So in the above post are several pictures of my targets from earlier today. The shots are taken standing, modified Weaver stance. No other support, and I had my Modified choke in. I keep two; the Mod and the X-tra Full for turkey or waterfowl.
I wasn't going for accuracy, but did try to keep the double bead in the black, save for the one target with two shots in it. First shot POA was in the black, then a second shot aimed at the "No. 4" below.
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On the Hornady; Initially I was pretty pleased with the pattern, but it would seem somewhere between 36-50 feet the pattern really opens up. So much so I could barely keep it on paper at 25 yards. It is adequate for in the house defense. I definitely would not feel comfortable taking a shot past 15 yards, but the good news is I probably never will have to. Probably.
- One thing I would like to find is more gelatin tests. Since they are claiming 1600FPS, it would be nice to know if that offers any advantages.
- Recoil was pretty mild. About like a cheap target load.
- I was surprised to get a flyer at 12 yard mark. The pattern also seems to have become a bit goofy here. The wads aren't consistent, some of the pellets might be knuckle-balling a bit? I'm thinking the "smart" cup might not fly nice with an over-bored barrel.
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I also decided to dig through my scrub shells and clean out some old stuff.
- Remington Express 2.75" 9-pellet. I saw some of this too at Cabelas. I think I'm going back for more of this. I was very happy with how consistent the pattern looked.
- Remington Magnum 3" 15-pellet. Recoil is not too bad. I didn't like how low it shot. If I run across more of this I'll be buying a box or ten and do a little more testing than just one shot.
- Winchester Super-X Mag 3", 15-pellet. I don't know what I was thinking. This was the first shell I threw in the pipe and let rip. Kicks like a Missouri mule on the 4th of July. I still have five more of these in the basement. They might stay there. I like how filled in the pattern was, but I didn't like how spread out it was for only ten yards.
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Conclusion. Hornady is good enough for now but a little too expensive for how it performs. I'm going looking for more Remington in 2.75" and 3". The 2.75" shells can be had for under a buck a round. I paid $40 for 30 of the Hornady shells.
I do think I'll keep this barrel, and instead focus on taming the recoil. If I can get it configured to use the 3" Rem Mag shells and allow for a follow up shot, this thing is bad joo-joo medicine on anyone looking to break in during the middle of the night.