Shotgun for close up. what type of shell?

champ198

champ198

Active member
Here where I live we have a lot of conservation grounds around me that are mostly timber and not a lot of fields.
Have been wanting to get back into a little calling and looking for ideas on what type of shell would be best for predators with a shotgun.
 
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I use 1 1/4 oz of NP BBs but it is in combo guns so I don't worry too much about distance. Years ago I bought a bunch of Dead Coyote F loads and Heavy Weight Rem BBs (very cheap on close out) for my Rem pump if I ever have to hunt in a firearms restricted area.
 
the BEST are ones you handload with tss shot in em. it's pricey. lol

for less expensive coyote shells, lot of guys use factory stuff loaded with 4 buck. factory 3" bb is pretty good.

whatever you do, you need to shoot some and see how they pattern in your shotgun. that might be the most important part..
 
Quote:the BEST are ones you handload with tss shot in em.

Undiputed But I can't afford to shoot $5 shells.
I cast my own lead TT shot, 20 caliber, I can get 51 in a 3"hull and send them on their way at 1400 fps. That will put down any coyote, bobcat, or Mountian lion out to 70 yards with a .670 extended ported choke tube, out of a Stoeger M3500 32"
They cost around a dollar each.
 
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For factory loads, Lead BB shot or lead number 4 Buckshot work good on coyotes. If you reload shotgun shells the lead BBB and lead "T" shot that BPI sells are both great sizes to reload for coyotes.

The BBB and T shot sizes both have quite a few more pellets per shell compared to number 4 buckshot.

If you can't shoot lead shot at coyotes HW13 BB shot and TSS #2,#3 and #4 shot all wok great on coyotes if you reload shotgun shells.
 
I use Hornady Magnum Coyote 3" 1 1/2oz. BBs in my 11-87 12ga. with a modified Rem Choke and have had good luck with them. They are about $1.50 each. Like was said above, DEFINITELY pattern whatever you choose to be sure it works well.
 
Hornady Varmint Express 12g 2.75" #4 buck w/Versatite(Flite Control wad) with a Mod or IC choke. There's 24 pellets of High Antimony lead(vs 27 in typical #4 Buck loads) and no buffer to increase the velocity to 1350fps. They pattern well(because they deform less with tougher lead) out to 75yds and pass through at the the same distance in all but bone hits. All have dropped on shot inside 50yds for me over the years and I've killed a couple beyond 75y that didn't make it far. FWIW I had a consistent 6 pellets inside 10" and all 24 inside 36" circle at 50 yds with MOD choke. IC gave me 5 in 10" and again all inside 36" but was a little more even.. The Versa-tite is a direct copy of Federals Flite Control Wad. If you try to over-choke it beyond Improved Mod..you'll force the shot out of the shot cup prematurely and blow your pattern out. This is good idea if your shots are always inside 50y. I was trying to kill dogs that hung up in the 75yd mark inside timber when they began getting wise. I would kill them at 75 -90yds when they came to bark screech in an arc thinking they were safe..
I've also used their 3" BB (Heavy Mag) coyote loads, and although pattern beautiful at 50 yds, they recoil harder and noticeably less effective beyond that range. If inside 50y I'd go with the 3" BB loads and a Mod choke. If expecting shots or want ability to take them beyond I'd run the 4 Buck loads. As mentioned, I think aside from handloading TSS, the expensive Apex or Hevi's Dead Coyote are your only options for extending your shotgun range.

Of course any 4 Buck, Lead BB or T shot will be a great 2ndary cheaper choice as well, but will cost more to find that "choke" that works best without overchoking it.
 
Not saying I'd count on them beyond 75, but pretty damned consistent on the 15-20 I took inside 75yds at my parents woods/marsh over the years. 2 of the 3 I shot beyond 75 were recovered with 1 that dropped on the shot, another was a solid 90yds and recovered almost 100yds from where was hit on edge of water/marsh .The 3rd made it into the actual marsh yelping on the way. I used Hevi Dead coyote a couple times but the prices were beyond my taste and the Hornady's patterned equally well at waay less money. As they got smarter I looked to extend my range and they were the best I found and still turn to when I bring shotgun.

When they began hanging up consistently beyond 75yds, my solution was a Pump Rem 7600 .308(18.5 carbine) with 110 VMaxes. This extended my range to the marsh edge and I killed a LOT more with that gun..Especially when I put my first Thermal on it(Pulsar Core RXQ30). I did try an AR and shot a couple, but it just wasn't as offhand friendly like the light/Pump gun was on your lap.
 
When I could shoot coyotes with lead shot I killed quite a few with Federal Premium 3" 1-7/8 oz copper coated BB loads an some 2-3/4" 1-1/2 oz lead T shot loads.

Most of the coyotes I shot with lead BB loads needed to be shot more than once between 45 and 50 yards away.

When I had to switch to lead free shot I went with Rem HD BB shot that was 12g/cc shot and it out performed the lead BB shot by quite a bit. In GC's "New Shotgun Pattern Test Results" post, I just coppied this. I posted this on 11/10/07. The copper coated lead BB's from the Federal Premium shells were found between pages 89 and 127 of the first catalog, they were all torn up. Most of the Rem HD BB's were found between the first and second catalog, 355 pages. Three of the HD BB's were found at pages 27, 44 and 62 of the second catalogs.

Based off of my results of shooting at least 100 coyotes with copper coated lead BB shot, I came up with 3.70" of gel penetration needed in the KPY Shotshell Ballistic program to break down or kill coyotes.

From KPY Shotshell Ballistics
1300 fps lead BB shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 46.1 yards
1300 fps Rem HD BB shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 62.4 yards
1300 fps TSS #4 shot gets 3.70" of gel penetration at 78.9 yards

The Rem HD BB shot out performs lead BB plated shot by a long ways and I would say it is at max a 55 yard coyote load for consistantly killing and breaking down coyotes.

The TSS #4 shot 1-1/2 oz load gets 32.8 yards more penetration and has 47 more pellets than the 1-1/2 oz load of lead BB shot has. No lead shot load can compete with TSS #4 shot when it comes to killing and breaking down coyotes.
 


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