of lead on the target.

[Merlin Orr]

How much attention has the "Three Gun" guys given to Forcing cones on shotguns? I know the forcing cone has more to do with controlling recoil and helping patterns than any other modification..... In a sporting gun any way, must act the same for all lead shot no matter the size

But I don't know much

So how much $$ does reworking the forcing cone cost? A Bunch, right?

[AlamoShooter]

How much attention has the "Three Gun" guys given to Forcing cones on shotguns? I know the forcing cone has more to do with controlling recoil and helping patterns than any other modification..... In a sporting gun any way, must act the same for all lead shot no matter the size

But I don't know much

So how much $$ does reworking the forcing cone cost? A Bunch, right?

No its about the same as the cost of porting. Used to be $70 a barrel. =$140 for an over and under OLD price.

I used to shoot over 250 a day some times of 12 gage over and under. =it makes a difference.

Lots of big $$$ spent on sporting guns & lots of research for a better mouse trap. the barrel ports do next to nothing compared to having longer "polished" forcing cones.

We could test it by shooting my OU for a pattern with your buck shot compared to Rem compared to the Benelly , We could do it at the benefit event on the 30th. The forcing cones in the old Remington were Terrible, I don't know about the new ones.

JF

Edited February 19, 2008 by AlamoShooter

[Neil Beverley]

Benny what lenght barrel? I run a 24" for Open. Fed and the Winchester Ranger low recoil seemed to pattern about the same.

I have never shot a match that required buckshot on paper, but reviewed the stages from the 06 European SG Championship and noted the match required buckshot hits on paper. I am thinking of trying it out at some of my matches (buckshot on paper) regarding scoring hits on no-shoots are you penalized for every buckshot hit?

In the UK we've been shooting buck on paper targets for 20+ years and it can certainly add an extra dimension to the stage. We will often add overlapping no-shoots but you have to be careful to not push the targets back too far because of inconsistent patterns biting the competitor. On the other hand if you set the targets too close then you create 2 problems to consider. Firstly buckshot can quickly destroy a paper target and secondly you get a lot of holes to patch. There are steps you can take to minimise these issues so that paper targets can still be included on a buckshot stage without any significant issues.

If you don’t add a no-shoot then by all means push the targets back and this results in less hits and less target damage.

On scoring targets you simply score the 2 highest scoring hits and ignore the extras, i.e. with 00 buck: 1 shot = 9 holes but only = 2 hits for score.

We don’t very often include more than 4 paper targets on a stage. I've seen more but you need to crew the stage appropriately. Next you could use disposable targets and I specifically created the A4/A and the A3/B paper targets that can be replaced per shooter. Simply create the template and then copy (xerox) enough for the match. The cost can be easily absorbed from a match entry fee.

Unfortunately there are some issues with the USPSA SG rules, particularly the new 2008 USPSA SG rules. I wrote to John Amidon and Mike Voigt about 2 weeks ago with a couple of pages of what I see to be problems. Some of these are new to the 2008 rules and some were there in the 2004 rules. I'll only discuss the ones concerned with buckshot. I haven't heard back from Mike yet and I couldn't tell from John's reply whether he will be issuing amendments who leaving things as they are. I hope it's not the latter because there are some fundamental issues that I think need attention.

Without wishing to open up old sores the principle reason the IPSC shotgun rules set a limit of a maximum of 2 hits to count on a no-shoot is because of the problem of multiple strikes from buckshot. The max-2-hits limit has been removed and so a single screw up with a paper no-shoot with buckshot could wipe out a stage under the revised USPSA rules. You could be penalised for (say) 9 hits for a single error. I have asked John and Mike to reconsider this aspect. One way around this is to use a metal no-shoot in front of a scoring paper target. Metal no-shoots in SG MUST fall to score and so the multiple strikes aren't the same problem.

Unfortunately the USPSA rules have also removed the option to nominate the maximum number of pellets per cartridge for reasons of match expediency. It is the norm in IPSC on buckshot stages to set a limit of 9 pellets max for 12 gauge with a separate limit for 20 gauge. The USPSA rules allow a limit to be set but ONLY for reasons of safety.

This brings you back to disposable targets and metal no-shoots or run the match to the IPSC rules and in all honesty I don’t think the differences are anywhere near those as for the HG rules. The USPSA supports both sets of rules anyway so all perfectly ligit – your choice

Of course for so called “outlaw” 3 gun matches then it would seem that a 2-hit limit could be adopted in any case.

Trapr and Kurt may comment on their thoughts of suitability of the IPSC rules instead of the USPSA rules.

On the other hand Mike and John may amend the rules and then these problems may go away.

[calif3gunner]

Neil, thanks for the info. Hard cover steel no-shoots would work and full targets at distance are always an option. I think I am going to head on out to the range and see what works and include buckshot at an upcoming match.