Which Shotgun Shell has the BEST PATTERN?? PT. 1 

Forgot to mention that I was using a modified choke and will Be on all these tests. Thanks for the reminder guys

Intersting, I bet its because steel patterns tighter than lead does. So makes sense something like the tungsten or hevi shot opens a little more. I shoot full chokes anyway

Thanks for taking the time and money to do this video! Definitely saved a lot of people some cash!

What you’re forgetting is, at 40 yards even though you had less B.B.s hit the bird the penetrated into the body way more with the hevi x than a typical steel shot would. That’s a dead duck all day long, where as you need a lucky B.B. or 2 to drop a bird with steel shot at 40 yards. That’s the whole point of the hevi x, not it’s pattern.

This is awesome! Cut open each shell too and see what’s inside to compare and contrast. That would be a good add to the videos! The pattern + what’s inside the shell.

I solely shoot Hevi Steel 3s and 4s. That load patterns well and hits hard. I've been very impressed with it. If I shoot 3.5s the 2s & 3s are amazing. SBE 2, stock IC or Kicks high flyer IC.

I have fired thousands of patterns over the past 40 years and what we saw today was through one choke and one gun. Change chokes or guns and you will see totally different results. The combinations of chokes, guns and loads are enough to bankrupt the average guy and this is not taking in hand loading. With handloading ammo just cutting the powder charge or changing the primer can have very radical changes in results.

When shooting denser shoot like tungsten bismuth or lead needs to be chopped tighter 10 steel. This is why the heavy steel performed the best. Heavy-metal is a blend Of steel And tungsten

I’ve shot Hevi Steel exclusively the last 3 years with awesome results. 3” 3s & 4s are my go to for ducks & 3.5” 2s for geese or really high winds. Just got a 20 ga and starting to pick out loads for it.

I just switched to hevi metal 3” #3 with a .743 choke, .727 if sunny day. Went out opening day with regular Winchester steel #3 and crippled a few of ducks that should’ve been crumpled. Even the ducks I got had non penetrating pellet marks on it, which tells me I needed more velocity or a denser/heavier pellet with more energy. Hoping this hevi shot does the trick. Over decoys anything will work, but at 40 yards things get weird

if you're shooting under 40yards (which is what we tend to do 25-40) then the cheapest, heaviest load is the best. so a 3" 1 1/4oz load of #2 steel at 1450-1550fps will drop birds dead all day, even 13lb+ honkers.

Personally from experience this is a good test just for basic pattern but the issue is every gun can shoot the same load different. Every gun can shoot ammo well but you may have to try different chokes. The Hevi X in this case at distance will need a tighter choke compared to your first choice thus this is why it didn't do as well.

For tungsten and bismuth you need to tighten the choke because they act the same as lead

You can shoot paper all day, when I went to Washington for a duck hunt I saw first hand how much knockdown power heavy X had over the different steel we were shooting, it was night and day, almost no crippled birds when we used the X. When we used steel the first day we shot multiple extra rounds on birds on water, that has to be considered if you are worried about price we used far fewer X shells to get our limits

I shoot Heavy Steel #4's at everything and wouldn't shoot anything. They are actually 1550 FPS, which helps with the energy loss. Never had a problem knocking down birds out to 40 yards. I personally don't shoot too far beyond that due to the increased risk of cripples. Thanks for the video, great review.

Before I saw this I bought a case of the hevi shot 3inch 3shot. Glad I did.

Switched to HeviShot Heavy Steel somewhat by accident a few years ago (last minute hunt, was out of shells from a great hunt the day before, only had time to hit one store for shells, needed 6 boxes for my boys and I, didn’t want to mortgage my truck to restock on shells 😜). For the amount of shells we shoot, and birds we shoot AND KILL QUICK, and for the price, there is no other shell I would shoot. Runs clean, shoots great, kills geese and ducks without a problem.

