[Hick Industries]

I use Hornady #4 Buck and Hornady Black Powder .375" round balls. Aside from the odd shape of the pattern, its not a bad result- only 2 flyers from the loads.

What else could I try cooking up? and how about buffered #4 Buck loads?

I dont think the load is the cause of the flyers.

Many shot gun makers bore their barrels differently. As such they constrict buck shot load differently.

Do you have a second shot gun to test with? Can you try different chokes?

 

[Hick Industries]

I recently tested some handloaded buckshot.
My Load data:
Both shells:
Winchester AA Hull, W209 Primer, 24.5Grains of Herco, WAA12R Wad.

Payload #1 is 27 Pellets of #4 Buckshot
Payload #2 is 15 Pellets of #4 Buckshot, 3 .375" Round balls.

Gun is a Browning Auto-5 Magnum-12 30" Barrel, Briley Invector Improved Modified Choke. Range was 25 yards.

Shells were held roughly on the Orange target dot.
The Patterns were kind of odd, but I think its acceptable

Any comments?

You might be getting some flattening of your shot. I tried loading shot using very similar powder and shot combinations. While my results were very gun/choke dependent, I decided that hardened shot and buffeting media were worth the cost and trouble if you want to shot buck beyond 25 yds.

My best results were shooting the same load out of a 18" full cylinder barrel.