Clay shooting ammo

[yankee-pete]

Now that I'm officially a shotgun owner, I can't wait to get out and use it. What is a good (cheap) choice of ammo for target shooting.
Bass pro advertises Federal Target Load for $6.99. Is that good? What size is best?
I've been clay shooting a number of times, but have never had to buy my own ammo. Hence my ignorance.

[wjc]

Federal is a little dirty, in my opinion, but it works fine. I prefer Winchester ammo.

In my 12 ga. I usually shoot 7-1/2 or 8's. It depends on what's available at the gun store.

[hatidua]

Federal is a little dirty, in my opinion, but it works fine. I prefer Winchester ammo.

Preferences must be regional: Winchester 12ga sells here when the Federal is sold out.

[kdruff2]

Get whatever is on sale.if you have the addiction, it's going to add up. Check out Cabellas and get yourself their credit card. From there, it'll be $5 flat shipping plus cc points that turn into cash.

[PBCRM88]

I shoot #8 remington or rio. I usually get them for about .26 cents after taxes with the big 5 coupons that's always around.

[wjc]

Preferences must be regional: Winchester 12ga sells here when the Federal is sold out.

I always prefer Winchester.

It's a personal preference thang...I have several Winchesters.

[XVIga_Rob]

Congrats on your new purchase....Do yourself a favor and buy a few boxes (different brands) of #7 1/2's or #8's, and pattern your gun. You may find that your gun prefers one brand vs. another.

[bigbearbear]

What shotgun do you have? Semi-auto, pump or break action?

I tend to use those cheap Winchester Universals and Federal Multipurpose value pack shells from Walmart (comes in 100 round packs). I usually use #7.5 shot and these 2 types sold at Walmart are loaded for 1200 fps with 1 1/8oz of lead. They are all 2 3/4 inch type shells as the ranges in my area do not allow 3 inch shells. While cheap, these shells do have many disadvantages:
- Recoil. They recoil quite heavily, I'm relying on the Benelli recoil system and my shooting vest to handle it.

- Dirty. These are some of the dirtiest shells you can shoot. However, the Benelli uses a Inertia Driven System so dirty shells aren't a problem. Plus, with a chrome plated barrel, cleaning is no problem at all.

I'm starting to favor Estate Super Sport, they are clean shooting and comes in more variety of loads. You can get lower recoiling 1oz loads and they burn very cleanly. Strangely enough, their tech support is handled by Federal and is pretty nice. I had 1 defect shell in a box, I emailed their tech support and they ask for the lot number and said they will send me a check for a refund for the box. Nice!

[ysr_racer]

Yep, most ranges don't allow anything bigger than 7.5, so 7.5, 8, or 9 only.

[bigbearbear]

Yep, most ranges don't allow anything bigger than 7.5, so 7.5, 8, or 9 only.

There's only 1 odd range in the Bay Area that I know of, Lost Altos Rod and Gun, who allows the use of #6 shot as the largest shot size. I guess being high up the mountains does have it advantages.

[alfred1222]

Ya i would go with the fed or win bulk boxes

[Jeepergeo]

Check your range for shot size and velocity restrictions if any. The Federal you mention is a good balance of quality Vs performance, and 71/2 or 8 are common shot size for trap.

[rromeo]

Since the 100 round bulk packs are up to $27 at Wal-Mart now, I usually stock up on the Remington Gun Club at Dick's for $6.99 when it's on sale.

[Thefeeder]

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Cabelas has Herters on sale 59.00 a case

http://www.cabelas.com/product/Shooting/Ammunition/Shotgun-Ammunition%7C/pc/104792580/c/104691780/sc/104567580/Herters-Select-Field-Dove-and-Quail-Shotshells/1601971.uts?destination=%2Fcatalog%2Fbrowse%2Fshotgun-ammunition%2F_%2FN-1100191%2FNo-48%2FNs-CATEGORY_SEQ_104567580%3FWTz_l%3DSBC%253Bcat104792580%253Bcat104691780%26WTz_st%3DGuidedNav%26WTz_stype%3DGNP%26recordsPerPage%3D48&WTz_l=SBC%3Bcat104792580%3Bcat104691780%3Bcat104567580

[whatwhy]

Anything under $8/box is a "good deal" in my area.

I prefer Fiocchi. I can't tell the difference between #7.5 and #8.

Federal burns dirtier for me.

Winchester shells get stuck and don't auto-eject out of my shotgun.