Check out fiochi steel and estate steel shells. All I shoot is Estates here where I'm at in Arkansas AR Farm Service sells them there around 14.50 a box fiocchi's even a little cheaper I believe

Federal has 100 12ga. Box shells for $22 excellent deal more videos please! Shotgun lover here. 👍

I’m a fan of Kent fasteel. I’d like to see those results. I’ve never done it myself. I just like the results it gets in the field for me. This should be a good series of videos. Keep em coming!

The perk with hevi-x is the heavier denser shot carries penetration ability far better downrange and let's you downsize your shot size without losing killing ability. You'd be able to run a 4 or 5 shot and kill similar to 2 shot steel. Have more pellets in the shell and maintain both better patterns and a better penetration downrange. Think of it as lead vs TSS currently going with the turkey market.

Great subject and great video. Can't wait to see the Kent Fast Steel #2's. These have been my fav for a while. The 2 3/4" are have super fast fps but the 3" are great too.

Loved the video. I always wanted to put these all side by side on a patterning board. I would be interested to see what those patterns actually look like on a 30 inch circle. It almost looks like the hevi-metal had the most uniform spread of shot throughout the pattern? Either way 2 thumbs up guys!

Good video..I think it depends on your gun and what choke you use...I shoot a remington 1187 with a mod choke and found that Federal black cloud #2 shoot the best in my gun up to 40 yards...at 24 dollars a box. Nice job brother

you guys need to try the hevi x #6s with a patternmaster out of that gun, my buddy runs the same gun and I run the Benelli m2 with the #6s and patternamsters and we get some of the tightest patterns we have seen compared to other loads.

Was just goose hunting and used Heavy Metal for the first time. Seemed to put the birds down pretty well. With that said, i have been using Kent Fast Steel for years and have done well with that ammo as well. Looking forward to seeing you test Kent shells.

Winchester Super X, Kent Fasteel, Black Cloud

It would be nice if you tried defferant chokes with the same ammo. What me and a budy found out while duck hunting was sometimes depending on the choke tube too much speed will blow a pattern to peices. We have noticed that at 20 to30 yards with some loads did great with a modify choke . But we noticed out to 40 yards it seems like the choke busted the pattern .. That day I changed to improve cylinder and dropped birds out to 50yards.

Listening to those prices sound like a dream! At those prices id shoot all day!

For steel use a more open choke. For all other non toxic shot use the same choke size you’d use for lead.

Fiocchi fast steel and Kent fast steel a definitely must try for pattern test!

Make sure to say the weight of the shot load, the price seems to go up with the heaver shot loads. If they are 3" shells we are going to assume that it's a max load for the shell. Great video's, thanks for making them, liked

Can you pattern these rounds with the patternmaster choke and/or the hevi shot choke tubes? I'd like to see the difference!

I shoot hevi-steel with a patternmaster code black and it is the deadliest combo i've found. i've shot handful of ducks 50-60 yards, and not many cripples at all. plus, hevi-steel is not expensive at all

I like the format of this video.

Have you done cheap waterfowl shots vs expensive? I would most definitely watch that.

It all depends on the gun, choke, and the kind of shot of the shell you're shooting. What patterns well in your gun may not shoot well at all in mine.

With waterfowl hunting in Maryland being pretty close to other house has been an issue for us....... would like to see if a heavier load would reach 200 to 300 yards and do any damages to someone's property like a window......sucks the creek we hunt legally far enough away from but you can't make sure everyone is avoiding certain direction

Haha I love watching patterning videos. Can't wait to get on some birds!

hey man love the review on the shotgun shells you have a beautiful house what do you do for a living besides the RU-vid thing?

Heavy metal works well. i am getting the same patterns of out federal speed shoks with a carlson mid range and the are easier on the pocket book! Nice Review!

Certain shells are designed to work with certain chokes I know the original 3" bb black clouds shot amazing through cylinder and were blown out by modified I would suggest trying multiple chokes to give each shell a proper chance

Bought a box of that hevi x for geese last year and it rocks the geese!!!!

