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I took a couple of my shotguns to the range to check out some Spartan 12 Ga 2 3/4" 9 pellet OO buckshot shells. These shells are unbuffered and some of the holes are irregular leading me to believe there's some distortion+. I shot a Win Model 1300 Defender 18" Bbl and an old JC Higgins Model 20 (High Standard Flite King) pump that has been cut down to 21" Bbl. I shot at 25 feets mid torso and then two additional shots at 50 ft. I aimed at the chin and about the 8/9 ring line on the 50 foot shots just to get separation to define the patterns. The old JC Higgins surprised me. I took a couple of pistols to get my moneys' worth (a 4-5/8" Ruger Black Hawk .357 and what I thought was my 4" Model 19 S&W. When I opened the pistol rug the Model 19 had turned into a K-22 . I bought my first $5.00 box of 22 LR at the range. The photos are not the greatest, I know. I would feel comfortable at 15-18 yards with either shotgun, maybe even 20 yards. I had some slugs I wanted to try but the range doesn't allow them. The left target is The Winchester and the right is the JC Higgins.

AndyC wrote:It's interesting to see what a shotgun *actually* does with your chosen ammo at various distances :)

If I stay within 16-1/2 to 20 yds either shotgun should be OK. The patterns with the old JC Higgins Mod 20 surprised me. Though the 25 ft spread is a little larger than the Defender the two 50 ft spreads are actually a little better than the 50 ft Win Defender spreads. There's 3" more barrel length on the Model 20. I don't know if that is the difference. If I hadn't wanted to shoot my pistols I would have shot more with the SG's. Next time I'm going to shoot 5-10 rounds to see if that was a fluke. Forgot to mention velocity is around 1300fps; very comfortable to shoot from the shoulder (Standard butt stock on the Defender). I didn't try any hip shots.
I have some 3" Remington 00 I forgot to take. I can't remember if they are buffered, but assume they are since they only have 10 pellets. I can't find any of the Federal shells you tested, but I'd like to try them. I've been trying to find some #1 Buck Shot to try also, but no luck so far only #4.