gun powder grain vs pellet size

12gauge dave

hi guys im new to this forum and have a few questions i need clearing up great place for irish shooting info by the way:D

the biggest catridges i can get for my 12gauge are

42g shot size 0

46g shot size 6

56g shot size 2

just wondering which is the more powerful catridge to do more damage
and which would be best for long distance shotgun shooting!?

basically asking is grains of gunpowder more important than pellet/shot size?

landkeeper

well what you are listing is the weight of pellets and the size of the pellets in each shell not the grains of powder in each load you want to check your gun will actually be safe to use with those last two loads it will need to be at least a 3" chamber and proofed for those loads
the manufacturer will load to a specific pressure load so the heaviest load may actually have the smallest powder charge to keep the pressure within limits that are safe

12gauge dave

i thought the g was for grams of gunpowder surely no?

ya it has a 3 inch chamber thanks for reply

It wasn't me!

12gauge dave wrote: »

i thought the g was for grams of gunpowder surely no?

ya it has a 3 inch chamber thanks for reply

Nope, grams of shot.

12gauge dave

oh sooey guys show how much i know:o:o:o

so when im looking for the more poerful catridges what will i check for on the catridge box?

landkeeper

the proof loading on the box will give you some indication as to thatit'll be marked in kg/cm BUT be aware check your shotguns proof marks just cos the shell will fit dosn't mean it's safe to use that shell in it
what gun are you using

12gauge dave

what is prrof loading and how is it measured?

its a second hand baikal over and under shotgun cant remember model number but ends in 1-m-c or something

is the legnth of the brass an indication to gunpowder/power of catridge

landkeeper

no thats just for show
take the gun apart and look under the barrels on the action flats it'll be stamped there it'll be 75mm that's 3" chamber if its 70mm then it's 2.3/4"
it should have 900kg or more from memory 1100 kg for 3" shells

12gauge dave

will do tomorrow when im at home so i take gun apart and look under barrells is it and there should be writing there! thanks for advice:)

what powerful catridges do you guys use?

weight load vs shot size which is more important for stopping power in your opinion?

landkeeper

depends what you want to shoot
clays7/8/9
birds5/6/7 or ground game5/6s
foxes bbs 2s 3s

12gauge dave

would my 2 3/4 inch nsi heavy load 42g 0's be bb's or what are bb's again thanks for help much apreciated!

landkeeper

http://www.shotgunworld.com/amm.html

ArseLtd

0's are .17 inches in diameter and i think BB's are .18 inches although they could be .17 aswell.

Common shot sizes starting with the biggest would be AAA, BB, 0, 1, 2, ,3 ,4 etc
If you want to know how big number pellets actually are take 4 from 17 youve got .13 inches thats for no.4 and so on for the rest of them.

Good read here http://www.jonathan-spencer.co.uk/Reference/Guns/Shotgun/Ammo/Shotsize.pdf

I should remind you there are no elephants in Ireland:P, if you don't mind me asking what do you want all of this "stopping power" for?

12gauge dave

thanks very helpful information:) i cant find 0 on the size chart so my 0's must be close to or be bb size i take? shame my dealer doesnt sell buckshot anyway thanks again fella:)

12gauge dave

ArseLtd wrote: »

0's are .17 inches in diameter and i think BB's are .18 inches although they could be .17 aswell.

Common shot sizes starting with the biggest would be AAA, BB, 0, 1, 2, ,3 ,4 etc
If you want to know how big number pellets actually are take 4 from 17 youve got .13 inches thats for no.4 and so on for the rest of them.

Good read here http://www.jonathan-spencer.co.uk/Reference/Guns/Shotgun/Ammo/Shotsize.pdf

I should remind you there are no elephants in Ireland:P, if you don't mind me asking what do you want all of this "stopping power" for?

im breeding elephants round the back!ha no just new to the shotgun world have a few friends with guns but they are big rifle men and dontjust wanting put up with my shotgun questions!ha just asking as it will be foxs i will be mostly shooting and they are normally at or near maximum range for shotgun shooting and just want a catrridge that i can be confident will put the lil red devil down:D

Glanton

My Baikal proof markings are 65MPa. I googled Pascal some time back and got
1 Pa = 1 Kg/(m.s2)
so would this work out at 65,000,000 Kg/(m.s2).
65 Million! Maybe Pa stands for something else in Russian other than Pascal ?
Seems a bit high when apperantly 1100 Kg is a standard proof or did I read the conversion wrong?

I have 10 x 42g No. 2 cartridges but am sticking to the 36g Alphamax for the time being. Plenty of kick off them for both me and the fox!

ArseLtd

12gauge dave wrote: »

im breeding elephants round the back!ha no just new to the shotgun world have a few friends with guns but they are big rifle men and dontjust wanting put up with my shotgun questions!ha just asking as it will be foxs i will be mostly shooting and they are normally at or near maximum range for shotgun shooting and just want a catrridge that i can be confident will put the lil red devil down:D

Hehe just makin sure :cool:

Don't worry too much about power lots of lads will tell you about alphamax 36 gram BB's, loads of foxes shot with them. If your the only one with a shotgun theres a chance one will come in close you'll get him better than the lads with rifles.

12gauge dave

ya think i mite invest in a box or two of them 36g bb's from alphamax been hearing alot about them from looking my across the internet! my local gun dealer only stocks them in 4's:( might ask him to get a load in for me!