.....I'm stunned to read above that a bear was shot with 000 buck, 7 pellets were found in the head and it ran away !!!! 000 buck only has 10 pellets.....
To answer the above question, the loss of velocity and energy of 000 pellets at 20 feet is miniscule.....
When you shoot your bear, charging you, in the chest or ribs, including the heart and lungs with a 30-06, 30-30 or .338 Winchester magnum you are already toast.
William, with all due respect, have you ever shot a charging bear? I have, and it fell close enough that I touched its eye with the muzzle of my 270 to make sure it was dead.
Why would you be surprised that seven 000 shot were in the head? Have you ever shot a 000 buck load on a target at twenty feet? The pattern is considerably less than a foot at that range.
As well, when you try some 12GA 2 3/4" 000 buck on a target, you will see it has eight pieces of shot, not ten, so Doug put 87.5% of the load into that bear's head.
Best,
Ted
