Frank Hoppe, of whom I am a great admirer, told me he is now using 8's for everthing. This was less than a year ago. About 20 years ago Al Ljutic told me to never shoot another 7 1/2 as long as I lived.
For winter calcuttas here in Wisconsin I use 9's, 4's and 5's. Seriously, I use hard 7 1/2s for evrything from October on due to cold weather. There is a reason the ATA states no shot larger than 7 1/2's.
Steve Balistreri
Looks like Winter is setting in abit early this year. LOL. I like to use 8 l/2's at 16 yards. Also I see that someone on here likes to use Rio's #8. He may not know it but since all Euro made shells are on the Metric system and there shot sizes run smaller than the USA shot sizes he's using 8 l/2's and does not even know it. DID YOU!!! LOL. Break-em all. Jeff
I'll be at the club this weekend, shooting 7 1/2s for hcp and 8s for singles. I just hope the snow holds off for a little bit and the wind doesn't blow to hard!!!
So for the Newb's out here reading stuff like this... is there any distinct advantage between the 2? I understand the size concept, but my idea was always more shot = better chance of a hit after dispersion occurs.....
For the 16 yard line, no advantage at all. Though, if you are going to use a 1 ounce load at 16 yards, smaller shot might be a better choice for more pellets.
Realistically though, there's probably zero difference. Usually, misses are misses because you pointed the gun wrong, not because you didn't have enough pellets.
That said, I like one ounce of 8-1/2's at about 1150 fps for singles.
Some believe, though some disagree just as strongly, that 7-1/2's are a better choice at distances back about 25 to 27 yards.
Some very, very good 27 yard handicap shooters use 1-1/8 ounces of 8 shot at 1145 fps and score better than me.
I prefer 1-1/8 ounces of 7-1/2's at 1200 fps for handicap. Nothing special.
As to whether my advice is worth a darn? Who knows. I'm Class A-24-B
Pipalmighty:
Most shooters in colder climates will use hard 7 1/2's for winter shooting. Here in Wisconsin the targets are left in the trap house or stored outside inside a shed and these targets are frozen. I have seen targets hit with 8's wear the target actually goes off line from the shot hitting it, but the target does not break. In winter especially, you want knock down power, foot pounds of energy. Maybe someone with some math skills can show us the difference from hitting power from 8's to 7 1/2's. Just look at the way targets smoke in hot weather compared to cold. Cold air opens up patterns, where hot air keeps the pattern tight.
Steve Balistreri
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