Don't Laugh !!! Weather 7 1/2 or 8?

This might be the dumbest ? ever--do you change shells for weather conditions, wind in excess of 20mph & rain-- I'm talking about shell speed & shot size

 

8s in warm weather and 7 1/2s in cooler weather for me. No change in speed. That's for registered trap and reclaimed for local 50 bird shoots.

 

Below 20 degrees 7 1/2s -- 8s otherwise -- unless your are 50 plus yards out - buffered 6s at 1450 F.S.

 

I shoot Handicap 7 1/2's for any and all shooting I do (new ) , I do not reload so I keep my choices limited to keep from getting confused ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

YOU guys forgot about the wind factor---!!!

 

1145 speed 7 1/2 and back in the day I shot in Hurricane Nora. There is the wind factor.

 

If it's that bad out the only thing I would change is the channel I was watching.

 

I shoot 8’s 1250fps all year round. If your on the bird it will explode no matter what size you’re shooting.

 

I am not one of those guys that is big on patterning my guns for anything other than point of impact ... I cannot help but notice that 7 1/2's seem to be the best pattern between them and 8's without going into a big deal and count all of the holes and the "Hot Spot" seems to be clearly defined more so with 7 1/2's ... When I was shooting registered I usually only shot handicap (27 yds) so I opted for 7 1/2's in all conditions (Nitro 27's) , even though I have shot some good scores with 8's (1 oz, Nitro's) when I picked them up by mistake ... If I am just shooting for yucks I shoot what I have which is 7 1/2's (Estates, Kent, Gun Clubs, Federal Top Guns) be it 16's, doubles or handicap only because my guns for the most part like them ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

No, I don't change shells with the weather. My gun patterns 8's the same no matter what the temperature, wind speed, or precipitation might be.
I might change my shooting style a bit to compensate for weather variations, but I don't change my equipment. After all, consistency is the name of the game in trap.

 

I Somewhat posted this same question recently. Since November it seems like all I do is shoot in the wind. 16 yd targets all I shoot is 7 1/2 shot 1145 FPS. 1250 FPS 7 1/2 shot for Handicap. Most handicap is 23 yd because they put me at a sportsmen yardage and everyone shoots from there. Thought of maybe bumping up speed for windy conditions. Most guys here and good shooter at the clubs I know say the hell with it. Keep your head in it and try to deal with it. I’m not gonna change anything. Too old to change anything now. I’m leaving it alone. Someday you have good days shooting in the wind. They are not all bad days.

 

I have heard people talk (argue)about the difference between 7 1/2's and 8's (number of pellets) as well as the difference between 1145 and 1200 Fps for almost as long as I have been shooting (started in 1975) and it has always been my contention that if you are going to rely on the differential's (number of pellets and velocity) you are digging your self a hole before you get started ... You can bet if 8's will break them so will 7 1/2's and unless the target has a rocket in its ass the velocity of both shells will be able to catch the targets and break them before they fall out of the sky ... It does not take charts and graphs to confirm this based on what I have seen ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

As of late all I've been shooting are B&P Comp 1, 1 oz @1160-, either 71/2 or 8"s--since my local club is now throwing Lawry Bio's--will stick with the 71/2's--hits appear light--a fellowing shooter said-"Looks like you're shooting 81/2's"

 

I agree.
You can also bet that if 7 1/2's will break them, so will 8's.
All the whole targets I see laying on the field, unbroken but with one, two, three, or more holes in them.....were these holes put there by 8's or 7 1/2's?

 

Anything you break with 8's you can break with 7-1/2's However, not always the other way around. Save the thinking process & second guessing ( is it too windy, low temperature, heavy air) and shoot the 7-1/2's.

 

You can bet there are as many targets that were broken by 8's that would have not been scored an X if the load were 7 1/2's, than targets that have been broken by 7 1/2's that would not have been broken by the same load of 8's.
The question has always been this: does the slightly greater energy of # 7 1/2 pellets offset the greater pattern density (more pellet strikes on the bird) of the 8's? The debate rages on.

