Range Report: Saiga 12 Buckshot Patterning

[ManOnFire 0]

Saiga-12, converted, Kreb's sights, 19" barrel + shark brake. I took Winchester 12 ga 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot Military OD Green, ammo to the range and patterned it at 5, 10, 15 and 25 yards. From the looks of it, the pattern gets almost unusable between 20 and 25 yards. Slugs were another story. I was able to get them in a 10" group at 50yds, and about 18-24" at 100. Not bad for an un-rifled barrel.

 

Let me know what you think,

 

-MoF

[TO THE FLOOR IN A 63 121]

Nice to see the patterning...I was knocking down bowling pins at about 50 feet and thought it was pretty tight with my 19inch barrel.

[HillBilly2 9]

You may want to try different brands of buckshot. I think you'll find that some of them do much better. I've not had very good patterns with the win military either.

 

It would be neat to see pics of the patterns at a fixed distance of different brands of 00 buck.

[ChileRelleno 7,071]

You may want to try different brands of buckshot. I think you'll find that some of them do much better. I've not had very good patterns with the win military either.

 

It would be neat to see pics of the patterns at a fixed distance of different brands of 00 buck.

This ^^

And ya really need to shoot multiple rounds of each to establish a average pattern size for each make.

 

Example: 5 rounds of, Win Super X 00 2.75" 9 pellet, averaged 8" @ 15yrds.

[Pointer 21]

How about someone pattern for Wolf,Noble,S&B..the clear rolled crimped type shells,i know alot of us shoot this stuff because of the price.

[aresv 49]

What kind of slugs were you shooting? Off the bench, with a Polychoke set to improved cylinder, Winchester Super-X slugs average around 6 inches at 50 yards. Brenneke KO's sometimes do better, maybe 3-4 inches at 50. Otherwise, same setup as you: Kreb's ghost ring and 19" barrel.

[beerasaurus 9]

Great post!

 

And it seems like your results with the Winchester shot was similar to mine.

 

For those interested in alternative patterns, I compared 3 in my patterning post.

 

Nice job, MOF! Let us know how other stuff performs.

[Deadeye008 2]

I patterned my 19" Saiga 12 a few weeks ago with a polychoke and some Winchester Ranger Low recoil 00 buck and I was putting 7 of the 9 pellets in a 6" radius at 20yds.

[gunfun 3,931]

Thank You.

[ManOnFire 0]

Sorry I've been a little lazy about posting other ammo. I got to the range this morning, and was fortunate enough to have a bunch of Winchester 3" magnum 00 buckshot and a bunch of S&B 2.75" 00 buckshot to use for patterning. For each type of ammo, I fired three shots at a known distance, and measured the resulting group. There is no doubt that some of the spread is due to my marksmanship. Here is a summary and some pictures.

 

S&B ($10.99 for 25):

5yd:4"

10yd:9.5"

15yd:17.5"

25yd:24"

 

Winchester ($8.99 for 15):

5yd:9"

10yd:13"

15yd:18.5"

25yd:24"

 

This has absolutely sold me on S&B buckshot for both practice and home defense. The S&B recoil was extremely manageable, barely losing sight picture between shots. The Winchester 3" magnums, on the other hand, were cheek and shoulder busters...but they do saturate the target, as they have 15 pellets vs. the 9 pellets in the S&B.

S&B 25yds:

S&B 15yds:

S&B 10yds:

S&B 5 yds:

Winchester 25yds:

Winchester 15yds:

Winchester 10yds:

Winchester 5yds:

 

Let me know what you think,

 

-MoF

Edited December 6, 2009 by ManOnFire

[Etek 32]

Good thread folks.

 

I'll post some patterns as soon as it dries out....been too soggy for months.

My 22" full choke Saiga HATES 00 Buck 8 pellets but patterns 9 pellet loads much better.

#4 Buck (27 pellets) patterns twice as well.

I'll try some Buck and Ball as well.

Apparently it's how the shell is manufactured and just how the load stacks up in the choke (If any).

 

However, you must see how YOUR shotty patterns as two 'identical' shotguns rarely pattern the same.

[BpS12 512]

Here's what I got with 10rnds. of the green, Mil Surp, 9 pellet, 00buck at 30yrds with a 19" barrel, on a 34" Bullpuped S12. The log is about 34" across with a small chunk missing at one side. The paper was about 20x30" +/-.

 

I fired a couple single shots, a double tap and then "for effect" till the mag was empty.

 

So out of 90 pellets, I counted approx. 70 on the log/paper(not incl. the chunk missing) and aprox. 55 +/- on the paper itself. Penetration seemed to be about a 1/4 to 1/2".

 

Might not be a SAW, but I see possiblities as a close range(out to 50yrds) Squad Support Weapon. Be great for suppresive fire in urban terrain. Ninety .30 rounds in ten pulls of the trigger. That should keep some heads down.

[RobRez 1,895]

As a fully restored S12, barrel length is legal 18" including muzzel brake, my "Cupcake" gets offhand rapid fire groups of 5" at 25 yards and from the bench I get 4&3/4" groups at 100 yards, both with the winchester 2 3/4" 1oz slugs. I really don't shoot buckshot past 25 yards, but I havn't done conclusive tests. Nice to see some results on paper from the buck.