Question on 4 BUCK ?

LBLDOG

LBLDOG

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I bought some Winchester 4 BUCK and on the box it says the normal 12 guage,2/3/4 unplated shot, 4 BUCK. What does unplated shot mean? I have never boght any 4 BUCK before? I normally use turkey loads but I wanted to step it up this year. Iknow about dead coyote but it is a little $$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$$! /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/confused1.gif
 
Unplated means the lead pellets are just bare lead with no "plating" to prevent them from becoming dinged and out of round. When fairly soft lead pellets loose their shape they often scatter from the pattern and end up as fliers out of the main group. Usually, all things equal, plated shot patterns better. Most plated shot has a copper wash over it. Nickle is the best plating, but is seldom seen, I suppose from the point of cost. IF, the unplated shot is of a hard alloy it "may" pattern and penetrate as well as the plated stuff. The only shot like that that I know of is Hornady's TAP and it isn't found in No. 4BK. I have found the Federal Premium plated No. 4BK as being excellent, and, have recommended it to many people who also found it an excellent load.
 
Unplated takes a manufacturing process away, making it less expensive to produce. When they plate it it gives it a harder surface less likely to deform in the shot string.
This normally means that you can get tighter patterns with plated shot.(plated is usually buffered with some material to "cushion" the shot so it does not deform also.) It does vari from choke to choke and gun to gun. Plated cost more but you can usually gain a few yards in your pattern. Hope this helped Denny
 
Unplated lead shot can deform enough to cause one or more pellets do fly at near right angles to the rest of the pattern This is why police use Plated #4 BK, better range, better penatration, and less likely to have flyers that can be a liability nightmare.
The loading process even with buffering can cause deformation, Buck shot is usually pure lead and dead soft so even storage can cause flattening of pellets I have seen unplated buck shot fly off like a frisby from a pattern I have also disected shot shells and found new shells with as many as half the pellets being flattend on one or both sides /ubbthreads/images/graemlins/shocked.gif
 
LBLDOG,

4-Buck will pattern better[tighter groupings]. If it is "Buffered". When I started useing a shotgun, I went from lead 4-Buckshot, to "Buffered 4-Buckshot". Vast improvement over "non-buffered Buckshot".
 
Years ago, when I used to reload lead shot for duck hunting, I loaded any of the larger shot sizes (#4 or larger) using Cream of Wheat as a buffer. It made a big difference in pattern density. I also loaded 3" 12ga magnums loads with #4 buck and Cream of Wheat for geese. It had the same result of making denser patterns. I think that copper plated shot by itself works just as well.
 
Just be aware of the fact that all plated shot is not "hard" plated shot. Soft plated shot is not a whole lot better than unplated soft shot. The best you can get is "hard", high antimony, plated shot.
 
My shot guns like the Hornady Tap Ammo, and the Federal Premium ammo alot. I think it works well cause of the type of wade used and how it reacts with my Pattern Master tube.
 
MPFD,
The wad used by Hornady and Federal was originally marketed by a company as the "CHOKE" wad. Hornady uses it in their loads and doesn't make much mention of it. Federal had to rename it as the FliteControl and make a big deal of it in the press. Part of the reasoning Federal did this was because this wad is unique because it is designed to actually stay with, and contain, the shot for quite a distance to the target. Supposedly this helps with tighter patterns downrange. The key to this feature, and why Federal splashed so much press about the new wad, is to use a choke tube that does NOT strip the wad from the shot. Chokes that strip the wad from the shot can cause a wild pattern with these loads/wads. I am surprised you're getting good patterns with this wad from the PatternMaster because of the wad stripping dimples in your choke.
 
LBLDOG
Will your shotgun shoot 3" shells? If so you may want to try the X12XCMB5 Winchester Supreme.....4 buck, 41 pellets, copper plated. This is hard shot and is buffered. At 40 yds,our Mossberg puts 9 to 10 pellets in a 4" aiming square, averages 10 more in 10" and the rest in a 24" circle. Kicks the hell out of you too, but it WILL kill coyotes! We're only paying around $6.00 for a 5 pack.I think they also offer a 27 pellet load in 2 3/4 shells.
David
 
Thats funny cause pattern master specifically recommended The Federal Premium for this reason. All the reading I've done suggests that the wad staying with the shot once it leaves the barrel is what dispurts the pattern. Pattern master recommended Federal Premium, I've used it next to Winchester Super X, and found the Federal to pattern tighter consistantly. I had about 20 rounds of the TAP given to me and found it to work just as well. I cut one of each open and found the wads to be very similar. I shot a skunk with the Federal ammo the other day @ about 40 yards and judgeing by the pattern striking the ground. I would say it worked, looked very tight for that far out.
 
I realy dont want to come across as a smartaleck......but........

The copper wash is meant to act as a lubricant. Nickle plating is a hardener. Both try to accomplish a better end result, just differently.

As far as plated or unplated, use what you can afford. I usually have winchester unplated 3.5 inch 4 buck in my gun, but take note-the federal premium 3 inch has 13 less pellets (41 vs. 54) and I get about the same results with the 3.5 that most report with the 3 inch federal premium stuff. Thats worth taking note of.
 
Ok, you're talking about the older Federal stuff with regular type wad, same as I've been shooting all along too. For me, that Federal Premium No. 4BK has been the best patterning load of any of the common ones available. I've shot it through several guns with the best results, it does best through my Dad's gun, and several other guys I've recommended it to - like Rich Cronk as an example. It is really good stuff.

You have to watch the new stuff with the FliteControl wad through the wad stripping chokes. Federal has been incorporating the FliteControl wad into their turkey loads and some of the buckshot the last year or so. I just patterned some 00 Buck with the FliteControl wad through the Kick's BuckKicker and it sprayed the shot in a 12" vertical string up and down the target because of the wad stripping ports. A smooth factory Improved Modified shoots a nice round pattern. Same story for the turkey loads. There have been a lot of guys complained about it until the realized the were using the wrong type choke. After they switched to a smooth choke that wouldn't strip the FliteControl wad, they've had very good results. You can tell the difference between the wads when you shoot them and find them laying on the ground. The old standard type is a cup that flares out from the front. The FliteControl flares out from the rear of the wad and the cup in front stays intact.
 
LBLDOG, you can't use the #4 buckshot in KY. I had been using it and didn't know until a friend told me that he thought is was illegal to use and it is, can't use anything larger than #2 shot.
 
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