Please help me understand...

First of all lets just talk about the ballistic aspect of this. I have been following a few threads about the heavier than lead loads, when this caught my attention. Gadget you stated that a member's mossberg was throwing a particularly better pattern because he was using a 28" barrell. You and hawglips also talked about the necessary fps to kill a bird at 40yds with a certain shot. I know the fps decreases out of the muzzle with a longer barrell, but a longer barrell throws a tighter pattern, so clue me in one which matters most. I would think a denser pattern would be perfered over volicity. I have a 28" barrell on my 870 now, but was thinking about going to a 24" barrell for maneuverability. But, if my pattern is going to be consistantly better with the 28" better I will stick with it. I have always hunted with a 28" barrell and the length does not seem to bother me.

the velocity of your shot will be higher in a longer barrel also.

boothy said:

the velocity of your shot will be higher in a longer barrel also.

Click to expand...

Correct. I think you may have gotten mixed up. A longer barrel, in shotguns and rifles alike, create more pressure because the projectile is in the barrel longer, and therefor the velocity of the projectile is higher.

You are worrying too much!!

First and foremost you want a good pattern at the maximum range you intend to kill a bird. A good pattern varies by person but for me I choose 13 pellets consistantly in the kill zone of a bird. The kill zone is the spine and/or head not in the waddles, not in his body, not within a 20" circle but within that thin 1" wide line from his brain down to where his neck hits his body. It does not matter how much velocity or energy you have if you can not hit the brain or the spine/neck vertabre.

Then you can worry about energy. Energy is mass X velocity. The smaller your shot size (the bigger the number on the box) the less mass you have. Of course mass also depends on the material the shot is made of. Velocity is dependent on both the powder charge and the weight of the shot charge. Most people do not realize that most turkey loads for 3" shells and 3 1/2" sheels have the same powder charge. Since the 3 1/2" shells have a larger shot charge they will be going slower! The loads shown by some manufacturers as HV (high velocity) accomplish this by reducing the shot charge (less pellets). Less pellets, same powder charge = faster velocity. Faster velocity, same pellet weight (of each pellet) = more energy.

All of this is trickery. In order to improve one outcome you usually have to give up on another. Higher on target density? More pellets. Higher velocity? less pellets. More energy? higher velocity or larger pellets (mass).

It has been shown that #6's with a max. powder charge has plenty of energy at 40 yards. It gets questionable beyond that. For me persoanlly i like beiung in the middle with #5's. Pleanty of energy at 40 yards and usually a good enough pattern at 40 yards to keep my 13 pellets in the kill zone. I happen to have a gun that really loves #4's at 40 yards so I have even better energy so that is what I use. But #4's may not give the pattern density needed from ost guns at 40 yards. The only way you know all this is to pattern your gun.

So why do I pick 40 yards? It is personal for me. I really feel if I can not get a bird within 30 yards I have not done my job. 40 yards gives me a cushion to miss my judgement. If you have another distance you want to use then make sure your gun and load can do it. Remember though that the further your acceptable yardage is, the easier it is to estimate wrong.

Thats what I thought, I was getting confused with the other thread I was reading.