Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Ask The Gunwriters What Happened to 20 Gauge Ammo?

Bruce,

When I did an intensive project on the 28-gauge around 20 years ago for Handloader magazine, I came to the conclusion that #7 shot was the its best all-around shot size for most upland hunting. Did load smaller shot for smaller birds, like doves and quail, and did use #6 on sage grouse. But hard #7s worked great on anything in between, including pheasants. In fact my favorite 28-gauge load for roosters used 7/8 ounce of 7s, which crumpled them out to 40+ yards--and yes, they were all wild birds. It;'s reason I still have a large supply of high-antimony #7s in my collection of loading components.

Found afterward, of course, that the same hard 7s worked great in larger gauges as well. In 2021 did another Handloader piece on lower-pressure loads for older 12-gauges, and killed roosters out to 50 yards dead in the air with an ounce of the same hard 7s. The reason, of course, is pattern density: The hard shot's big enough to penetrate well, but the increased density makes it more likely some will land in the right places on the bird.

It's no coincidence that in Britain the most popular shot size for driven pheasants is their #6 shot--which is the same size as American #7s.