Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge 7/8 oz #7.5 – Proven 25 Round Clays Load

Description

The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge shell, catalogued by the factory as 20VIP75, is the 7/8 ounce number 7.5 load from the Exacta VIP line. The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge shell is a 2-3/4 inch hull pushing hard lead at a listed 1,200 feet per second, packed 25 rounds to the box. If you shoot skeet, sporting clays or early season upland birds with a twenty, this is the sort of shell you buy by the case and then stop thinking about.

Why the Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge Load Patterns So Well

The real difference between a budget promotional shell and this one is the pellets. The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge load uses high antimony lead shot, which simply means the lead is alloyed to be harder so the pellets hold their shape as they are squeezed through the forcing cone and the choke. Round pellets fly straight. Deformed pellets do not, and deformed pellets are what blow out the fringes of a pattern and cost you the edge of a clay at thirty yards.

Fiocchi builds the 20VIP75 on its own hull, primer and wad, which matters if you reload. Fiocchi 20VIP75 hulls have a good reputation for reloading life and shooters who save their empties usually get several firings out of them. If you do not reload, the same thing shows up as consistency: the second box patterns like the first.

Recoil is mild. A 7/8 ounce payload at 1,200 fps out of a twenty is comfortable over a long day, and clearly softer than a 12 gauge load at similar velocity. For smaller framed shooters, for youth shooters stepping up from a 410, and for anyone breaking 100 birds in a session, that comfort is worth more than it sounds on paper.

Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge Specifications

Figures below are the published factory numbers from Fiocchi for part number 20VIP75. Velocity is measured at the muzzle and will read lower on a chronograph set a few feet downrange, which is normal and not a defect in the ammunition.

Shot size is the one spec worth thinking hardest about. Number 7.5 is the all round choice for a 20 gauge target load: it carries better than 8 or 9 on longer sporting clays presentations and still puts plenty of pellets in the pattern for skeet. If your club shoots mostly close skeet, a number 8 or 9 load will give you a denser pattern at short range. If you see a lot of 35 yard crossers, stay with 7.5.

The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge shell also doubles as a light upland load. Dove, quail and early season grouse are all well inside what 7/8 ounce of hard 7.5 shot will do at sensible range, so many shooters keep one case for clays and the vest and never buy a separate field load.

• Gauge: 20 gauge, 2-3/4 inch shell
• Shot charge: 7/8 ounce
• Shot size: number 7.5, high antimony lead
• Muzzle velocity: 1,200 fps
• Manufacturer part number: 20VIP75
• UPC: 762344701325
• Product line: Fiocchi Exacta Target VIP
• Packaging: 25 rounds per box

Choosing the Right 20 Gauge Clay Target Ammo

Lead is the limit here, not the load. The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge load is lead shot, so it cannot be used where non-toxic shot is required. That covers all waterfowl hunting nationwide and a growing number of state wildlife areas and public lands for upland birds as well. Check the regulations for the specific property you are shooting before you put lead in the vest. If you need a steel alternative in the same gauge, our Fiocchi steel target load covers the same job with non-toxic shot.

If recoil is the deciding factor rather than range, the lighter 3/4 ounce Premium Target Lite at 1,075 fps is the gentler option in the same family. It gives up some pattern density and reach in exchange for a noticeably softer push, which is often the right trade for a new shooter or a very light gun.

Pattern your gun before you commit to a case. Chokes, barrel length and the individual gun all change where the pellets land, and two shotguns will not shoot the same shell the same way. Put a few rounds of this 20 gauge clay target ammo on a patterning board at the distance you actually break targets, then buy in quantity once you know what the gun does with it.

Handle lead sensibly. Wash your hands after a session, do not eat at the loading bench, and keep hulls and pellets away from children and pets. It is basic hygiene that regular shooters sometimes get casual about.

For most twenty gauge shooters this is the default: a Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge box lives in the range bag for clays and doubles as a dove load in September. It is not the cheapest shell on the shelf, and it is not meant to be. The Fiocchi Premium Target 20 Gauge shell is the one that keeps patterning the same way in the last box of the case as it did in the first. Every order ships from our licensed inventory in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, and an adult signature is required on delivery.