Great video. Black and blue shoulder? Mine definitely did after patterning my super Vinci.

can you please try winchester super x i woulde love to see how they do on paper

Great video bud. You should have mentioned that not all guns pattern the same that’s why it’s important to pattern your gun with different shells before the season begins. My benelly super nova and super black eagle III pattern amazingly well with the hevy steel #4. My Winchester sxp patterns poorly with the hevy steel but it patterns great with some #3 shot Winchester blind sides. You should definitely give the Winchester blind sides a try.

The thing about tungsten is that it patterns and kills like lead, so it needs more choke than steel shot.

F=M*A or Force equals Mass times Acceleration. Yes the cheaper shell had more hits but what is the force imparted per hit? Fewer pellets from the others could cause more damage. An interesting test would be to shoot a ballistics jell cube at 20 and 40 yards. That I've never seen.

FREAKING LOVE THIS CHANNEL 🤘🏻🤘🏻

Suggest mentioning what choke you're using and maybe use 2 different choke sizes when testing patterns. Would be interesting to see.

Yea well tighter choke would change things and remember the hevi shot and tung would have better penetration

Typically when shooting tungsten you shoot a lot smaller pellet too, maybe consider shooting tungsten 4's as usually they say tungsten you shoot around 2 sizes different

Great video guys. I would of thought the exact opposite with the more expensive shot. I hope you guys do Winchester and Federal next as that’s what I shoot.

I could buy a case of federal blue box in 3" #2 for what you spent on those 3 boxes, they also happen to pattern the best in my Benelli so win-win.

This doesn't really mean anything. You can find a choke that will pattern better with one shell over another - change chokes and the results will be completely different. Secondly this does not take into consideration the energy contained in each one of those pellets at a given range. Yeah, maybe you have a better pattern with steel at 40 yards but if all those pellets just bounce off what good are they?

You just need a more constricted choke. I only shoot a 20 and I started using the Hevi-X when it first came out. I dishrag geese at 50-60 yards with the 4’s. Also have killed pintails way way too far than anyone should be shooting at them when they skirt the dekes like pintails do. I’m a firm believer in the stuff. You gotta remember with the Hevi-X it shoots 2/3 shot sizes bigger as well. So if you’re shooting 2 shot it’s really more like BB. the stuff is devastating out of my Benelli with. T3 choke. I just picked up some 6’s they have on special. I can’t wait to try em on teal and wigeon this morning. Also hevi steel 3” 3 shot has been a really good load for my as well.

We shoot kent 3" #4 its a killer hard hitting 12g round using mod choke! I never got suckered into the expensive high marketing shells! Thats all what its about these days getting ur money and telling u how great this new ammo is! But people get suckered into it!

I remember when Hevi Metal was as much as the Hevi-X

On the hevi steel 12 gauge 3" I bought the 3 shot size 1 1/4 Oz 1500fps and I wanna know was there much of a difference between the 3 shot and 2 shot?

What’s the constriction?? .660,.665 etc. thanks.

Low brass target-bird shot is going for these prices now

Get the heck metal choke and retry those patterns and it will blow your mind away. I was killing ducks at 60 yards with hevi x and the extended modified choke.

Simply put, I love Hevi-X and your comparison is flawed. I used Hevi-X in Nodak last year and Iowa and Oklahoma this year with amazing results. Remember because H-X shot is more dense and heavier than steel, you can go with smaller shot size. A better comparison would be with #2 steel and #4 Hevi-X. Watch what happens to bb’s on target with the 4’s! Hevi-X 2’s have absolutely smashed Canada geese for me and 4’s have worked great for mallards and other large ducks. It’s impossible to get fair test results shooting one brand of shell at two ranges. Wish I could add pictures to prove my success.

What choke were you using in this test? Would be cool to see this test conducted on the same 3 shells but with various choke types/brands.

Try it with a pattern master code goose choke extra full choke!!

Have your tried doing a test with hevi hammer and few newer brands?