 

The other question is this: how does going to 7 1/2's change the wind, the temperature, or the air density? Please explain, for us dummies, how a slightly heavier pellet helps in those cases.
If the wind is blowing 20mph, but the temp is 90 degrees F...does one change shot size?
How about if the wind is calm, but the temp 90 degrees and the barometric pressure is 30 inches? ....7 1/2's or 8's?
How about if the wind is calm, the temp is 45 degrees and the barometric pressure is 28 inches? ....1 7/2's or 8's?
Wind is 15, gusting to 24, the temp is 84 degrees, and the barometric pressure is 30.5 and falling...what then?

Do you really think changing shot size by .005" will make any difference in your scores?
Of course you do.......that's why some of us prefer 7 1/2's and some of us prefer 8's.
Personally, I like 8's, but if 7 1/2's is all they have in stock when I'm buying, I'll get them without any angst.

 

Rule #1 If it's so hot that you see a rabbit dog chasing a rabbit and they both are walking you need to switch to 8 1/2s.

 

I am not one that is into patterning because I sincerely believe there are no two shells (patterns) exactly alike like snow flakes so I test patterns for the Core ( Hot Spot ) of said pattern ... I have found on the few occasions that I visit the pattern board the hot spot appears to have more density with 7 1/2's than 8's, this being more consistent over all than the pattern itself or any holes that might be obvious in any given pattern ... I try not to count on the fringe (chips, and lucky breaks) of the patterns like I do the Hot Spot (consistent) of the pattern where you can reduce a target to dust (smoke ) considerably more often ... I much prefer shooting handicap than singles or doubles so I have ammo on hand that would more or less be the best choice for that part of the game, that being Handicap 71/2's ... If I am playing/practice and do shoot doubles or 16's I use the same shell because that is what I have on hand with little exception ... I did buy some Top Gun's in 8's because they were closing them out so I will utilize them when I go shooting again if we shoot 16's or doubles ... Luckily the guns I shoot seem to like the 7 1/2's based on the hot spot placement in the test patterns ... I did win a Handicap event shooting Nitro 27's , 1 oz/ 8's (27 yds) that I picked up by mistake, figured I was just having a good day because I have done the same thing with Handicap 7 1/2's on occasion ... This is like a game of Pick your Poison and live and or die with it, but that also is up to the shooter ... WPT ... (YAC) ...

 

I'm going to change this from Weather to Targets.

I shot last week on a field that used the stronger / harder Lawery Sporting Clays targets in their trap. I was also told these were Bios.

When I am on normal WF targets I would usually soot ball them with 1 oz. of 8s or 8 1/2s.

NOT so with these targets, and I had brought along and used my Sporting 1350 FPS loads on these things.

When I hit them hard, they just went into lots of pieces, no smokers at all. Better than 50% of my hits were chips, not my normal.

I can't imagine trying those targets at the 27 yard line with a standard load.

This week I will be taking 1200 FPS 1 1/8 oz. of 7.5s to see if that makes a difference.

Those Targets last week brought me back to the Old Days when we shot at Champions which were as hard as concrete... LOL

 

Dave one of the trappers found several cases of real trap/skeet targets--no smoke, but they broke way better and flew a lot better--solid orange --now if they were solid green !!!

When I was shooting good, too-used to love STS-1 oz of 8 1/2 @ 1185--could not ask for better smoke

 

Providing you hit the clay with the same number of pellets.
Since there are 67 more 8's in a pattern than there are 7 1/2's.....you have 67 more chances of putting an extra pellet on that pesky claybird when you are shooting 8's. Since 8's carry enough energy to penetrate a clay bird, how would the even more energy that the (fewer) 7 1/2's carry provide an advantage??
Let's face it, if you can put a good pattern on the bird, shot size is of little consequence.