B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot – Great Close Cover Load

Description

Close cover shooting is a pattern density problem, not an energy problem. A woodcock at twelve yards through alder whips does not need a hard hitting pellet, it needs enough pellets in the right place in the fraction of a second you get. The B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is built for that, in a 2 1/2 inch shell a vintage gun can digest.

• Small shot, dense pattern, short range
• Full specifications
• Quail, woodcock and skeet
• Honest notes before you buy
• Choke, and why open is better here
• The bottom line

Small shot, dense pattern, short range

One ounce of 8 shot holds roughly 410 pellets, against about 350 in 7.5 and around 225 in 6. That is a substantially fuller pattern, and inside twenty five yards a fuller pattern is what puts birds in the bag. The B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is the choice when the shots are quick and close.

The tradeoff is energy per pellet, which falls off faster with small shot. Past about thirty yards the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot starts running out of authority on anything larger than a quail. Inside that distance it is the most forgiving of the three shot sizes in this line, and forgiveness is worth a great deal in thick cover.

Full specifications

• Caliber: 12 gauge, 2 1/2 inch shell
• Bullet weight: 1 ounce of nickel plated chilled lead, 8 shot grain
• Bullet: 8 shot, nickel plated chilled lead
• Muzzle velocity: 1160 fps
• Muzzle energy: not published for shotshells ft-lbs
• Ballistic coefficient (G1): not applicable to shotshells
• Case: reloadable boxer primed brass
• Quantity: 20 rounds per box
• Part number: 12B1UP8, 25 rounds per box

The 2 1/2 inch length is the reason this whole line exists. A great many fine English and Continental guns were chambered to that old standard, and firing a 2 3/4 inch shell in one raises pressure because the crimp has nowhere to open. The B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is simply the correct shell for the gun.

Quail, woodcock and skeet

Bobwhite over a pointing dog, woodcock in the alders, early season grouse in thick cover. These are the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot situations, where the bird is close, the window is narrow and a dense pattern covers the small aiming error you will inevitably make.

Skeet is the other natural home for it. Number 8 is the classic skeet size and all twenty five targets on a skeet field are inside the range this shell handles well. A round of skeet with a vintage double and a box of the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is about as pleasant as shotgunning gets.

Honest notes before you buy

The Gordon System basewad with its shock absorbing spring is worth mentioning again on a small shot load, because these are the shells you will fire the most of. A hundred skeet targets through a light double adds up, and reduced felt recoil keeps both you and a century old stock in better condition.

Two limits worth stating. This is lead shot, so it is not legal for waterfowl and not permitted on some public land at all. And 8 shot is genuinely short range. On a late season rooster at forty yards the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot will wound rather than kill, and 6 shot is the honest answer there. Carry the right size for the bird.

Choke, and why open is better here

With small shot at short range, tight choke works against you. A full choke pattern at fifteen yards is barely larger than the bird, and you will either miss or destroy it. Cylinder, skeet or improved cylinder is what the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot wants, which happily is what most vintage upland guns were bored with anyway.

If your gun has fixed chokes, and many old doubles do, pattern it before the season. Shoot the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot at the distance you actually expect and look at what the pattern is doing on paper. Ten minutes at a pattern board teaches more than a season of guessing.

The bottom line

For close cover birds and skeet through a vintage gun with short chambers, the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is the densest patterning shell in the line and the one you will shoot most. You can read more about the bullet design at swiftbullets.com, or browse the rest of our stock on the MAG5 Firearms ammunition page.

MAG5 Firearms keeps the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot in stock and moving, and we are glad to talk through bullet choice before you order. If you are working up a load for a new rifle, a single box of the B&P Upland Classic 12ga 1oz 8 Shot is a sensible place to start.