Which 12 gauge cartridges can be considered the best choice - manufacturers and characteristics

In the hunting world, 12 gauge ammunition is the most popular, however, the choice of such ammunition is varied. After all, it is influenced by many factors that are not even related to the type of gun: these are weather conditions, the type of animal, the natural landscape, and even the amount of game.

Despite the fact that modern weapons companies, domestic or foreign, produce 12-gauge hunting cartridges of approximately the same quality, shooting performance varies. Let's look at the main types of 12-gauge hunting cartridges and determine their purpose.

Classification of hunting ammunition

The choice is determined by two main parameters - the type of game and the characteristics of the gun. The cost is influenced by the material of manufacture and the manufacturer. Most domestic cartridges meet international quality standards, but some hunters still prefer foreign analogues.

The following classification of these ammunition is accepted:

• By type of gunpowder: smoky or smokeless. The former are practically not produced due to poor performance.
• Sleeve material: plastic, paper or metal. Cartridges with a plastic body have proven themselves well.
• Type of charge: buckshot, shot or bullet. The choice depends on the characteristics of the future prey and shooting conditions. For hunting birds, ammunition with shot is used, less often with buckshot.
• Classification of fractions. It can be steel or lead, the size varies from 1.5 mm to 5 mm.
• Sleeve length. Shot - 65, 70, 76 and 89 mm, buckshot - 65, 70, 76 mm.

Magnum cartridges with increased pressure of powder gases during a shot are used less frequently. Not all hunting rifles are designed for such conditions.

Read about loading your own cartridges here.

Do you need to know everything about gun cartridges to shoot accurately?

Needless to say, not every hunter knows the ballistic features of weapon cartridges thoroughly. Moreover, we can talk about experienced hunters, and not necessarily about beginners. It’s easy to understand: after all, practice and real shooting are much more exciting than boring studying and memorizing theory. It is because of this that most hunters judge the quality of certain hunting cartridges based on purely personal feelings. This includes recoil force, the ratio of hits to misses, the amount of gunpowder remaining in the barrel and other purely individual aspects. That is, conclusions about which cartridges are better for hunting are made based on such personal judgments. Primitive? But it has been verified. On the other hand, such a lack of theory and its complete replacement by practice leads to the fact that many hunters often do not understand calibers, that is, they distinguish them by consonant names, and do not rely on real correspondences between the sizes of the cartridge and the caliber. What is a caliber anyway? This is a system of relating the size of a bullet to its weight, developed several centuries ago. But before you understand the calibers used in hunting, you need to remember that guns are rifled and smooth-bore. The difference is in how the shot itself is fired. In the first case, the barrel has a thread that twists the bullet, and in the second, the shot is fired by a powder push.

How to choose a good cartridge

It is important to consider the characteristics of the gun. Depending on the standards of the country of origin, there may be different tolerances for barrel diameter. So, for Russia this value varies from 18.2 to 18.7 mm. For French weapons - 18.1-18.5 mm. You can decide on a specific cartridge only after zeroing.

Zeroing an air rifle with an optical sight - step-by-step instructions

The following indicators are taken into account:

• By changing the distance to the target, analyze the sharpness - the depth of penetration of the shot (buckshot) into a dry wooden board. The optimal indicator is 4 charge diameters.
• The accuracy value must correspond to the declared value.
• The sleeve is removed without jamming or unnecessary effort.

The ratio of the mass of the charge to the weight of the gun is about 1/100. The pressure when firing should not be higher than normal. Particular attention is paid to the possibility of using Magnum charges. The pressure of powder gases for them can exceed 1040 bar, which is unacceptable for standard hunting rifles.

The best compatibility is the same country of origin of the gun and ammunition. When choosing a cartridge, beginners are advised to take the advice of professional hunters. They will help you select ammunition based on the actual characteristics of the gun.

12 gauge cartridge. Smoothbore cartridges. How to choose? (Guide to choose from)

Contents of the article (click to view)

Smoothbore cartridges

At first glance, the topic of 12-gauge smoothbore cartridges is not at all a subject for a printed article. Everything here has long been said by numerous weapons gurus and polished by leading cartridge companies to such a degree of perfection that the average consumer doesn’t have to bother.

And yet, questions arise. Moreover, the main stream of questions from buyers comes when there is a wide choice on display, when you need to buy several packs of 12-gauge cartridges for different hunts, when everyone is standing in a tight line of like-minded colleagues in anticipation of the upcoming joys of hunting. That is, on the eve of the opening of the hunt and during the hunting season. Sales consultants at this time, naturally, work more as salespeople than as consultants, and the store is more reminiscent of a tire shop during the first frost than a decent, respectable company.

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Difficult choice

Among the large selection of factory cartridges, there is such a thing as marking, that is, an inscription reflecting the totality of all the characteristics of the product that a hunter needs to know. In hunting stores you can find a fairly solid selection of products from both domestic and foreign manufacturers. It is reasonable to ask the question: whose product is better? There is a well-established opinion that domestic hunting cartridges are of worse quality than foreign ones. But some statistics, which can be found in quite serious hunting magazines, indicate the opposite. At the very least, if ours are not better than foreign ones, then they are certainly not inferior to them in most cases. But it's definitely cheaper. So if you are new to hunting, then take a closer look at the domestic manufacturer. Well, if you are a professional, then you have long ago decided for yourself what to use. Numerous reviews from hunters have made it possible to formulate an approximate rating of the most popular brands of hunting bullets, shot and buckshot today. This list looks like this:

1. Main cartridge made in Tula. Affordable and very reliable 12-gauge cartridges;
2. CJSC Tekhkrim Izhevsk production;
3. Rus from SCM "Industry" from Tolyatti with a 70 mm sleeve;
4. Taiga is a product made in Tula, including bullets.

As you can see, the four record holders are exclusively domestic products. It's all about the fairly high reliability and quality of these cartridges, and of course, the affordable price. And then there are Fetter cartridges, presented in a huge selection and variety. They are very popular due to the same high quality, ideally combined with a low price. It is very important that Fetter produces weapons for specific game. For example, there are “Duck” cartridges and the like.

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We recommend reading

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2. Reopening Duck Hunting: Everything You Need to Know in 2020
3. Rifled weapons - the choice of professionals

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