New Buckaroo - 12 gauge shotgun load

[Willie Miss 45]

I’ve tried 9 grains of Red Dot with 7/8 oz shot and he still complained about recoil. 

[Leroy Luck]

One stupid light load I’ve experimented with to save on shot…

 

11grs of Red Dot, CB0175-12 (3/4oz wad), a 20ga nitro card in the wad, with 1/2oz of shot. Makes the stack height perfect for a good crimp.
 

I’m sure you could use something else to take up the space. But you might try 3/4oz of shot and see what he thinks. 

Edited June 14 by Leroy Luck

[Sheriff Dill]

A shooter here in New England has a 9 y/o daughter that shoots a sxs uses 

 

14 grains of trail boss

3/4oz shot(pink wad)

Start with half the shot fill rest with oatmeal

 

I reload 13 gr perfect pattern 3/4 wad & shot cheditte primers. When my son was 13 it was perfect for him. 

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

50 minutes ago, Willie Miss 45 said:

I’ve tried 9 grains of Red Dot with 7/8 oz shot and he still complained about recoil. 

Drop to 3/4 oz

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

4 minutes ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

Drop to 3/4 oz

THIS

[Sedalia Dave]

Easiest way to drop from 7/8 to 3/4 oz and maintain the stack height is to add a pinto bean to the shot cup before adding the shot. 

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

3/4 oz knocks them down no problems 

[Sedalia Dave]

4 minutes ago, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

3/4 oz knocks them down no problems 

 Yep

 

If you can find them, the Troy Cowboy shot shells are noticeably lighter than the AA Featherlight. 

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

Just now, Sedalia Dave said:

 Yep

 

If you can find them, the Troy Cowboy shot shells are noticeably lighter than the AA Featherlight. 

Gray Squirrel, the cowboy running the timer uses the Troy shot shells 

[Wild Eagle]

I used to shoot with a guy that used 5/8 oz of shot.  I think he had to special order wads from one of the manufacturers.  Always knocked down the KD, but since your son is a Buckaroo all he has to do is hit it. I believe my friend had a very bad shoulder and couldn't take much recoil at all.  In any case, as many others have noted above, you will need to use less shot to reduce the recoil.

[Willie Miss 45]

3 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Easiest way to drop from 7/8 to 3/4 oz and maintain the stack height is to add a pinto bean to the shot cup before adding the shot. 

I didn’t find any dry pinto beans at Walmart just now… But I do have oatmeal here. I suppose I could just use like a teaspoon or so of it. Not sure if it would go in first or last. I’ve never added stuff to a shot shell before. 

[Sixgun Seamus]

You're not going to reduce recoil to that of a .22 or a .38 rifle if that is what he is expecting. Just ain't gonna happen. My 10 yr old grandson shoots a Stoeger 12 with a weighted stock and much lighter loads than you describe with no problem and I tell him he has to knock them down. Can't  remember gr. weight but using #17 MEC bushing with TiteWad and 7/8 oz shot. He is going to have to endure some recoil.

Edited June 15 by Sixgun Seamus

[Chicken George*]

Put as little shot as you want (I use 1/2 ounce for young ones and they knock down most targets), then fill up the rest of the space to the fold in the hull with filler to get a good crimp. Dried beans, rice, corn meal, etc. Oatmeal may compress too much.

 

Less shot will lower the recoil far more than less powder. Below 11 grains of Red Dot you are going to start getting inconsistencies. 

[Rattlesnake Slim]

Claybuster makes a 3/4 oz wad that you can use. If I remember correctly, it loaded without any change in wad ram height. I was experimenting for skeet and loading at 1200fps, so unfortunately I don't have any load recommendations for cowboy. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Claybuster-CB017512-12ga-3_4oz-Wad-500_bag/productinfo/030CB107512/

[watab kid]

i only load 3/4oz and ive always loaded red dot or clays at about 13 grains or a bit less , i found my wadds at balistic products and they worked well , but i no longer have a record of the code handy - im sure i have it but cant find it , i loaded 8000 rounds and have a lot left at this point so ill figure that out if i live that long  

[Sheriff Dill]

You can get the 3/4 oz wads at Midway. Around $15 per 500 before tax and shipping. 

[Willie Miss 45]

6 hours ago, Sixgun Seamus said:

You're not going to reduce recoil to that of a .22 or a .38 rifle if that is what he is expecting. Just ain't gonna happen. My 10 yr old grandson shoots a Stoeger 12 with a weighted stock and much lighter loads than you describe with no problem and I tell him he has to knock them down. Can't  remember gr. weight but using #17 MEC bushing with TiteWad and 7/8 oz shot. He is going to have to endure some recoil.

I told him that it’s a shotgun so it’s going to recoil some but thought I better lighten it if I could. He is brand new to both recoil and shooting. The stock on the stoeger is about 2 inches too long if I measured it right. He’s struggling with the barrel weight too.  I just need to give him a fair chance.  I’ve never had to help someone like this so any advice is welcome. 

