Types of Shotgun Shells
Shotgun targets are usually refer to as “clays” or “clay pigeons.” All of the gauges above have been use for this kind of shooting, often determine by the distance of the targets, size of the shooter, and level of difficulty desired. Target shotshells are usually load with small lead birdshot sizes, listed here from biggest to smallest: Buy winchester StaBall 6.5 Smokeless Gun Powder Arkansas, Buy Hodgdon H4831SC Smokeless Gun Powder Mississippi, Buy Shooters World Match Rifle D073-06 Smokeless Gun Powder Alabama. What tyes of ammo does an ak 47 use, Buy primers online montana. Cci for sale near me Wyoming, where can i order bullets in Alaska, Order Winchester online Idaho, looking for Winchester, West Virginia. What is the cost of primers, Primers dealer Mississippi, Where can i order primers online, Best primers site.

For centuries, shotguns have been load with just about anything you can imagine. Legend says even things like rocks, broken glass, and roofing nails were use as improvise loads in old blackpowder shotguns. Whether that’s true or not is up for debate, but they’re definitely super-versatile depending on what kinds of shells you use.
Just a note before we begin. You’ll notice that several of the same kinds of shotgun ammo can be used for different applications. This just showcases how truly all-around handy a shotgun is. A big factor in use and performance is your shotgun choke, so if you’d like to learn more, we’d recommend you read this article on “Understanding the Shotgun Choke: 5 Basics & Beyond.” Chokes control a shotgun’s “pattern,” or how wide the circle of shot is when it hits a target at 30 yards. It’s definitely worth your time to learn more about them.
*Always check the gun manufacturer’s specifications before firing any type of ammunition through any firearm.
Types of Shotgun Shells

The two basic modern types of shotgun shells are shotshells and slugs. Shotshells are load with multiple pellets, and slugs are basically a shotgun bullet, just one big solid projectile. All modern shotgun ammo is centerfire. If you look at the bottom of a shotgun cartridge, you’ll see a round metal button right in the center. That’s the primer, and the gun’s firing pin strikes it to ignite the powder. The resulting pressure forces the projectiles out of the end of the barrel.
There are two types of gun barrels, rifled and smoothbore. “Rifled” means that there are spiraling grooves down the inside of the barrel. Rifling puts the necessary spin on a bullet for accuracy. All modern firearms have rifling, except shotguns. Shotguns are smoothbores with no rifling at all.
Best primers site
They’re smoothbore so that the shot comes out as one tight cohesive group of pellets that gradually spread out as they travel forward. If shot is fire through a rifled barrel, the pellets begin spreading immediately in a spiral that disperses the energy and shot very quickly without keeping it in a tight group. It’s also not good to use shot through any rifled barrel very often, as it damages the rifling.

“Rifled slugs” are unique to shotguns, because they have rifling on the projectile itself instead of inside the barrel for use in a smoothbore. The rifling on the slug puts the spin on it so that it travels like a bullet in a rifle or handgun. This allows accuracy through a smoothbore.
Then there are shotgun barrels, often called “slug guns,” that are only made for sabot slugs and not shot or slugs. Sabot slugs are smooth like the bullet of rifle or handgun. Technically, a slug gun could be consider a short-range rifle. Slug guns have sights like a rifle, and can usually mount a scope. A slug gun is almost exclusively use to hunt big game at distances up to about 75 yards. Many opt to buy an interchangeable rifled shotgun barrel for their existing shotgun instead of an entire slug gun. It saves money, and the rifled barrel can be easily swap out for a smoothbore.
Shotgun Shell Sizes

There are three things to understand about the sizes of shotgun shells: gauge, length, and shot size.
Gauge:
Gauges are simply how big the shotgun shell is in the sense of either the diameter or the circumference. There’s quite a bit of history around this naming convention, but here I’m just going to cover the basics. It seems contradictory, but the larger the gauge number, the smaller the diameter of the shell is. Here are the most common shotgun gauges in order from largest to smallest:
- 10 gauge
- 12 gauge (most common size)
- 20 gauge (2nd most common size)
- 16 gauge
- 28 gauge
- .410 bore (Notice this isn’t a gauge, but a bore measurement. Most just refer to it as a “4-10.”)
Length:
This is literally the length of the shotgun round. The three most common are 2-¾ inch, 3-inch, and 3-½ inch. You’ll also run across 2-½ inch and relatively new 1-¾ inch shells. Repeating shotguns usually have a tube magazine, and the length of shells determines how many rounds you can load into that magazine. The shorter the shell, the more you can load. The shorter shells also tend to have less recoil than the longer ones, making them more fun for recoil-sensitive or smaller shooters.
You can’t just slap any length of shell into any shotgun and fire it off, though.
- Number one, check the manufacturer’s specifications to ensure you’re not going to ruin the gun or, worst of all, have a catastrophic malfunction resulting in injury or worse.
- Number two, some guns like semi-automatics can be finicky about feeding certain shells. Most won’t cycle a 1-¾ shell, and many may not cycle a 2-½ inch. This is because there’s not enough power to send the bolt all the way back, eject the spent shell, and cycle the next round into the chamber. Most 3-½ semi-autos will function just fine with 3-inch or 2-¾ inch, but you can find out for sure by checking the owner’s manual or manufacturer’s website. Buy winchester StaBall 6.5 Smokeless Gun Powder Arkansas, Buy Hodgdon H4831SC Smokeless Gun Powder Mississippi, Buy Shooters World Match Rifle D073-06 Smokeless Gun Powder Alabama. What tyes of ammo does an ak 47 use, Buy primers online montana. Cci for sale near me Wyoming, where can i order bullets in Alaska, Order Winchester online Idaho, looking for Winchester, West Virginia. What is the cost of primers, Primers dealer Mississippi, Where can i order primers online, Best primers site.
winchester StaBall 6.5


