New shot versus reclaimed shot test results

[bubbapug1]

I hope this thread helps settle a long standing prejudice against reclaimed shot.

I was at Phillips the other day and bought some new #8 shot and some reclaimed shot. An old shooter (I'm 57, he was at least 80) told me he never could tell the difference between used and new shot when shooting skeet.

I decided to do a test with reloads of each. Common wisdom is the flattened shot found in reclaim causes pellets to leave the pattern. In my test, and I only did two shells of each shot, that just didn't ring true.

Both tests were 1.125 ounces of shot with red dot at around 1240 fps and clay buster Winchester AA replacement wads.

Distance was 25 yards

Choke was full

All pellets from the #8 hit the paper, some were out of the pattern (5)

All pellets from the reclaim hit the paper, and some were out of the pattern, but not as far out as the new shot.

There were more pellets in the reclaim as I suspect there was some 8.5 and 9.00 in the mix.

New shot is $39.00 for 25 pounds

Reclaim is $30.00 for 25 pounds.

I can't see the advantage of the new shot unless you are adverse to #9 for trap as it does have less clay busting energy farther out.

Both patterns looked similar and measured the same. The height is slightly elongated because the berm I shot at was slightly sloped. Shot at Burro north 1 this past weekend.


NEW #8 MAGNUM SHOT



RECLAIMED Shot

[Thefeeder]

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You should repeat the test at ranges for the choke used to see if the pattern changes or remains the same between the two

22-25yds shot at a 30" circle Skeet Choke

42-45yds 30" circle Full choke

I'v never used reclaimed and would be courious myself to see the results

Thanks for the post

[bubbapug1]

It's a lot of work....you do it!

[bcsquare]

That is a lot of work.

But I have to agree with bubbapug, I picked up some reclaimed from Phillip's a few weeks ago and can't tell the difference. It breaks clays either way.

I'm loading 1 oz. with the pink claybusters at 1200 fps and it breaks them the same way a Winchester AA Super Handicap shell does with less recoil and noise.

It's a whole lot more economical than new. I haven't tried this load with trap but I believe it's more about the shooter than the ammo and gun.

[epic1856]

I agree with your conclusion. I made a similar test and found the same results. The drawback for me is that you can't used reclaimed in 28 or .410 when reloading. It bridges and make a mess.

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

[ysr_racer]

I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. If you miss it's probably not the choke or the shot

[Tom-ADC]

I've run a lot of reclaimed shot down the barrel and shot a lot of skeet with it, I could not tell the difference period on a skeet range.

As noted above you miss don't blame the shot!!

[epic1856]

I'm going to let you guys in on a little secret. If you miss it's probably not the choke or the shot

You forgot to include the gun, wind, clothing, piece of clay from other field, or the loud lawnmower in the background, but I thought we were talking about a comparison between new and reclaimed shot.

[Epaphroditus]

If one has access to nylon mesh screens (of appropriate size) it does make sense to run the shot over some screens to get the odd sized stuff out of the mix.

Even fairly small pieces of screen can be used to finish a decent amount to just fill a hopper. No need to screen mass quantities.

You can get nice brass or steel mesh screens which are better for larger sizes of sorters (like > 2x2 ft) but the nylon stuff is fine for smaller sieves. Besides, I already had a selection of nylon ...

[epic1856]

Other things to keep in mind when using reclaimed;

Run a magnet through it to get all of the steel shot out. I know folks that glue a couple of magnets in a funnel so as the shot is being poured it automatically collects the steel shot.

There is a lot of inconsistencies between lots/bags. You will finds that your shot drops will differ by as much as 20 grains (I convert all oz to grains) between bags. Something to keep in mind.

[mjsweims]

First of all this is good info and thanks for posting it.
At 25 yd the results are good for skeet but would have been better with a more open choke. For trap the distance is too short - typical trap shots are 35-40 yd with full or im chokes.
From what others have done it's been shown that there are more holes and flyers in the patterns when using reclaimed shot vs new.
Another thing to consider is that you don't know the source of the shot. When shooting skeet you're best of with 8, 8 1/2, 9, but in trap 7 1/2 or 8 is preferred and 7 1/2 shooting handicap. With reclaimed shot you get a mix.
Another point to consider is that not all reclaimed shot is graphited and this affects the performance through the choke and also when reloading.
All that being said I use reclaimed for practice and new for competition.

[Newshooter]

All that being said I use reclaimed for practice and new for competition.

My sentiments exactly!

[bubbapug1]

First of all this is good info and thanks for posting it.
At 25 yd the results are good for skeet but would have been better with a more open choke. For trap the distance is too short - typical trap shots are 35-40 yd with full or im chokes.
From what others have done it's been shown that there are more holes and flyers in the patterns when using reclaimed shot vs new.
Another thing to consider is that you don't know the source of the shot. When shooting skeet you're best of with 8, 8 1/2, 9, but in trap 7 1/2 or 8 is preferred and 7 1/2 shooting handicap. With reclaimed shot you get a mix.
Another point to consider is that not all reclaimed shot is graphited and this affects the performance through the choke and also when reloading.
All that being said I use reclaimed for practice and new for competition.

All good points, totally on mark, and worth thinking about. That said, I do think the reclaim is perfectly fine for skeet practice, and lord knows I need practice. at a difference of $10.00 a bag it adds up. The reclaim from Phillips is graphited.

[bubbapug1]

Range report - Prado today

Well, just as I didn't expect, the reclaim actually seemed to bust the birds better than the new shot. I am not sure if that's due to the larger pellet count, or varying velocities in the pattern, thereby creating a bigger string, or what, but I definitely saw more dusted clays with the reclaimed shot.