There are basically 3 ballistics in rifle, pistol and shotgun shooting. 1) Internal ballistics, or what takes place inside the chamber and barrel; 2) external ballistics, what takes place during the shot string flight; and 3) terminal ballistics, what happens when the shot string impacts the target.
It was a sunny, crisp day at Upper Nisqually Gun Club in Eatonville WA. Joe and I were putting the finishing touches on the target presentations before I began teaching the next day. The last Field was a lengthy crossing bird.
On my way to Eatonville I'd purchased some Winchester 1 1/8 oz, 2 3/4 dram Lite loads of 7 1/2's. I bought them particularly for the recoil reduction and because I have tremendous confidence in loads such as these. Because the bird was against the sky for a long flight period, we'd been forced to estimate the distance to the target. We guesstimated 60 to 65 yards, possibly a little more. Gun in hand I asked Joe to pull a few. I was having a good day and the birds were hit hard.
Early the following morning, Joe told me he'd gone back to the last field and laser ranged the distance to the target. 80 yards! He moved the trap slightly so we had our 60-yard bird. We then discussed the terminal affects the load had on the targets yesterday. Impressive considering they were essentially Lite loads.
Old myths die hard. There are untold thousands of examples where 1 oz loads at approximately 1,180 to 1,220 fps devastate targets at all reasonable shotgun ranges. Do yourself a favor. Stop the relentless punishing of heavier loads and remember, it's not how fast or how many # 8's leave the muzzle. It's how many are still available to arrive on target, i.e., better terminal ballistics. Your body and your scores will thank you for it.
