1700 fps VS 1200fps

1700 fps VS 1200 fps if a duck is flying at 35yds crossing is the lead the same? Its going to be interesting to hear what y'all have to say. Oh and by the way 1700 fps is not good for your gun.

not sure about that but I have less cripples with 1350 vs 1200

shoot the same shells and same gun at all times --------- constantly changing guns and shells is why most people hit 4 ducks with a box of shells instead of 20.

I would say people trying to "calculate lead" based on the fps shell they have in at the time on any range shot is a great way to miss a lot. Shoot with your eyes not with a calculator.

For the math saavy i'm sure the difference is inches at most.

so winner winner chicken dinner. I was buying some shells and saw the 1700fps on a box of hyper Sonics that makes no sense to me. They advertise that with 1700 fps your lead is less and since most misses are behind the bird this will make up the difference. LOL

Believe it or not, these new generation ducks are so pellet savvy, that they can sense the instant you pull the trigger what the FPS is and can adjust their flying speed in short burst sand escape injury.

Similar to the way a major league batter can sense a pitched balls speed and swing at precisely the speed needed to connect, only in reverse.

ok, so I did the math on this... mainly just because its a much more drastic difference than you would usually see between loads like clay shooting (which I do a lot of).
35 yards is 105 ft. I'm also assuming the duck is traveling at 50mph on a 90 deg passing shot, which is a good average according to the internet.

it takes the front of the 1700 fps shot string .0618 sec to travel the 105 ft
it takes the front of the 1200 fps shot string .0875 sec to travel the 105 ft
50 mph is around 73fps so:

1700 fps needs 4.5 feet of lead for the first pellet to hit the duck on the nose
1200 fps needs 6.38 feet of lead, pellet to nose

That amounts to a 1.88 ft difference.
Almost 2 feet of lead difference so yes it does matter.

Perceived lead is different for everyone and the statement above is correct that once you start calculating lead, you might as well bring two extra boxes of shells with you!

Personally, i shoot my best scores & birds overall, regardless of target speed and distance with 1200 fps shells as that is what my brain "sees". I always shoot 1200 fps out of all my shotguns and calibers.
Does it matter going from 1150 to 1350... to me it does and I usually feel like I miss 3-4 targets out of 100 using a different loads, especially on longer targets.

Some may call BS... but perceived lead is real. Try asking 5 guys "how much lead" on the same target and you'll get 2 or 3 different answers. some guys will tell you they don't see lead at all, they just shoot the target. In that case they are still leading because it would be impossible to break a passer without it, it's just that the brain builds it in automatically.

There are more variables than speed that would figure into the difference in impact. Bore diameter and condition, Shot type weight and diameter or area of shot, Shot cup design, Shotshell design and crimp, primer used, length of barrel, forcing cone, backbored barrel or no, shot string created by choke design, angle of flight, speed of bird, distance of shot related to kinetic energy of shot, even anticipated recoil. All factors combined as equal as possible between those two shells other than speed, IMHO theoretically your probably talking just a few inches lead difference at say 30-40 yards. Think too when you swing your shotgun on a moving target, the speed of your barrel swing on that target is going come close to matching the speed of the target just before you follow through on the shot no matter how fast your target is flying. If your taking the time to consciously figure in all those factors before the shot, you already missed.

When you were a kid and wanted to hit your sister with a snowball you did not consciously calculate how fast she was running, how far away she was, how heavy your snowball was, and how fast to throw the snowball. Yet when you threw the snowball at her I bet you still hit her every time. Same for your shotgun on a passing bird. At this point using good shooting form and follow through, let experience and instinct work for you, not math. I think the original thought of loading a faster shotshell for steel shot was for gaining a greater kinetic energy for distance and knockdown. Thus allowing one to use a smaller shot with more dense pattern that retains the same knockdown as a slower larger shot. But then too notice you begin to lose any gain with downrange energy at some point especially with smaller shot. Notice the figures on the 1800 fps line below.

Chart from Kent. Distance when steel shot has dropped to 575 fps minimum penetration velocity.

