Spartan 20 guauge 00 buck... not so much

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SO I was at my local Academy today and noticed that they were selling 25 rounds of Spartan 20 gauge buckshot for 12.99. The box claims that there are 9 double ought buck pellets in this little 20 gauge. I hadn't seen anything like that so I bought a box. I wanted to see how they got 9 pellets of 00 buck inside so I cut open a shell.

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The shot looked small to me so I decided to mike it and weigh it.

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Normal 00 buck comes in around .33ish in size and around 50-54 grains in weight.

Here it is compared to normal 00 buck.

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Top of the box


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According to the online info .28 puts this buck around #2 buck. I haven't shot this yet, and I plan on doing some penetration tests with it. But I figured I would let others know that it isn't 00 buck like the box states. For all I know this is really good ammo, but again I haven't shot it yet.
 
Foreign companies and sometimes US companies will make mistakes on their labeling. Looks like the 20 ga Spartan ammo's box was probably printed from computer generated graphic where they used the 12 ga 0-0 ammo box as the base template but forgot to change all the information, notably the size of shot. Could be why its only $12 a box.
 
Got some of that in 12 from Academy during the ammo pinch last year. 12 gauge OO back... low brass.

It's still sitting on my shelf. Not sure what to do with it.
 
What's the wad column/shot cup (if any) like?

No shot cup of any kind. Pellets sit right on top of those hard paper wads. Powder measured out to 16 grains of that grey stuff that almost looks white.

Can you confirm where it's made?

box just says European Union
 
I think 7 fit, but I dont remember ever seeing 00 buck for sale in 20 GA shells commercially. I always see #3 buck in 20 GA and the stuff I buy has filler in between the pellets to keep them packed a certain way.

Curious they mislabeled BOTH the box and the hulls.
 
If using a 20 Gauge for self defense/home defense, that load would be on my short list.

Rio Royal has a 20 Gauge #1 Buckshot load, which should be 9 .30 caliber pellets but I have never had the opportunity to take one apart and mike the pellets.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr
 
I had 16 gauge 0 buck some time ago, and I didn't know 0 buck would fit in the 16 gauge shell before I got it. But 00 buck in a 20 gauge shell is not possible. I would be surprised already with 20 gauge #1 buck.
 
If it is Kemen and from the EU, most likely Spain as that is where the parent company of Kemen and Rio (Maxam) is located. They are one of the largest ammo makers around and totally vertically integrated making everything for ammo in house. They also own Eley shotgun ammo and other brands.

Sounds like a mismarked box
 
Sounds like a mismarked box

Shells are also marked 00

In the EU shot sizes of a similar name to US are smaller. The EU has different shot size standards.

That actually crossed my mind, but the 12 gauge stuff has actual 00 in it. I cut one of those as well and they are right at .32 .33 caliber.
 
How hard are the pellets?

Sorry completely missed this question. They are VERY soft. Using the pliers test I was only able to make a small indention into some buckshot from a Winchester super X load, but this stuff I nearly flattened out.
 
Well, that sounds like the recipe for real scattergun ammo then. Usually, soft lead pellets, no 'grex' or buffering between the pellets, no shot collar or shot cup and an old fashioned wad system will equal wide open patterns. But even so, the only way to know is to pattern it and see for sure. And if you want wide open patterns, and that's what you get - gravy!

BTW, even with pattern testing, it will only tell how that load patterns in your gun. It might act completely different in a different barrel - that's why shotgun patterning, especially with buckshot, is so critical to judging load performance.

At least it's a star crimp - that usually gives more consistent patterns IME. But was that plastic disk in your picture on top of the shot column, or under it?
 
that usually gives more consistent patterns IME. But was that plastic disk in your picture on top of the shot column, or under it?

Its actually cardboard and it was on top under the crimp
 
Federal #1 buck is my load of choice for the 870 I have as a defense shotgun..and I have 10-12 boxes of 16 gauge #1 federal for a Lefever "coach gun" as well.

That looks like you've found out that's American #2 buck there. In a 20 that'll do some real hurt if a decent velocity is there and the loads pattern for you.

I think they marked it "OO" because that is what I bet 95% of folks think of when "buckshot" is mentioned, and the vast majority of the 95% know nothing about buckshot sizes. (And they figured no one would check it out.)
 
It obviously doesn't meet SAAMI standards which allow .015" + or - for buckshot. .315 is commonly used for 00 Buck but nothing smaller would be permitted by the voluntary SAAMI standards.
 
Timely thread.
I bought a box of those 20 gauge shells a couple of weeks ago because they came 25 to a box and they were advertised as 00 buck and were $12.99.
In a few weeks I am going to a friends place and since my old Mossberg 385k bolt shotgun has the C-Lect choke I will probably just burn the whole box playing with the patterning at different distances.
I really don't like false advertising.
 
Semi tested the stuff today on a car door. It penetrated the first door completely and made it about halfway through another one. Stuff had little recoil and patterned fairly well considering what it is. I would not feel undergunned with it in a 20 gauge for self defense, especially inside a home.
 
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I always see #3 buck in 20 GA and the stuff I buy has filler in between the pellets to keep them packed a certain way.


I live in a no-ship-zone for ammo: L.A. City. I have to find my stuff locally and over the counter. The Federal #3 Buck ("up to 20 pellet") 20-gauge loads are what I bought in bulk, last purchase.

I apologize for not backing the following claim with pictures of the pattern using a 20-inch smooth-bore slug barrel, but a full, circular 12" spread is what I get at 5 yds. At 10 yds, the pattern grows to maybe 18"... quite unlike the distinctly smaller-diameter pattern of 00 buck through an 18.5" mod-choke 12-gauge... an 18" cylinder bore barrel produces a similar pattern at these close ranges...

Question is (and this is one question I hope is never answered in my experience), which of the two examples noted above would be the better threat-stopper? 20 pellets of .25" diameter across 12"? or 9 pellets of .33 diameter across (up to) 6" dia.? Velocities would be similar...

/threadjack
 
Question is (and this is one question I hope is never answered in my experience), which of the two examples noted above would be the better threat-stopper? 20 pellets of .25" diameter across 12"? or 9 pellets of .33 diameter across (up to) 6" dia.? Velocities would be similar...


There's no definitive answer to that question - too many variables are possible. It would depend on range, the emotional and pharmaceutical state of the assailant, clothing, any intervening barricades, and so on and on and on.

My own preference is always for larger pellets and tighter patterns where buckshot is concerned. Others will of course disagree, as is their prerogative. I'm one of those who tries to keep slugs (Brenneke KOs in my case) handy for a defensive shotgun as well, in case buckshot is not enough to handle extra range, barricades etc.
 
I wanted to let everyone know that I have patterned this stuff and it actually patterns very well out of my old stevens single shot. At 10 yards (what I consider inside the house distance) it got an 8" group. Surprised the snot out of me as Remington Express gets about the same and it does have buffer material in it. Now at 30 yards it wasn't the same story. I didn't even measure it, all nine were on target but were all over it. Target being a sandard b27. But still, I like this load and think it will be my go to buck for the new Maverick 20 gauge I am about to buy.
 
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