hevi 13 vs. nitro comparison on straight 7 shot

[DirtNap647]

has anyone tried nitro straight 7 shot vs the hevi 13 7 shot (preferably the 12 gauge 3 1/2" 2 1/4oz) wanted to see if the patterns are similar i know last year was a little tiring hunting the hevi 13 lot numbers wanted to see maybe if nitro was a little more consistant also they may offer a straight 7 shot with more than 2 1/4oz load  thanks in advance

[jhcats10]

I would also like this information


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[davisd9]

dirt road ninja is planning on trying some straight 7 nitros.  He shoots the Hevi 3.5" 2.25 oz 7s now.  Nitro did recommend he use a more open choke.  He is using a mossberg 835.  Will get him to get you some information when he gets the chance to shoot.  Thanks!

[dirt road ninja]

I ordered the 2 7/16 oz load. That's what Nitro recommend to me. They also told me to use my more "open choke" A JH .690. The ammo should be in 3 weeks and I will definitely post the results, but by then they will have a 6 week wait I'd bet. I decided to give them a try after seeing the new prices of Hevi 13 and figured for a few more dollars I won't worry about lot numbers. I also use the straight 7's out of my 10 gauge with good results (on paper). I've yet to kill a bird with the Nitro's yet.

[Old Gobbler]

has anyone tried nitro straight 7 shot vs the hevi 13 7 shot (preferably the 12 gauge 3 1/2" 2 1/4oz) wanted to see if the patterns are similar i know last year was a little tiring hunting the hevi 13 lot numbers wanted to see maybe if nitro was a little more consistant also they may offer a straight 7 shot with more than 2 1/4oz load  thanks in advance

Same shot material,  but loaded differently,  the Hevishot13 will clock out at 1080 fps,  The nitro's loaded  with the same shot material will clock out faster  1200 fps give or take depending-

Different guns ammo  and chokes etc... are going to yield you varying pattern density results 

Shoot some at some plywood and you notice a difference

[DirtNap647]

cant wait for the results on this figured the same thing dont chase lot numbers and prices are getting closer

[DirtNap647]

anyone do any testing yet?

[Gobble!]

I am a Hevi13 shooter. I have 10 shells left. When they are gone I will either be hand loading or switching to Nitros, heres why.

With the Hevi13 shells from 2010 I get patterns of 315+ at 40 yards every shot.
With the shells from 2012 (same load) I get pattens in the 250s.

I don't want to have to dig through theads to figure out what lot numbers are shooting well and which ones arent then go to a store and open every box hoping to get lucky.

[ryanva88]

Hey guys, new to the board...this topic is a huge factor for me and this upcoming spring because I will be shooting one of these loads.

This is going to be my first yr hunting birds and i plan on doing it the right way from the start, no wasting $$$ on crap that wont work but rather biting the bullet on the good stuff this year.

Very impressed with nitro co. #7 reviews (friend shoots and swears by them) but figured that I could get somewhere close to that performance with Hevi-13, 3 1/2 #7. Up till now i was set on Hevi 13 but now...

Gobble!, you are making a HUGE case for the Nitros. I would hate to run into a bad batch of Hevi 13 and then wish I woulda went with the Nitros...

Also, I shoot a Rem 870sm 26in. Any choke input for either of the loads I mentioned?

Thanks for any input!

[Swamprunner]

OG hit this on the head.  The speed is the difference and speed kills.

[drenalinld]

I tested them last Spring with an SBE II 28" bbl through Rhino, Pure Gold, Jelly Head, and Hevi chokes. More hits in 10" circle with Hevi 13 than with Nitros both 2-1/4 and 2-7/16 oz straight 7's. 260 average vs. 290 average in 10" at 40 yards.

Tested them on three long beards for each load. All very dead! Can't go wrong either way.

[stinkpickle]

Indeed!  If you're ever in a situation where either one of those shells can't do the job, you shouldn't be pulling the trigger in the first place.

[paboxcall]

Speed does kill, no doubt.  And more down range energy using HTL is a huge advantage to achieve the end goal of dropping a gobbler.

But...Not long ago, lead shotgun shell and choke combinations producing 100+ hits inside the 10"circle at a taped 40 yards was the benchmark....

With the Hevi13 shells from 2010 I get patterns of 315+ at 40 yards every shot.
With the shells from 2012 (same load) I get pattens in the 250s.

I don't want to have to dig through theads to figure out what lot numbers are shooting well and which ones arent then go to a store and open every box hoping to get lucky.

...I would hate to run into a bad batch of Hevi 13 and then wish I woulda went with the Nitros...

Personally I would not consider a shell that produces "patterns in the 250s" inside the 10" circle as a "bad batch" of shells.  I know the older bronze Hevi 13 outperformed the following year's bronze shells with the straight 7s, but the bottom line for me is 250+ is still a swarm of pellets at 40 yards, and significantly better than what we were testing 10+ years ago with lead #4, #5, and #6 offerings.

With a lot of newbies surfing the forums before spring season, I thought its important to calibrate the discussion here. 

There is nothing wrong with 100+ hits inside 10" at 40 yards with larger lead shells.

There is nothing wrong with 100 - 300 hits inside a 10" at 40 yards with HTL offerings.

And there certainly isn't anything wrong with 300+ hits inside 10" at 40 yards either.  The older Hevi shells may produce that -- and they may not.   Best I could achieve shooting the older Hevi 3-2-7 with a JH .660 from my Winchester 1300 was average 270 hits.

http://oldgobbler.com/Forum/index.php/topic,18285.0.html

Nitros may produce 300+ -- and again, they may not like your particular gun and choke combination... 

So long as the shooter is testing and knows what the gun, shell, and choke combination is absolutely capable of, in my mind its all good.

[ryanva88]

Thanks for the input guys. I'm leaning nitros...I can always try H-13's next yer and if they pattern better, there is nothing wrong with having some extra nitro ammo. I know that I could offload those badboys quick...

paboxcall---From a young-gun's viewpoint it's often easy to forget that birds have been killed for years with standard lead 4s and 5s just fine. If im lucky enough to get a pattern with 250 hits and still want to improve, hey, that's a good problem to have.

Whatever I end choosing, bottom line is i just want to be confident. And from what Im hearing, both these loads are flat out killers. Needless to say I wont be loosing much sleep over what one I go with...

[paboxcall]

I agree -- either offering in straight #7 will get the job done if we do our part.

If all the recent buzz about HTL being more difficult to find going forward due to tungsten spot pricing on the world market and cost of production being too high, I will take 10", 40 yard 200-250+ hit averages on a Hevi 3-2-7 everyday if its a choice between it or lead. 

So that said, I have enough Hevi 3-2-7 stashed away to hunt for the next ten or more years.   It works, works great actually, so I'm satisfied with the performance of my gun and the shell / choke combo.



Just my opinion.