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kgb
PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:31 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Nebraska

Has anyone patterned the Express Long Range shells? They're one of the more common heavy loads and in 6's or 4's might be an alternative to reloads if they have decent shot. I know a lot are sold, but what's the experience with percentages?

kgb
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TJC
PostPosted: Tue Aug 07, 2007 8:37 am  Reply with quote
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I've never patterned these rounds but I have used them. They work well in #4s out of my one Merkel with Skt1 and Skt2 chokes.

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Captain_Billy
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:22 am  Reply with quote
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Location: Schuyler County, NY.

They are an excellent load and good hull to reload. I have used them in NID's, A5's,Mod. 12's and Mod. 11's with various chokes. Paterns are very good for factory loads. Don't know how they will work in your gun till you buy em and try em. Bet you'll like them.
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Dave Erickson
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 6:47 am  Reply with quote
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Never patterned them, but I've always had good luck with Remington ammo in general. I would expect them to be as good as any.

Last year I bought a box of these in 4 shot at our local Gander Mountain. When I opened the box at home there was one shell missing! Someone must had wanted to pattern them before they bought a box. I felt sorta violated! Mad
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Captain_Billy
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 7:03 am  Reply with quote
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Dave
I'll bet that guy is a 16 ga. Society member! No way one of us would! Prolly be lots of that this year with the ammo price increase.
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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 10:53 am  Reply with quote
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It's good to hear that others use an occasional load of # 4 shot for bigger birds. Sometimes, they are the best size pellet for the conditions. Not alway, but sometimes.
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MGF
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 1:06 pm  Reply with quote
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The 7.5s and 6s have proven wicked effective out of my two FAIR-made O/Us. Have never shot the 4s.
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TJC
PostPosted: Mon Aug 13, 2007 2:23 pm  Reply with quote
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I use 4s and 5s in my pheasant hunting most of the time. I like big pellets just like I like big bullets in the handguns and rifles.

If I could get the Fiocchi GPs in 4s I would but the 5s work just fine.

Win and Rem hi brass 4s are my secondary choice when not using the GPs.

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16gaugeguy
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 7:31 am  Reply with quote
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I'm not certain I have the right guy, but i think Don Zutz did a study of this subject. He and the personnel of one of the Midwest's largest pheasent hunting preserves observed the effects and results of several thousand roosters being harveasted with different shot sizes over a two year period. the results clearly indicated that #5 and #4 pellets were the most reliable shot sizes for adult birds. #6 shot resulted in about 30% cripples and #7.5 resulted in many more.

I've used #7.5 shot for early season birds in the past, especially the legal hens in our state. The results were good to poor. One of the results were a lot of pellets in the meat and a lot of blood shot meat. #7 pigeon shot was markedly more effective on early season birds, but #6 shot was far better all around. It kills more decisively and there is less ruined meat.

However, #5 is even better than #6 once the season is underway, the temperatures plummet, and the birds take on more plummage. #4 will outdo #5 at the longest ranges and the biggest toughest birds. Don Zutz's findings are 100% in line with my own experiences. Some pheasants require a lot of killing. they can be a very tough bird to kill cleanly with smaller shot under tougher conditions.
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Terry Imai
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:05 am  Reply with quote
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In Bob Brister's "Shotgunning:The Art and the Science", he had a chapter on determining the proper shot size and how he tested to find the most effective shot range on mallards. Basically, the smaller shot size had their own effective range but after a certain distance, they were ineffective. That is when the larger shot sizes proved to be more effective. That's the nice part of shooting a double with different shells in both barrels depending upon the flush range of the bird.


Last edited by Terry Imai on Thu Aug 16, 2007 12:33 am; edited 1 time in total
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Dave Erickson
PostPosted: Tue Aug 14, 2007 8:16 am  Reply with quote
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Terry Imai wrote:
That's the nice part of shooting a double with different shells in both barrels depending upon the flush range of the bird.


True! I often load 1 1/8 oz of 6's in my very open right barrel, and 1 1/8 oz of 5's in my tight barrel when hunting pheasants.

I have the 4's, but I've never actually used them. IMO 5's are plenty enough hard hitting at the max range I will take a shot at a pheasant. Maybe this year I'll try the 4's in my tight barrel just for the heck of it.
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MGF
PostPosted: Sun Aug 19, 2007 4:27 pm  Reply with quote
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I ran across three or four boxes of the Rem Express 1 1/8 No. 6s on clearance at a local big-box store at $9 per box. Bought what they had left. Because of the pellets in the bird and blood-shot meat ( as 16gg mentioned) with 7.5s, the 6s are now my first-barrel standard for pheasant. With what I already had on hand, I've got enough of the No. 6s to last me a few seasons, easy.

That doesn't mean I don't keep some of the 7.5s around, too. Might do a mixed-bag game farm hunt one of these days, and if so will put them in the first tube. In general, I find the Rem Express in 16 a great shell when hunting over setters.

Funny, I've always preferred Federal's better shells in 12, but my two 16 O/Us seem to love the Rem Express. We'll see what the BPS thinks of them when it arrives.
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mod11rem
PostPosted: Mon Aug 20, 2007 1:52 pm  Reply with quote
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In my limited experience with pheasants, I found that Rem Express LR 4's were great. The did the job everytime with no cripples. They used to make this load in 9's. It was my favorite for doves and quail. Now days, the smallest shot avail in this load from Rem is 7.5's. They are ok on doves but not nearly the mean medicine that the 9's were. I now reload Rem blacks with 1oz. of 9's over 19.8 g of Unique. It's a little slower than the express load but very effective on doves and quail. The Rem express reload fine, but I have to adjust the crimp depth a little different than for Rem blacks.

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rizzini 16
PostPosted: Thu Aug 23, 2007 4:31 am  Reply with quote
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The Rem Exprss Lng Range (1290fps)greenies I use for long shots in sporting clays, 7.5's, and it's a real slammer. But at neartly $10 a box I don't use many. They reload pretty well, certainly better than the Rem Blacks.
I have replicated the RELR performance using a Fed purple hull
w a Rem Wad and 27.9 grns of Longshot producing
10,200 / 1350. A properly balanced 1 oz load will still break a 75 yard clay, but why not have the extra 1/8oz just to be sure.
Make sure the buttstock's tight in your shoulder.

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MGF
PostPosted: Fri Aug 24, 2007 12:25 am  Reply with quote
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rizzini 16 wrote:
The Rem Exprss Lng Range (1290fps)greenies I use for long shots in sporting clays, 7.5's, and it's a real slammer. But at neartly $10 a box I don't use many.


Glad you mentioned that. Just found a slip-on LimbSaver recoil pad that fits my 6.5-pound FAIR 900, and was thinking of taking it on our club's little 50-bird clays course. I'll throw a box of the Rem Express 7.5s in the bag. Should be fun.
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