Shotgun ammo...

[alanganes]

Looking for opinions. I am planning to do some hunting for coyotes and/or fox this year. There seem to be LOTS of coyotes in a few of the places I have access to. I am in NE Massachusetts, and most of the places I will likely be hunting are places I feel would be best hunted using a shotgun. Partly due to the fact that there are few places there that offer much of a long shot, and more so due to the density of things around here. I won't be real close to houses or anything like that, but the parcels tend to be small-ish, and a bit too near civilization for me to want to use a .223 or whatever.

I have a garden variety Mossberg pump, 12GA, 3" that I use for deer season that I plan to use. I'm curious what folks who hunt similar conditions like for ammo. There seems to be lots of chatter about the Hevi-shot  Dead Coyote type loads these days. The physics of it make perfect sense to me, I'm sure it works great but the 3+ bucks-a-shot really stirs up my cheap reflex.

I also see lots of mention of BB's, 0 Buck, #2's.

So if for the sake of discussion we assume that I am just too cheap to buy the Hevi-shot type stuff, what do you guys like? Or does it matter all that much?

Thanks, Al A.

[CCP]

I like the #1 buck best of all. Alot of guys like #4 buck I have lost a few more with #4 than #1. I tried #4 again 2 years ago and will go back to the #1.

[THO Game Calls]

I hunt in NH, so the habitat is pretty much the same as you have in NE Mass.  I started off using #4 buck, and have stuck with it.   I use full chokes in both my Mossbergs and a Mod in my stoger.   The mossbergs pattern really well with #4 and full chokes, although some guys use xtra full turkey chokes, I never found the need.  I have never lost one with the #4's but I have shot them twice though.  I have not shot as many as CCP so my day is coming I am sure.  I also dont get many shots over 35 yards in the sprng and fall.   A little farther in the winter sometimes and I am sure that has a lot to do with it.

I'm half tempted to try and find some #1's and give them a try at the range.  I do so LOVE pattering a shotgun with buckshot loads  :)

AL

[alscalls]

I have hunted a bunch with a shotgun and I am not allowed to shoot anything larger than #4's Fed. premium 3" shoots the best outa my 835 mossburg........3inch just patterns better for me than 31/2's do.
If you get the chance that hevi shot is amazing.

[KySongDog]

At the LBL hunt I used 3 1/2 inch BB's (nothing larger allowed) and they worked fine.  I hear the Dead Coyote load is the way to go if legal where you hunt.  $3.00 a shell is high but,  then,  you are not dove hunting either.      It is important to pattern your gun and see what load/choke combination works best.

Semp

[Jimmie in Ky]

I also hunt  a shotgun fairly regular. Here in Ky we are limited to bb loads during the small game seasons. I use a 2 3/4 inch 12 guage loads of copper plated bb's sold by federal. I have no problem with kills to forty yards. Most of the cover we hunt here it's more likely your shots will be under forty yards anyway. I also use a standard full choke tube in my 870. It covers a coyote very well at forty yards. Makes 'em dish rag limp right now  Jimmie

[alanganes]

 Thanks for the replies.  The dove hunting comment is sort of what I think, I am not likely to be firing a huge number of rounds.

Anyone ever use single 0 buck? I only ask because I have a bunch of them. 

And contrary to what some people might say, I am not really that cheap that I would refuse to buy the Hevi-shot or whatever. It just seems that if the gun shoots decent patterns at the expected ranges, it should take down the animal. I am in the process of getting my shotgun barrel fitted for interchangeable chokes (it is a cylinder bore now), so I will be able to do a bit of experimenting.

[Silencer]

I am not really that cheap that I would refuse to buy the Hevi-shot or whatever

I admit that I am    duck huntin I shoot winchester x-perts, or kent fast steel which are pennies compared to the shells out on the market today.

If they're in range, the cheaper shells will take em, if they're not in range, that $40 dollar box of hevi-shot isnt going to help 

[5 SHOTS]

Before the Dead Coyote or Heavy Shot came out I used about everything and my favorite was F or T shot but #4buck wasn't too bad either.  Of course I was shooting out of a plane and that might make a big difference.  I've never tried a shotgun on the ground.

[alanganes]

 Ha! I'm pretty sure I won't be doing any shooting from planes. Thanks again for all of the replies. Getting anxious for the season to open.