Description
A 3-gun shotgun stage rewards two things: reliable cycling and enough pattern to fold a steel popper on the first shot. The Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 shot was built around that pair of demands rather than around a price point, and it has become a default choice on club match tables.
- Why a Purpose-Built 3-Gun Shotshell Matters
- Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 Shot Specifications
- Honest Notes on This Load
Why a Purpose-Built 3-Gun Shotshell Matters
Fiocchi brought in Jerry Miculek to help shape this line, and the fingerprints show up in the details rather than the marketing. Practical shotgun competition punishes a shell that will not run a gas gun reliably when the gun is dirty, so the powder charge is set high enough to cycle a Benelli M2 or a Beretta 1301 without a spring change, and the hull is dimensioned to feed cleanly from a speed-loading tube.
At 1200 feet per second with a full 1-1/8 ounce payload, the Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 shot sits in a useful middle ground. It is not a light target load that leaves steel standing at twenty-five yards, and it is not a heavy field load that beats you up over a hundred-round stage. The recoil impulse is smooth rather than sharp, which matters when you are shooting a plate rack against the clock.
Fiocchi manufactures this shell in Ozark, Missouri, under the Shooting Dynamics banner. The part number stamped on the case is 12DH3G75, and knowing that number is useful when you are ordering by the case and want to be certain you are getting the 1-1/8 ounce version rather than the lighter 1 ounce load.
Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 Shot Specifications
Number 7-1/2 lead shot runs about 350 pellets to the ounce, so a 1-1/8 ounce charge carries roughly 394 pellets. That is the classic compromise pellet size for practical shotgun: dense enough to break clays and knock over small steel, heavy enough per pellet to reliably topple a full-size popper at the distances match directors actually use.
The wad and powder combination burns cleanly, which is worth more than it sounds. Over a long match day a dirty-burning shell puts enough residue in a gas system to change how the gun cycles, and a gun that short-strokes on stage six is a gun that cost you the match. Shooters running the Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 shot generally report consistent function through a full weekend without stripping the action.
The 209 primer and standard plastic hull mean these reload conventionally if you are set up for shotshell. The hulls are not premium target hulls, so expect fewer firings than an AA or Rem STS case, but they do serve for a couple of reloads.
- Gauge: 12 gauge
- Shell length: 2-3/4 inch
- Shot size: #7.5 lead
- Shot charge: 1-1/8 ounce
- Muzzle velocity: 1200 feet per second
- Primer: 209
- Hull: plastic
- Rounds per box: 25
- Boxes per case: 10
- Manufacturer part number: 12DH3G75
- UPC: 762344711454
Honest Notes on This Load
Buy this if you shoot 3-gun, practical shotgun, or any match where a gas gun has to run hard and steel has to fall. The Fiocchi 3-Gun Match 12GA 1-1/8oz #7.5 shot is priced as a volume competition load rather than a premium target shell, which is the right economics when a single match burns two hundred rounds.
Skip it if you are shooting registered skeet or trap, where a purpose-built target hull and a softer recoil impulse will serve you better across a long day of registered targets. Skip it also for waterfowl, since lead shot is not legal for that use.
One caveat worth stating plainly: 1200 feet per second with 1-1/8 ounces is enough to cycle most gas guns but not all inertia guns at the very light end. If you run a lightweight inertia-driven shotgun, pattern and function test a box before you commit to a case.
Building a match load-out? Pair this with the Fiocchi 3-Gun Match Slug for slug-only arrays, or step down to the 1 ounce 3-Gun Match load if your gun runs it. Fiocchi publishes the full Shooting Dynamics 3-Gun specification on its own site.
MAG5 Firearms stocks competition shotshell by the box and by the case. If you are outfitting for a season rather than a single match, ask about case pricing before you order.
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