Hi all :-)

I have begun to buy ammo for my new 12ga. I know I have to stay with either 2 3/4 or 3 inch shells and that much I can identify on a box.

Velocity, when displayed, is also understood.

Here are my questions:

1) OZ. Shot = usually equals 1 What does that mean?
2) Shot = either 6, 7.5, or 8 Is that the number of lead balls in the shell?
3) why can two boxes with identical numbers (they kind listed above) from the same manufacturer have a different price because one says "Game Load" and the other says "Clay Target round" or something like that.

Thanks for helping me understand this stuff.

Will

The number listed on a box of shotgun shells is called shot size. Shot size such as number 8 for instance tells you that the diameter of the shot is .085 and the number of pellets per ounce of #8 shot is 399 per ounce. That means if you buy a box of one ounce #8 shotgun shells you’ll get 399 individual lead pellets in each shotgun shell.

Here’s a link that will give you a chart showing shot sizes and pellet count for shot sizes 11 thru 000 Buckshot.

http://www.hallowellco.com/shot_size_chart.htm

As for pricing there are several reasons for differences. Some company's load inexpensive target loads with lead shot. Some companies coat or plate their shot with copper making it more expensive.

Some companies use high base brass and heavier powder loads to make the same size shot travel faster, thus further for killing birds at longer distances. Steel shot for waterfowl made to meet federal no lead regulations has different costs along with the very high prices tungsten and heavi-shot shells all have different costs to produce and thus the variety of different prices of shotgun shells.

Renthorin,
A typical marking on a box of shotshells might be:

3 3/4 1 1/4 6

In this case, the markings indicate:

3 3/4 = The "dram equivalent" of the load. This comes form the old black powder days when they weighed out the powder in drams, a now-archaic measurement. Now it is an indication of the velocity of the load, being roughly equivalent to what the indicated number of drams of black powder would give.

1 1/4 = The weight of the shot load in the shell.

6 = The shot size. To get the diameter of the shot, subtract its number from 0.17". Thus, #6 shot would be 0.11" in diameter.

All of the shotshell reloading manuals, and many other sources, list the various data to decode the box markings.

Shells vary in price due to many factors. The cheaper shells will usually be made with cheaper components. Hard shot and plated shot costs more than soft shot. Different case designs have different costs. More shot and/or powder means more expense. Also, shells in low demand (turkey loads, goose loads, buckshot, etc.) carry a higher cost to defray the cost of setup to run a small production lot. Target loads and dove loads are the highest consumption every year, so they are usually the best bargain. Turkey and goose magnum loads carrying the latest innovation in non-toxic shot are shot in limited numbers, so there is a hefty overhead cost added to each round.