Welcome to the wide world of shotgun ammunition! If you’re unfamiliar with shot sizes, it’s easy to feel overwhelmed while you’re trying to pick out the right shells for hunting or home defense. No one want’s to show up to the trap, sporting clays or skeet range with the wrong ammo, either.
Fortunately, shot sizes only appear confusing at first glance. Once you’ve read this easy-breezy article and scanned its three tables, you’ll be able to confidently select the right shot size for any kind of shotgun application.
Buckshot Sizes
| Buckshot | Diameter (inches) | Weight (grains; approx) | Pellets Per Ounce (approx) | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 000 | 0.36 | 70 | 6 | Elk, whitetail, hog |
| 00 | 0.33 | 53.8 | 8 | Elk, whitetail, hog, home defense |
| 0 | 0.32 | 49 | 9 | Whitetail, home defense |
| #1 | 0.30 | 40.5 | 11 | Whitetail, home defense, predator |
| #2 | 0.27 | 29.4 | 15 | Whitetail, home defense, predator |
| #3 | 0.25 | 23.4 | 19 | Whitetail, predator |
| #4 | 0.24 | 20.7 | 21 | Whitetail, predator |
After slugs, which are essentially giant bullets, buckshot pellets are the largest projectiles a shotgun can fire. Buckshot is named after the type of game it is most commonly used to hunt. However, elk, hogs, coyote and other predators are all worthy recipients of buckshot pellets as well.
Buckshot sizes from #000-#4.
The larger the buckshot size, the fewer pellets a shell will fit. Larger buckshot will not deliver as dense a pattern thanks to the lower number of pellets that rocket out of the barrel, but each individual pellet will have greater striking energy. This logic holds true for all shot sizes: the more pellets contained by a shell, the denser the pattern it will deliver. Keep in mind though, this is at the expense of lower striking energy per pellet.
Law enforcement and security officers use a variety of shotgun rounds. From less-lethal to buckshot, and slugs.
Police typically utilize 00 buckshot in the field. Most homeowners who have incorporated shotguns into their home defense strategy prefer the same shot size. Just take care, as double-aught can easily tear its way through multiple sheets of drywall and jeopardize innocent bystanders. If you are especially concerned about penetration, here’s an article all about picking the best home defense shotgun ammo. Remembering the caveat that lighter pellets have lower momentum, and are therefore characterized as having lesser “stopping” power.
Steel Shot Sizes
| Steel Shot | Diameter (inches) | Weight (grains; approx) | Pellets Per Ounce (approx) | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| F | 0.22 | 10.9 | 40 | Goose |
| T | 0.20 | 8.3 | 53 | Goose |
| BBB | 0.19 | 7.1 | 62 | Goose |
| BB | 0.18 | 6.1 | 72 | Goose, duck (pass shooting) |
| B | 0.17 | 5.1 | 86 | Goose, duck (pass shooting) |
| #1 | 0.16 | 4.3 | 103 | Goose, duck (pass shooting) |
| #2 | 0.15 | 3.5 | 125 | Duck (decoy shooting) |
| #3 | 0.14 | 2.8 | 158 | Duck (decoy shooting) |
| #4 | 0.13 | 2.3 | 192 | Duck (decoy shooting) |
Steel shot is occasionally used for hunting upland game wherever lead projectiles are prohibited by law. You can find #7 steel shot dove and target loads, for example. In 1991 the federal government banned lead shot for waterfowl hunting. In this instance steel shot is most commonly used to take geese and ducks.
Remember to research the intended use-case of the load and shot size you need before purchasing.
Steel is not as dense as lead: ~8 g/cc, as opposed to ~11 g/cc. When two equally sized steel and lead shot pellets hit a target at the same velocity, the lead pellet’s higher density means that it will strike with greater momentum – and inflict greater damage as a result. This is why steel shot shells are typically loaded to substantially higher muzzle velocities: it helps to compensate for steel’s primary shortcoming. (Note that steel is not the only viable alternative to lead. Bismuth and tungsten shot pellets are also nontoxic and compliant with federal waterfowl hunting laws, albeit significantly more expensive.)
Birdshot Size Guide
| Birdshot | Diameter (inches) | Weight (grains; approx) | Pellets Per Ounce (approx) | Applications |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| #4 | 0.13 | 3.3 | 135 | Turkey |
| #5 | 0.12 | 2.6 | 170 | Turkey, pheasant |
| #6 | 0.11 | 2.0 | 225 | Turkey, squirrel, grouse, partridge, rabbit |
| #7 | 0.10 | 1.5 | 300 | Squirrel, grouse, partridge, rabbit |
| #7.5 | 0.095 | 1.29 | 350 | Grouse, partridge, rabbit, dove, quail, trap, sporting clays |
| #8 | 0.09 | 1.09 | 410 | Dove, quail, trap, sporting clays |
| #9 | 0.08 | 0.75 | 585 | Skeet |
Our birdshot table reflects data for lead pellets with 3% antimony content. Lead must contain at least 0.5 to 2% antimony (another heavy metal) in order to form into a pellet. The higher a lead birdshot pellet’s antimony content, the harder it becomes – and the less deformation it will undergo during rapid acceleration as a result. (Deformed pellets are less spherical and ballistically efficient, and therefore less capable of exhibiting a narrow, effective pattern.) This is why higher-quality target loads feature lead shot with higher-antimony content: typically up to 6%. Antimony isn’t cheap, though, so you do wind up paying more for the harder and tighter-patterning pellets.
Lead shot size guide: #12-BB.
Note that antimony content doesn’t really matter all that much for shot pellets larger than #6. Once they’re that big, even the hardest pellets don’t rely all that much on antimony.
Remember the rule: the smaller the shot pellet, the less momentum it will conserve and the less kinetic energy it will transfer to its target. Larger birdshot pellets are accordingly appropriate for tougher upland game like turkey and grouse, and smaller ones are good for daintier birds that wouldn’t leave behind much of a trophy if they were broadsided by enormous shot pellets.
Our guide to shot isn’t definitive. The quality of the shot, the marksmanship of the shooter, and the choke a shotgun is outfitted with will all have marked effects on performance. Take a few different shells to the range and experiment on some targets before you select your solution to hunting, home defense or clay shooting!
