TargetTalk

To those guys out there shooting factory shells in the U.S., is there a big difference between the cheaper Rio international loads and the more expensive Winchester and Remington loads. Which ones have the softer recoil, and can you really notice the difference in recoil and pattern performance.

Thanks

As long as the load’s weight and powder weight are the same, shot from the same gun, I doubt you’d feel any difference. If you shot the same shell out of two different guns you might notice a difference depending on forcing cone length and stock fit. If the Rio’s are 7/8 ounce target loads and the Remington’s are 1-1/4 max dram hunting loads-- yes you will feel a difference-- shot from the same gun.

The wad, powder, shot type and size, hull, type of crimp and primer brand etc all make a difference in the pattern’s performance. Reloaders will mess with all those components to find the best performance out of their shotgun.

Some target shooter swear by paper hulls, others insist on Winchester AA wads, another will say a Rio hull with a roll crimp is best. Reload manuals are and inch and a half thick with small print pages of loads.