Since AR15fan's excellent post has been lost to the archives, I decided to post more information about the Winchester "Military" 00 Buckshot that is on the market.

Many retailers talk about how great this buckshot is because "Its Mil-Spec so it has to be good". Since the proof is in the pudding.... lets find out.



The 2 loads I'm comparing this buckshot to is the cheap Winchester Super-X 00 buckshot that can be found virtually everywhere that sells shotgun shells, and the great Federal Vital-Shok. The Winchester Super-X is very cheap as you can usually find the 15 round Value-Packs at Wal-Mart for $10. The Federal Vital-Shok is Federal's top-of-the-line 00 buckshot, and it shows in quality & price. A box of Vital-Shok usually runs about $5.60-$7.00 a box locally.



As we see here, all the loads have the familiar star crimp. The Winchester shells look exactly the same except for coloration. You will also notice that the Vital-Shok shell has a dip in the crimp. This is because it was kept in a loaded 870 for about a year. Shells will deform in your magazine tube, so be sure to switch them out occasionally (I usually change out every year).

Now on the the main course:

We will start with the Federal Vital-Shok 00 Buckshot



The Vital-Shok is very well made. It has a plastic shot cup, plastic wad, sand-like buffering, and the pellets are copper plated. Before the Flite-Control wad came about, this has always been the best patterning 00 buckshot in every shotgun I've owned. This is a quality load because it has about everything you can do to get a tight pattern with buckshot.



I'm also using Bob Brister's method of using a pair of Channelocks to test how hard the lead really is. (More on this later in the thread).

Now lets see how the Winchester Military 00 Buckshot compares:



Not good at all. There is buffering (much larger than the Federal), but it has unplated shot & no shot cup. Just a couple of cardboard wads, and a plastic disk covering the powder. This will lead to horrible patterns compared to a premium load like the Vital-Shok. Very disappointing, and really not all that "High-Speed, Low-Drag". Its also made very cheaply, which means its not worth the premium some retailers are selling it at.

Now lets compare it (and the Vital-Shok) to the common Winchester Super-X 00 Buckshot:



Wow........ its made EXACTLY like the Military 00 buckshot except not in OD green. Literally, its exactly the same on the inside. The uber-cool Military 00 buckshot has the same internal components as the plain jane Super-X 00 buckshot which is dirt cheap and available all year around.

Well, lets check Brister's method of checking how hard the pellets really are:



The Super-X & Military Buckshot are pretty soft. The Federal is very hard, and patterns will be much smaller compared to unplated buckshot.

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So surprisingly it appears that the Military buckshot is literally Super-X buckshot with a OD shell body, and blackened brass. I could have sworn that the Super-X line used to have a plastic shot cup a few years ago, but it appears Winchester has cheapened it even further. If you are wanting a cheap 00 buckshot load, I'd look at the Remington Express 00 buckshot since Remington still uses the Power-Piston Wad. I've usually had better patterns with it over the Super-X over the years.

The Bottom Line

* The cool Military buckshot is literally Super-X that you can buy at your local sporting goods store throughout the year. Same components & same construction. If you are paying a penny more for the Military buckshot, you are being ripped off.

Great information and very helpful. Thanks so much.

I am running some Winchester "Ranger" low recoil 9 pellet 00 buck that I picked up from my local gun store. Any info on this by any chance? Or am I better off tearing one up like you did?

I was paterning about 8 inches @ 50 feet from a cylinder bore 18 1/2" Benelli Supernova Tactical, and had NO recoil at all.

Thanks again for the great post

Good job. It amazes me how many people will charge and pay for the GI stuff based completely on the erroneous assumption or claim that it is better, just because it is GI.  
With your post and AR15fan's there's some very good info on this stuff.
Thanks for taking the time.

Great write up, thank for taking the time.

Looks like I need to move some shells around on my HD shot guns.

The old Winchester 00B has shot cups in them. I got some of those shells (bought in 04), but I don't feel like cutting one up. Also the hull is noticeably harder than the the new stuff and the crimp is better.



It seems that the Remington at least has buffer in it.




Pic borrowed from The Box O Truth's website.

Well done.

Remington has always advertised that their 00 buckshot has carried the Power Piston Wad, but the other Express buckshot loads have not (#4, #1, #0).

However since Winchester has cheapened the Super-X line, lets see if Remington has done the same to the Express line. Plus since they updated their website, it doesn't say anything about the Power Piston wad anymore. This was bought a couple months ago, so its still new production.



Nope, it seems that Remington has still kept their Power Piston Wad, buffering, and their crimp is much harder to open compared to the Winchester. Of course, the lead is unplated.



The lead is softer than the Federal, but it was a bit harder to crush compared to the Super-X.

Since the Remington Express usually sells for $1 more per Value Pack than Super-X, I'd be more inclined to buy it instead for cheap 00 buckshot. I've found it patterns better than Super-X..... not much better, but enough to justify the added expense.

Winchester "Ranger" Shells, 00 Buck, Low recoil, Bought roughly mid to late 2007, Patterning 8 inches @ 50 feet with Benelli Supernova Tactical, Fixed Cylinder Choke

Didn't do the hardness test with the pliers.

Gray stuff in shell is the powder

I thought Winchester was using low-steel bases on the Ranger line, or did they switch to a brass base?

It is one of the main reasons I've avoided buying any Ranger shells.

They make several versions. The high base with red hulls is the most expensive. The low base brass with red or orange hulls is the mid cost. The low base steel with white hulls is the least expensive.

I don't know to be honest. I saw these at my local store and said "hey, those look cool, I'll give them a try" and bought a box. Tried a few and went back to grab a second box. They are really light shooting and I think they are pretty decent. I went back for some more recently, and all they had were some Ranger "frangible slugs"

You pay extra for MIL SPEC

I haven't seen any Ranger ammo with the orange hulls in a long time.

I don't think the military even uses the green hulled stuff.

interesting that you guys said you've seen the whichester 'mil-spec' being pricey.  It's about a dollar or two less per box of five than most of the other buckshot I've seen locally.

it also spreads out quite fast.




if I recall right, the remington express had a 6-8" spread at 10 yards, while the whinchester stuff had an 8-11" spread at the same distance.

I can get Buckshot for $2.50 - $3.25 at the chain stores in Michigan. Win SuperX and Rem Express.  Right after hunting season it usually goes on sale for $1.97

The Milspec stuff seems to run at least $4.50 a box online.

I bought 3 boxes of the milspec stuff at $3.99 a box a few weekends ago.  All the other buckshot the had was $5 or more per box.

I'd imagine it would have to do with our different states and the hunting seasons?  I'm not sure how popular shotgun season is for large game out here.