That same box of hevi steel is 27.99 now

Hevi Metal has 20% more pellet and 2 different sizes.It also makes a difference with what choke you using.

Great clean videos, good Godly men.

You are comparing all number 2 shot but remember the heavy metal which is half heavy shot and the heavy x have much less pellets in them to begin with. I personally wouldn't use heavy shot inside forty yards since steel performs ok out to that range. All three loads had enough pellets on the target to kill a duck at that range. if you test at say 50 yds and 55 yds the steel may still have more hits but most wouldn't be lethal. Thats where using a tighter choke and Tungsten shot shines or use smaller sized heavy shot . Maybe another test with Hevi x 4 or 6 at those ranges but again you don't need heavy shot till more than 40 yards unless maybe hunting large Geese. Just for kicks I shot a greened on the water at 75 yards with number 9 TSS 3 inch shells 1 1/4 ounce and killed it stone dead so if you hit it in head or neck with dense shot it is adequate and we all know how hard it is to kill a mallard on the water past 50 yds. Its more of a pattern density issue . I only tried once so its not scientific but does show what its capable of. If I was a duck flying by at 60 yards or so I would be terrified if I knew a good shooter was using #9 TSS but not so much if the same shooter was using steel #2. I know thats not the purpose of the video but just another thought that pattern isn't everything.

@5:00,,,, so true lol.

You need to find a different choke for that shot. It isn’t always the shot that doesn’t pattern well. I got 127 hits on a 24x24 paper at 35 yards with the hevi-x 4’s. The 4’s are your 3 shot equivalent.

Yeah. Steel patterns tighter. No big secret there.

Take me back in time to when it’s $16 a box of Hevi-Steel 😢

Yes!!! 3inch 3’s all day!👌🏻👌🏻

He’s capping I did the same thing and the hevi x tungsten is the best bud

Awesome vid, Ive been wanting to do this to compare them. Try the DryLok, Blindside, and Super X from Winchester. Those are more in my budget. Lol

i m shock to see this video can make a video on kent n others shells thank you

Love watching your videos. But you should get an aftermarket choke like carlson or patternmaster. They trow way better patterns than the factory tubes. Keep up the great work though

Monarch steel shot from Academy Sports and Outdoors. It’s $9 a box

What works for u may not work for me.... different guns, different chokes, difference specs...etc...

What choke were you using?

Great video, on tungsten being like lead factory mod for steel isn't that imp cyl for lead maybe tighter choke for tungsten ?also energy difference at 40

thanks for making this video

The tungsten and hevi metal is actually better than lead because it is denser than lead. The reason why the hevi metal and hevi X is so expensive, is because it carries more energy than steel does.

Nice house!

Pattern results depend on your gun and your choke. So his gun might not pattern hevi-x but your gun might pattern it amazingly.

Hevi shot #1 12 gauge

Hev steel is all i shoot. Buy it by the case and its around 13 bucks a box

Thanks bro

What shotgun and whatever choke?

That's crazy. I'm gonna have to try hevi steel. I usually shoot hevi metal. What about Speed Ball by hevi shot?

Bismuth

In Canada; Score makes a 3” 1 1/4oz steel @ 1550fps. It’s $14-15/box Canadian, so $11-12USD. Absolutely crushes birds. Not sure if it’s available in the USA.

Hevi X should be # 6 shot !!!

40 yds is really stretching a modified choke. Stock or 3rd party?

all 3 of them at 40 yards would result in a kill all of them had 4 to 5 pellets in the body of the duck thats enough to clean kill it, but I agree the hevi x had the weakest pattern, steel patterns tighter than anything but lacks the punch on impact at distance so for cost and killing power the heavy metal would be the best choice

You should most definitely try the remington hypersonic, those puppies are coming out at a whopping 1700 FPS!

Do you ever shoot hevi shot -hevi hammer #3's?

That Hevi X is wicked! Absolutely crushes birds, best shell I've ever shot.