[kootiekat]

Hi Skeet Shooters:
Shooting a 12 ga O/U w/ 20 ga tubes.
Still a rookie where shotgunning concerned so learning alot from SW forums.

Like everyone that doesn't reload, keeping an eye out for some 20 ga shells.
Found some 20 ga by Monarch (Academy's house brand). Like all ammo, price has gone up a bit higher to 9.99
But they do have them from time to time at my local store or online/pickup.

I like the no. 8 size, but wondering about the 1300 FPS.
See pix attached.

Where skeet is concerned, what effect, if any, does the 1300 FPS figure have?.
Other periodically available off the shelf 20 ga no 8 Win and Fed says 1200 FPS.

If speed is a factor, would I use them in breezier conditions?
Best to avoid for skeet and save for maybe the odd round of sport clays?

Have found other posts about Monarch but they are fairly older threads.
The Reloading Forum mentions speed of shells as part of recipes for reloading own shells, but that's pretty far down in the weeds for me to really follow along at this point.

Thank you!

 

[RGuill96971]

It depends on the shooter from what I've seen. Some like 1200 and some like 1300+. 1200 will get it done if you do your part. Those monarchs are good shells, I shoot a lot of them and have no complaints. They reload great too. I see no difference in wind or not. See bird- kill bird. Some people believe that 100 fps makes all the difference. I don't see the difference. My score doesn't change if I shoot 1200 or 1300 fps.

 

[oneounceload]

I measured their 12 gauge the other day. over my Pro chrono Using the US basis of 5' from the muzzle, the velocity was closer to 1250. Euro makers measure velocity at the muzzle.

 

[lt0026]

Good shell. Never shot them in tubes.

 

[noweil]

Shoot what you can find. Don't worry about the speed. My friends and I joke about the guy we know who won't shoot the 1200 fps shells. He will only shoot the 1250 fps shells. He is sure that losing 50 fps would mess him all up. He is certain he would have to change his leads on everything. I jump between 1150, 1180, 1200, 1290 fps all the time. Just depends which gun I want to shoot. I cant tell any difference in my scores.

 

[RGuill96971]

Shoot what you can find. Don't worry about the speed. My friends and I joke about the guy we know who won't shoot the 1200 fps shells. He will only shoot the 1250 fps shells. He is sure that losing 50 fps would mess him all up. He is certain he would have to change his leads on everything. I jump between 1150, 1180, 1200, 1290 fps all the time. Just depends which gun I want to shoot. I cant tell any difference in my scores.

Thats pretty funny. I have a friend that thinks the same. When she misses, I ask her if that was one of her slow shells, for awhile she always responded with yes, now she just gives me the finger.

 

[kootiekat]

Hey all, thank you so much for the prompt replies!

I just didn't want to buy something way off base given limited ammo budget. And when they do have something I can use, need to make choices relatively quickly...

Only other newbie question that arises w/ ammo is does FPS like 1300 alter the recoil force in this particular scenario? Yes, gun fits well (I got that advice here too!) on smaller frame female shooter. In 12 ga I haven't shot anything above 1200 simply because of limited choices, so I can't compare on my own.

Thank you!

 

[lt0026]

An O/U with tubes has enough weight to soak up recoil.

 

[oneounceload]

If the weight of the gun stays constant, an increase in velocity will result in an increase in actual recoil; that is physics; if the gun fits very well, the FELT recoil should not be that much worse.

 

[FlyChamps]

Only other newbie question that arises w/ ammo is does FPS like 1300 alter the recoil force in this particular scenario? Yes, gun fits well (I got that advice here too!) on smaller frame female shooter. In 12 ga I haven't shot anything above 1200 simply because of limited choices, so I can't compare on my own.

Yes, more fps equals more recoil. On a trip several years ago I made the mistake of not taking enough 1200/1210 fps ammo for my wife so we had to purchase 1300 fps ammo for her - after the first 4 shots she turned to me and said "these shells kick - don't ever buy they again".

Only you can decide how much recoil is too much for you. I'd buy one or two boxes to try so you can decide about these 1300 fps loads.

 

[noweil]

Generally the faster you push a load, the more it will recoil. You are only shooting 7/8 of an ounce and you are shooting it out of a 12 ga o/u with 20 ga tubes in it. If the 1200 fps recoil did not bother you, I doubt the 1300 fps load recoil will bother you.

 

[RGuill96971]

i shoot a bunch of federal at 1200 and then the monarch’s at 1300 and I can’t feel the difference.

 

[kootiekat]

RGuill96971 I am probably a good example of " I don't yet know what I don't know!" So shouldn't be a worry with the difference between 1200 and 1300. Glad to hear these seem to be reliable. And bonus reloadable, so I will save them for others that do re-use spent shells.

 

[kootiekat]

If the weight of the gun stays constant, an increase in velocity will result in an increase in actual recoil; that is physics; if the gun fits very well, the FELT recoil should not be that much worse.

This is good to know also--the principles behind the observation of how you feel at the shot. Thank you!

 

[kootiekat]

Yes, more fps equals more recoil. On a trip several years ago I made the mistake of not taking enough 1200/1210 fps ammo for my wife so we had to purchase 1300 fps ammo for her - after the first 4 shots she turned to me and said "these shells kick - don't ever buy they again".

Only you can decide how much recoil is too much for you. I'd buy one or two boxes to try so you can decide about these 1300 fps loads.

Thank you FlyChamps! My brother has offered to pickup some of these 20 ga at Academy as I am not yet back to Texas. It will be quite a while before I can try them out, but while available and if don't price beyond silly, it's nice to put away a few on site in advance of when we get together and will eliminate time spent on the "other hobby" of finding suitable shells!

 

[kootiekat]

Generally the faster you push a load, the more it will recoil. You are only shooting 7/8 of an ounce and you are shooting it out of a 12 ga o/u with 20 ga tubes in it. If the 1200 fps recoil did not bother you, I doubt the 1300 fps load recoil will bother you.

Noweil, thank you for this rule of thumb. The blessing of having a well fitting 12 ga is that I don't really have an issue with the recoil or head slap when used as a 12 ga, and feels very nearly t the same when used as a tubed 20.

So given that, and the consensus seems to be no show-stoppers with this brand where skeet concerned, perhaps the 1300/recoil won't be an issue and will actually give me a broader range of choices when I can find some 20 ga here and there.

Thanks everyone!