71/2 shot vs. 8 shot

[dougkang]

Hi, I'm a novice to trap shooting.
What's the difference between 71/2 shot and 8 shot?
Is there a lot of difference between the two?
And, which one do you prefer?
Thanks for your input in advance!

[bohoki]

i think there is like 10 more pellets in the #8

[Tillers_Rule]

The higher the number, the smaller the shot size. For trap shooting I always go with the higher number, makes the shot hit more likely and the larger shot aren't required to break clay.

[mike100]

the larger the shot pellets, the longer it takes for them to slow down. If you are a quick and aquire the bird right away, the #8 will have a touch more pellet density and bust the bird better,but if you need a longer shot on hard right or left birds, the 7.5's will not need as much lead since the ballistics are slightly more linear so to speak. In truth, it is really subtle for 16 yard trap, but step back from the line or shoot for 6 months to a year and you'll actually be able to tell the difference.

[BMC]

The 7.5 vs. 8 has been an ongoing battle of opinions for decades
For trap there is no discernable difference other than the performance of the shell and your chokes. Some people do better with one over the other. My singles and doubles gun likes 7.5s over 8s. Don't ask me why but it does (using a full choke all the time). My handicap gun performs better with 8s. In theory you will "break" more targets with 8s than 7.5s simply do to the increase in pellet count. It is widely accepted that it take three pellets to break a target, but it only takes one or two to "chip" a target. That chip counts thus, 8s will give occasionally give most people a slight advantage now and then. If you mixed up 7.5s and 8s in your shell pouch and shot a round you would not know the difference. Just use what you can get ahold of and enjoy shooting trap. If you ever get really serious about shooting competitively and hone your game down to the finer points (which are usually always mental), you will end up having a preference.
You will lose more targets from poor gun fit or not staying in the gun than you ever will from a target slipping through the shot string.

[Gunaria]

For trap 8 or 9 is good enough. For real birds 7.5 and up.

[mike100]

The 7.5 vs. 8 has been an ongoing battle of opinions for decades
For trap there is no discernable difference other than the performance of the shell and your chokes. Some people do better with one over the other. My singles and doubles gun likes 7.5s over 8s. Don't ask me why but it does (using a full choke all the time). My handicap gun performs better with 8s. In theory you will "break" more targets with 8s than 7.5s simply do to the increase in pellet count. It is widely accepted that it take three pellets to break a target, but it only takes one or two to "chip" a target. That chip counts thus, 8s will give occasionally give most people a slight advantage now and then. If you mixed up 7.5s and 8s in your shell pouch and shot a round you would not know the difference. Just use what you can get ahold of and enjoy shooting trap. If you ever get really serious about shooting competitively and hone your game down to the finer points (which are usually always mental), you will end up having a preference.
You will lose more targets from poor gun fit or not staying in the gun than you ever will from a target slipping through the shot string.

I agree with this too and I forgot to mention that you may have a preference, but I actually have different barrels that shoot better with on or the other..so I stick with what works in that gun. Even down to the brand. example- my 870 full choke 30" bbls like the cheap federal in 7.5's, and my over under the cheap promo #8's. Premium ammo is a different story...then I select by my preference, but 95% of the time I shoot the cheap stuff, so I select based on the gun's preference.

[old-trapper]

trap sucks shoot skeet instead...LOL then use 8 or 9s

[BMC]

Skeeters.... LOL j/k
If you want to take a break from the usual, try argentina trap, that's fun. You'll go through a box of shells in about 2 minutes!!! Two random targets thrown off cycle from eight different stations every eight seconds and you are in the middle!

Mike, know what you mean. My XT with brileys loves the federal 7.5s but doesn't like the federal 8s. (It absolutely hates the Rem Gun Clubs...period!) The breaks are weaker sometimes and sometimes in a 100 target run I'll get three or four WTF misses using the 8s where with the 7.5s that probably wouldn't have happened. In my BT100 for caps its the opposite, the 8s perform better from the back fence versus the 7.5s. Two different guns, two different shot sizes, two different gun preferences. This of course is all relative to me staying in the gun right for every shot. One blip of the head off the comb and it doesn't matter what size shot I am shooting..lol.

[ysr_racer]

What's the difference between trap, skeet, and sporting clays?

One's for old men, one's for old women, one's called sporting clays

[dougkang]

Thanks for your input!!!!

[ripcurlksm]

maybe its mental, but 7.5 has a little more kick than 8