12 gauge USH

[SHOOTER 72]

i just picked up a used 12 gauge USH and i have not had a chance to get to the range yet . just thought i would see what kind of performance to expect from you guys that have one already . thanks

[myarmor]

Congrats on your new SH.
I personally don't have one, not yet anyway, but from what I hear from all these fellas they are exceptional shooters. I also remember reading in a couple mags that they are among the most accurate slug guns on the market. I look forward to hearing how yours shoots.
-Aaron

[BrianM]

If I were you , I would give the Remington Copper Solids a try . I have two 12 ga Ultra's and one 20 ga ultra and they all shoot the Copper Solids real well .

[SHOOTER 72]

brian , thanks for the tip i will try those remingtons first . i will post my results as soon as i can

[MI.sabot]

When I took my 12ga USH to the range the first time last year I took 3 different loads:

2-3/4" 1 oz Federal Barnes Expanders
2-3/4" 1 oz Remington Copper Solids
2-3/4" 1-1/4 oz Lightfields

The Federal's consistently patterned very well then and still do even with the 3" as you can see from this year's trip.
(the previously taped holes were from sighting in my son's 20 ga USH)
The Copper Solids were a close 2nd and the Lightfields were a distant 3rd.

I have not tried anything else out in the USH nor do I plan to anytime soon.
The performance from the Barnes Expanders is more than acceptable for my current hunting conditions.

[cwlongshot]

With the Copper Solids my 12ga USH will cloverleaf all day at 100yrds!!

For Christmas a couple years back,  I bought my brother-in-law a 20ga USH and my sister bought him a sleeve of Barnes ex-panders. He went shooting and called me when he got home, saying the gun made funny holes in the target. We went out shortly after and sure enough the gun will not stabilize the Barnes bullets. They tumbled!! I switched him to Remington Copper Solids in 20 GA and he has been fine since.

I used to shoot the Barnes in my rifled rem 870 barrel with good results accuracy wise and AWESOME results on game. but that got sold when i saw how the USH shot!!!  The Barnes where OK but not stellar in my gun. All guns are different and like different ammo, there is some really good stuff out there now, try as much as you can afford!!

 good luck,
 CW

[MI.sabot]

I had a similar experience last year with my son's 20 ga USH in that it didn't like the Barnes either.
Federal no longer produces the 3/4" oz sabot that they had available last year.
They've changed to a smaller faster sabot that may stabilize better.
I have not tried them.  The Winchester Platinum Tips seem to pattern fairly well out of his 20 ga.

You really need to buy a few different rounds and see what works the best.
Keep in mind that the 12 ga USH has a slower twist rate (1:34) than the 20 ga.
Some of us have found that they prefer the slower sabots (sub 1,700 fps) than the high velocity ones.
If you're shots are within 100-125 yds there's plenty left in that slower slug to get the job done.