YES

 

At optimum elevation of the muzzle, #6 shot will carry about 30 yards further than #7.5 shot. (#7.5 will carry about 210 yards).

 

Most bird or clay sized shot would struggle to reach much further than 300 yards

 

The easiest way to remember this is Journee's rule. Journee was a French artillery officer around the turn of the twentieth century. What he found was that if you took the diameter of the ball, in inches, and multiplied it by 2200, the result would be the max distance in yards. Now, granted, when he developed this, powder types were pretty much all the same and the velocities were all pretty close. Still, when run through modern ballistics calculators, the result is pretty close, even with variations in velocity. So, it is an approximation at best. But, since we aren't taking wind, elevation or any other variables into account, it should be good enough.

In the above example, a #7.5 pellet (0.095 inches in diameter) will travel 209 yards. A #6 pellet (0.11 inches) will travel 242 yards. Pretty much in line with what Ulysses posted.

Frank

 

One of the loading manuals (Lyman 5th?) has information on retained energy and shotfall distances for different pellet sizes.

 

In the above example, a #7.5 pellet (0.095 inches in diameter) will travel 209 yards. A #6 pellet (0.11 inches) will travel 242 yards. Pretty much in line with what Ulysses posted.

Frank

Remember from Physics, max range occurs with an angle of incidence at 45 degrees. It goes down from there, and the angles are complimentary, so a 60 degree angle the same as a 30 degree. a 10 degree the same as a 80 degree. But that's just classroom physics, conducted in a vacuum!

 

In the above example, a #7.5 pellet (0.095 inches in diameter) will travel 209 yards. A #6 pellet (0.11 inches) will travel 242 yards. Pretty much in line with what Ulysses posted.

Frank

Remember from Physics, max range occurs with an angle of incidence at 45 degrees. It goes down from there, and the angles are complimentary, so a 60 degree angle the same as a 30 degree. a 10 degree the same as a 80 degree. But that's just classroom physics, conducted in a vacuum!

In the real world (with air resistance), the optimum angle of elevation for a shotgun or a rifle is around 30 to 32 degrees.

 

Thanks to all, for putting my mind at ease.

 

The easiest way to remember this is Journee's rule. Journee was a French artillery officer around the turn of the twentieth century. What he found was that if you took the diameter of the ball, in inches, and multiplied it by 2200, the result would be the max distance in yards. Now, granted, when he developed this, powder types were pretty much all the same and the velocities were all pretty close. Still, when run through modern ballistics calculators, the result is pretty close, even with variations in velocity. So, it is an approximation at best. But, since we aren't taking wind, elevation or any other variables into account, it should be good enough.

In the above example, a #7.5 pellet (0.095 inches in diameter) will travel 209 yards. A #6 pellet (0.11 inches) will travel 242 yards. Pretty much in line with what Ulysses posted.

Frank

Thanks for the information, I'll keep that in mind.

 

I tested the shot drop at a range where we shoot. Wind has a surprising effect on the shot drop distance.
With a pretty strong wind at the shooters back, we got about 20 more yards out of 7.5 shot. We got a 225 yard shot drop on wind added 7.5s. But the last 10-15 yards were like throwing the shot up in the air and running under it.

 

Wit 3-5 miles, you can be shooting 50BMG with no issues, let alone a shotgun