Shot.size.6..5..4..3..2..1..B..BB.BBB.T
1450 fps 43 47 51 55 58 62 65 70 73 77
1500 fps 44 48 52 56 59 64 68 71 75 79
1550 fps 45 49 53 57 61 65 69 73 77 81
1600 fps 46 50 54 58 62 66 71 75 78 82
1650 fps 47 51 55 59 63 67 72 76 80 84
1700 fps 47 51 56 60 64 68 73 77 81 86
1750 fps 47 51 56 60 64 68 73 77 81 86
1800 fps 47 51 56 60 64 68 73 77 81 86

FPS for lead is mostly marketing hype IMO.

First_Chance that is some great info. I also shoot a lot if sporting clays and I also reload at 1200fps , but no matter what speed shell at any distance and no matter how fast the target is moving I never think about how much lead I will need.

This is really interesting, I've never thought much about the difference in lead, but it's meaningful.

Calculating time of flight you have to account for the change in velocity over the distance traveled, and steel pellets slow considerably over normal shooting distances, so the lead difference is less than the different in 4.5 and 6.38 feet.

Based on the shot velocity and penetration table below I found on a different forum, I think the right two columns are closer to the actual lead distances at 1400 and 1700 fps with #3 steel and a duck traveling at 30mph 90 feet away.





So, using the same shell every time actually makes a difference.

This thread was for first time hunters or guys who are having problems shooting or killing birds, that they should not worry about there how fast the shells they are shooting no matter how close or far there target is

Exactly. And shot that starts out faster will have a greater difference in velocity at target than slower shot, so that 500 fps difference at the muzzle may only be a 100 fps difference at the target depending on distance and shot size.

Also the length of your shot string is not being taken into effect

Correct, at typical duck hunting distances if they are properly swinging the barrel to the speed of the bird for a follow through shot the difference is too small to notice with a 30 inch shot pattern.

Say what you want. Computer, rangefinder, anemometer, and a fancy spreadsheet are critical hunting items. Never leave home without them. Better take a barometer too to be safe.

And shot diameter/area. I think the term might be aerodynamic resistance. You can really see or should say hear it when shooting large diameter shot long distances at geese on a foggy morning.

Dam you guys are confusing me

Pick a shell that patterns good and stick with it. You will miss more birds if you use different shells. Doesn't matter if they are 1100 or 1700 fps. Getting use to what you are shooting is the most important thing.

Yup the fps calculations and pattern is nice on paper but you've gotta think about shot string also.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Vn3jjIpHpOU

So you all are basically saying,, let them land, and wait till they stop swimming before you shoot ???

Astros Astros Astros

My observations are if you are buying speed for distance you won't get your monies worth. By the time pellets get to 40 yards the difference is negligible. Now, speed helps within the kill zone as you can use smaller shot for a more dense pattern. Also, go Astros.

Hang in there BDB, I wait till they land and eliminate the whole problem. Science

To summarize:
- Lots of variables, don't overthink it.
- For newbies, faster loads can help cuz they tend to shoot behind the target.
- Old pharts (like me) that have been shooting the same shells for years ought not change. Old dog, new trick thing.
- Astros should send the Rangers a big thank Yu package for the two World Series games he botched.
- Science can hurt your head.

Speed kills and high speed shells have better penetration. While lead time or distance might be slight as 1 foot of lead at bird of 35 yards is very minimal at aim point.

i want to know who is pass shooting ducks at 30-50 mph? If they're not hanging in the air backpedaling why shoot at all?

to build on that, fps doesn't matter when they're feet down.

(My opinion)

The fast stuff has less pelts so you’re not going to kill as many birds. The other factor is most dove and target loads shoot about 1250 so that’s what your brain knows. When I buy duck loads I want something that is close to my target / dove loads fps.
I have out shot hunters that were using $30+ boxes of shells with my cheap $9 Federal shells. I really like Remington Nitro Steel Shot, 12 Gauge, 3" Shell, 1 3/8 ozs #2. You can get these for $9.99 after duck season or $15 right now. Next best is Federal with similar shot and speed.

will the correct lead be different?...well yeah, one is much faster than the other. I would be more focused on having enough energy downrange to penetrate, break bones, etc.