I did some informal testing with a couple of different 12 gauge 00 buckshot loads a while back (patterning, mostly), and then I just did some informal penetration testing with a couple of different slugs this past weekend (firing them through square aluminum metal tubing, aircraft aluminum plate metal, a steel automobile wheel and a car door). I am preparing to post pictures on this thread, as long as ‘Photobucket’ will work for me.
Does anyone have gelatin penetration data for different 12 gauge 00 buck or slug loads besides some of the older data that has been out for a while? I would also be interested in data for some of the ruduced recoil loads in both buckshot and slugs as well. My recent testing has me doing some more ‘thinking’ again…
I am betting that your testing, like mine, dispelled a lot of the myth that buckshot and slugs (excluding Breneke, etc.) are great penetrators of cover. I have found OO buckshot penetration to be inferior to almost any handgun round tested by me from 9mm 147gr to .45ACP JHP’s in hard targets.
Well…the hard target penetration of 00 buckshot may be lacking, but the soft target penetration is past excellent. While shotguns and buckshot have been overwhelmed by the AR revolution, they remain extremely effective on human targets.
And that makes perfect sense intuitively. Buckshot consists of projectiles that are smaller and lighter than a pistol bullet, have lower sectional density, and generally do not have a durable metal jacket around them. They are moving at roughly the same speed (perhaps slightly faster) as a pistol bullet so that factor is a wash.
I just wish the AR guys grasped that one. I have put a 5.56 55gr FMJ through about 5x as much pine board as a OO buck pellet. The OO Buck load is a great indoor load imho.
I have found in previous testing that most any 1-ounce ‘Foster’ slug will penetrate barriers fine… almost as good as the Brennekes, in fact!!! However, in tissue/gelatin, the Brennekes penetrate deeper.
I tested 4 different 9mm 147 grain HP’s against the car door, and all 4 penetrated all the way through with no trouble. I did not have them go into gelatin after the door, though. However, the door does have 2 layers…
BTW, what do all of you think of Federal’s ‘Flight Control’ Buckshot loads? I would NOT want them for home defense.
I agree with everything but the 35 yard sentiment. I am still getting 70-90%+ patterns on 14x16" targets with OOO buck and a MOD choke at that distance, not to mention slugs can reach out to 100 yards with ease after a bit of practice.
Very similar to what I observed with Hornady and their version of the FC wad. At 15 yards it produced patterns the size of my fist. At 20 yards, a few stray pellets hit the 14x16" paper.
I don’t know if it was a donut pattern or not, but it was a piss poor pattern whatever it was. Had the target been larger maybe I would have been able to tell.
Still, a 00 pellet at 1600FPS sounded cool, so I bought some.
IIRC, Hornady licensed the FliteControl wad from Federal for their TAP brand. The Hornady and Federal loads pattern identically.
The “donut” pattern is a dispersion of pellets away from the center of the pattern – resulting in only a few pellets in the center of the pattern. The size of the patterns are very similar between the full power and the reduced recoil loads. The reduced recoil loads have a very uniform spread within their pattern, though.
I am familiar with donut pattern, but with so few pellets on my target, it was impossible for me to say if it was a donut pattern with a huge hole, or just a total crap pattern. I think it was just total junk. Out to 15 yards it performed as it should though! A few yards apst that, and a lucky hit or 2 on the 14x16 was all I saw.
I don’t trust the data shown… one example is the #4 Buckshot (Federal) that supposedly went 14.5 inches in gelatin (was it properly calibrated?). #4 Buckshot typically penetrates less than 12 inches…
