Joined: 04 Mar 2019
Posts: 1899
Location: Central ND
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First off, a thank you to painter* over on SGW for sending some Heper shot to me so that I could do this comparison.
The West Coast shot I compared the Heper shot to was purchased last week from Precision Reloading, so it is a currently manufactured shot to currently manufactured shot comparison.
The weather for the test done today 11/20/2023, 49 degrees, mostly cloudy, NW wind @ 19 MPH, RH 58%.
The load used is right out off the Hodgdon website:
Federal GM hull, Federal 209A, 18.0 Grains 700-X, CB2100-12, 1 oz. lead shot.
1,284 Average FPS, ES 24 FPS, Sd 8 FPS. 5 rounds shot after the patterns.
Shotgun used: Benelli SS with a Muller U3 choke. The actual amount choke is .022". The shotgun had about 50 rounds through the barrel since it was cleaned, I thought that this was representative of the average shotgun. I alternated the shot brand to every other shot.
The only thing I was disappointed in was that I did not have enough pattern material to shoot 5 patterns of each shot brand. I had enough for 3 patterns each of Heper and West Coast # 7.5 shot.
I measured 10 random pellets for size:
Heper - .09275" average size - smallest .0875" largest .095"
West Coast - .0922" average size - smallest .082" largest .100"
I weighed 100 pellets(I counted each twice):
Heper - 119.0 grains
West Coast - 119.1 grains
Pellet count for 1 oz. of shot for both brands was exactly 368 pellets.
I did the plier squeeze test, the Heper seemed harder, to me at least.
The outcome:
Heper - Average percentage of 3 patterns was 83.6% with a central thickening figure of 2.8 : 1.
West Coast - Average percentage of 3 patterns was 77% with a central thickening figure of 2.4 : 1.
My conclusion: The Heper shot was finished nicer and the sizes were more uniform than the West Coast shot. 6.6% is an actual difference. The numbers speak for themselves the Heper performed better. I just wish I had enough pattern material for more patterns. I don't think that would have changed the numbers a whole lot, but more numbers would make the 'test' more legitimate.
The West Coast shot percentages backed up what I did earlier in the year and posted the results here. That pattern percentage that I shot earlier with Lawrence was 78%.
This took about 3 hours of time total, which included setting everything up and putting it away. It wasn't hard and now even the guys that were so sure that Heper is better, are now sure that it is.
You are all welcome. |
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Mark...You are entitled to your own opinion. You aren't entitled to your own facts. |
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