The next thing to understand is shot sizes, as define by the American Standard system. Again, the larger the number, the smaller the pellets. They’re usually refer to as “number ___” like “#7-½.” The smaller the pellets, the more there are in each round.
Luckily, there’s an easy way to check and see what size of shell your shotgun can handle. On modern guns, it’ll be stamp right into the barrel, usually in the neighborhood of the make and model and easy to spot. Some older guns may not have it, but a quick internet search with the make and model will tell you exactly what the specs are.
Shot Sizes:
You’ll also see the shot weight, which simply refers to the weight of the pellets loaded into the cartridge. The heavier the shot, the harder the recoil. Most shotgunners advise using shot that’s heavy enough to get the job done but not so heavy that it kicks you so hard that you don’t want to shoot it again. That’ll be up to your tolerance. I’ve seen 100-pound women firing round after round of heavy shot with a grin pasted on their face and pretty big guys flinching with a medium-weight load.

To bring all of the sizes together and get you learning the lingo, a common birdshot shell is a 12ga 2-¾ inch #7. A great pheasant load is a 20ga 3-inch #5. A .410 2-½ inch #0 (buckshot) could be a great short-range home-defense load. Just gauge, length, and shot size. If there’s enough variety, add shot weight to your choice. Easy, right? Don’t worry if you get these in a different order,
Target Birdshot Sizes
if you look or ask for a #5 20ga 3-inch, it’s understand in the ammo world. Buy winchester StaBall 6.5 Smokeless Gun Powder Arkansas, Buy Hodgdon H4831SC Smokeless Gun Powder Mississippi, Buy Shooters World Match Rifle D073-06 Smokeless Gun Powder Alabama. What tyes of ammo does an ak 47 use, Buy primers online montana. Cci for sale near me Wyoming, where can i order bullets in Alaska, Order Winchester online Idaho, looking for Winchester, West Virginia. What is the cost of primers, Primers dealer Mississippi, Where can i order primers online, Best primers site.
As a general rule, the smaller the target, the smaller the shot size, especially for hunting. Once you get to #0’s, you’re in buckshot territory, and we’ll cover that further down. You’ll also notice some shot sizes like “BB” or “T,” which are mainly for waterfowl. With buckshot or those waterfowl loads, the more letters in the size, the larger the shot. Example: “B” is smaller than “BB,” and “000” is bigger than “00.” Check out the American Standard shot size chart below for easy reference:
Lead Shot Sizes (Birdshot): | Buckshot Sizes (Lead): | Steel/Non-Toxic Birdshot Sizes: |
12, 10, 9, 8-½, 8, 7-½, 6, 5, 4, 2, BB (0.18in) | 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 00, 000 | 6, 5, 4, 3, 2, 1, B, BB, BBB, T, F |
Let’s get into the three main applications: target, hunting, and defense.
Hunting Shells
Here’s a breakdown of the different types of shotgun shells that are use for hunting. Notice that I’m referencing only shot size and a range of gauges. These gauges are only preferences; hunters have successfully used shotguns of all sizes when paired with the correct shotgun ammunition. I’ve left out shell length as that’s determine by the shotgun and the shooter.
To start off, always check Fish and Game regulations for the animals and area you’re going to be hunting. These are find on their websites, and they have specific reasons for restricting certain kinds of shotgun ammo. Also, it’s very important to note that waterfowl can only be hunt with a lead-free non-toxic shot under federal law.
he world of shotgun ammo can get confusing with so many types of shotgun shells to choose from because shotguns are the most versatile firearm you can have. The variety of ammunition, shotgun shell sizes, and applications can be overwhelming. Even though the most common shotgun bore is the 12 gauge, these pointers apply to all shotguns from .410 bore to 10 gauge.
In this article, I’ll cover the three main applications so that you can select the correct shells for target shooting, hunting, and self-defense. Buy winchester StaBall 6.5 Smokeless Gun Powder Arkansas, Buy Hodgdon H4831SC Smokeless Gun Powder Mississippi, Buy Shooters World Match Rifle D073-06 Smokeless Gun Powder Alabama. What tyes of ammo does an ak 47 use, Buy primers online montana. Cci for sale near me Wyoming, where can i order bullets in Alaska, Order Winchester online Idaho, looking for Winchester, West Virginia. What is the cost of primers, Primers dealer Mississippi, Where can i order primers online, Best primers site.
