What makes a shotgun shell a magnum

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Right Rail 3. Footer Ad. Because steel shot carries less energy than lead, many waterfowlers opt for the increased power of a magnum load. As you might guess, the greater the weight, the more pellets the shell holds. Upland and small game hunting loads normally hold 1 ounces of lead shot. Some of these are specifically designed for turkey hunters who need the maximum amount of pellets to travel as far as possible.

Shot sizes vary from 7 , 8, and 9 for small birds and clays, to 4, 5, and 6 for upland game, to BB, 1, 2, and 3 for waterfowl and turkey. These are just generalities, of course, and much overlap in usage occurs. Steel shot has been required for waterfowl hunting for over 20 years. Research shows that ducks and geese mistakenly eat lead pellets off the bottom.

As a result, we were losing a significant percentage of birds to lead poisoning. Steel shot complicates the magnum debate because steel carries less energy than lead, in fact, only about half as much. In other words, steel BB hold their energy about equivalently to lead No. Also, at first look, it appears that steel might have an advantage in pellet numbers because steel is lighter, and, therefore, it takes many more pellets to weigh an ounce.

But because the pellet diameter is the same—No. That is one reason they created 3 -inch magnums in the gauge. As another example, a 2 -inch gauge shell can hold a full ounce more lead than steel. In goose hunting, especially, the heavier recoil and higher cost of magnum shells are worth it for most hunters.

Shotgun shells. More details. Hunting shells - small gauge More details. However, the word magnum is now only used in relation to proofing rifles of particular designations such as 7mm Remington Magnum or. Modern shotgun proof operates to International Proof Commission CIP standards, in which the level of proof is matched to chamber length. Shotguns are proofed either to Standard Proof, to take a 70mm cartridge with a maximum mean service pressure of bar, or to Superior Proof, to take a cartridge of 76mm or more with a maximum mean service pressure of 1, bar.