What good lead loads were like BEFORE Longbeards

[Longshanks]

Still hunting with the Win XX, Super-X, and HV shells.

162 in a 10 @ 40. Rem 870/ Ventilator .655. Win XX 3/2/6's

125 in a 10 @ 40 Rem 870SM/ Rem SF .665. Win HV 3/ 1 3/4/ 5's

140's in a 10 @ 40 Rem 870/ Kicks .655. Win XX 3/2/6's (21"bbl)

*The old red shells with the exception of the HV 5's.

Barrel length on the HV 1 3/4 oz 5s?

28"bbl with the choke. Most of the patterns were 100-115. Shot some down in the upper 80's as well.

Polishing and deep cleaning on the regular have increased my lead patterns.

[rgref522]

for the price and performance i think the lead loads would kill 90 percent of the birds taken but its all personal preference. i love the federal fc loads but they definitly come with a mixed bag of optinions.

Sent from my SM-G960U using Tapatalk

[Longshanks]

Have a 870SM/ Ventilator .655 polished shooting Win XX 3/2/6's (red shell). Shoots 140-160 consistently in a 10" @ 40yd. Have 20 boxes of 3/2/6's. $13 a shot for TSS is ridiculous and have seen serious issues with Win LB. POA/ POI, shooting a slug out to 25yds, guns jamming, etc.

[ChesterCopperpot]

I always liked them Double X. After some LongBeard inconsistencies I still prefer the Double X if I'm shooting lead.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Longshanks]

 Bought a Carlsons chrome lined 24" barrel for my Rem 870. Put a Rem SF .665 in it. Only shot the Double XX HV 5's so far. Shot pretty good. Trying the Hevi 13 3/2/6's, 3/2/7's and Double XX 3/2/6's next.

[tha bugman]

Amazing seeing the advancments in shells chokes and loads since the 70's to now.  Back then squirrel or duck loads were all that I remember having. We didn't even own a 3" magnum.  My uncle had one and we thought he was big time! 

[jakebird]

Going back to my roots in the late 1980s and 1990s I shot my first several birds with 3" Winchester XX #6 and Federal Premium #6s. Back then I was limited to factory full choke and if I had pictures of a 40 yard pattern, I'm sure no one would be impressed. We always went by the old timer wisdom that it only takes one pellet in the right place, so it we had a handful of hits in the head/neck target we went hunting. And we killed birds probably as well as we do today. I honestly can't recall any performance issues if you kept your shots limited to 40 yards. Then about the time I got my first interchangeable choke gun (Mossberg 500), Winchester came out with their Supreme High
Velocity and I tried those 3 inch 2oz #5 loads and it was like a revelation! With a Xtra full Mossberg tube I remember the first time I saw 100 pellets in a ten inch circle and I thought I had the deadliest rig east of the MS! I killed a bunch of birds with that combo and eventually shifted to HS magnum blend which I shot for some years before switching to LBXR. Not sure if I'm turning into an old fart or what, but despite how good LBXR prints on paper, I've had some bad luck with it and I mean inside 40 yds. Doesn't seem to penetrate even as well as other lead loads. So I went full circle and back to shooting cheap Winchester XX 5's again. I think I'm done chasing pellet counts and HTL loads and all that other stuff. Unless I eventually switch to a 410 rig, in which case I'll probably shoot TSS. But other than that, I'm just gonna buy cheap lead loads, keep my shots reasonably close, and HUNT.

[Bottomland OG]

Like you Jakebird, in the late 80s and 90's. Winchester supreme the red 3" 2oz #6 and I'm sure some of you guys remember them but my favorite was the active 3" 2 1/4 oz #6s. I hated it when they stopped making them because that load would flat more shoot in my 870 and 11-87 spt.

[Super Fox]

Interesting.
I still use older XX #5 and some even older Win # 4s, but these work well in my old LC Smith and AH Fox doubles.
I do have a really ancient box of rolled crimp Winchester Super-X # 6s- a  box from the late 1940s. These even have the US Patent
number on the side of the shell.

With a double shotgun, the gun can be loaded with 4s, 5s, or # 6 shotshell loads, and have a barrel
registered for range that you may have worked out.