[High Spade Mikey Wilson]

I dropped from 7/8 oz to 3/4 oz shot in both my 12 & 20 guages. Less recoil, more rounds out of a bag of shot, and I haven't had a knock down yet that wouldn't go down with 3/4 oz of shot.

[Sedalia Dave]

2 hours ago, Willie Miss 45 said:

I told him that it’s a shotgun so it’s going to recoil some but thought I better lighten it if I could. He is brand new to both recoil and shooting. The stock on the stoeger is about 2 inches too long if I measured it right. He’s struggling with the barrel weight too.  I just need to give him a fair chance.  I’ve never had to help someone like this so any advice is welcome. 

 

Cut the stock down so that it fits him.  The gun not fitting him is the real problem he is struggling with recoil.

 

Before you cut it drill two holes into it that you can put small dowels in. This way you can add back to the gun as he grows.  A leather cover will hide the cut lines.

[Sedalia Dave]

8 hours ago, Rattlesnake Slim said:

Claybuster makes a 3/4 oz wad that you can use. If I remember correctly, it loaded without any change in wad ram height. I was experimenting for skeet and loading at 1200fps, so unfortunately I don't have any load recommendations for cowboy. https://www.ballisticproducts.com/Claybuster-CB017512-12ga-3_4oz-Wad-500_bag/productinfo/030CB107512/

 

I have both the CB0178-12 and CB0175-12 wads. The only physical difference between them is the CB0175-12 has a small button in the bottom of the shot cup about the size of a pinto bean.

[The Original Lumpy Gritz]

12 hours ago, Sedalia Dave said:

Easiest way to drop from 7/8 to 3/4 oz and maintain the stack height is to add a pinto bean to the shot cup before adding the shot. 

A dried Pinto bean works well.

Have done this for many years. 

[Eyesa Horg]

I've been loading Ellie's 12ga with 11gr of Red Dot under a pink claybuster 3/4 oz was and 3/4 oz of #8 shot. They are pretty darn light and take down the targets. Haven't had any squiby issues either. 

Cutting the stock will help and make sure he's holding it tight to his shoulder.

A 4° angle will help as well since we are usually aiming down.

[July Smith]

My son started last year at the age of 9.  I'm not exactly sure of the weight but I use a Lee 1.6cc scoop to measure out 2fg black powder and then use the same scoop to measure out shot.  I then put a square of toilet paper wadded up over the shot to fill up the rest of the hull. 

 

Now he is 10 and my other son who is 13 also started to shoot.  We just shot a match this Saturday and both claimed they could handle more recoil, so I'll be experimenting with increasing both powder and shot.  

[Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L]

I switched from 1 oz to 7/8 oz using Clay Buster grey wads CB0178-12 and then tried some 3/4 oz loads using pink wads CB0175-12 and they worked fine.  So late last year I loaded up 2 cases worth of 3/4 oz loads and this weekend finished off the 1st case.  Every shotgun target I hit has gone down.

[Vail Vigilante]

Google something called the Killer Bee loads. 

IIRC Bob Brister was the guy that designed these and you might find what you desire among them.

 

[Eyesa Horg]

58 minutes ago, Vail Vigilante said:

Google something called the Killer Bee loads. 

IIRC Bob Brister was the guy that designed these and you might find what you desire among them.

 

JMHO, Google that load! Doesn't sound like something for CAS at all! I find it doubtful that 17gr of Red Dot under a 7/8 load of shot would be light. 13 is similar to Win LNLR. Again just my opinion. We're just trying to knock em down, not kill em!

[Slow Mo Dern]

Hey, Willie,

 

     I use a shotgun with a short cut off stock.  You are welcome to try it for size before you cut yours down.

We will shoot again on Thursday June 25, 2026.  

How old is your grandson?

 

Mo

[Willie Miss 45]

36 minutes ago, Slow Mo Dern said:

Hey, Willie,

 

     I use a shotgun with a short cut off stock.  You are welcome to try it for size before you cut yours down.

We will shoot again on Thursday June 25, 2026.  

How old is your grandson?

 

Mo

12 Mo

[H. K. Uriah, SASS #74619]

I tried 10 grains of Red Dot with about 1 ounce of shot.

These were mouse fart loads that don't knock down targets.

Upped to 12.  Still no recoil, but now knocks things down.

[Snakebite Dust SASS 75484]

Local kid shot a 410 single shot for a couple of years until they moved up to a light load 12 ga this year. Might look into that. It had an auto ejector on it but was not an issue since they were younger

[Leroy Luck]

35 minutes ago, Snakebite Dust SASS 75484 said:

had an auto ejector on it but was not an issue since they were younger

Ejectors are allowed on single shots 

[Gateway Kid SASS# 70038 Life]

21 hours ago, Cowtown Scout, SASS #53540 L said:

I switched from 1 oz to 7/8 oz using Clay Buster grey wads CB0178-12 and then tried some 3/4 oz loads using pink wads CB0175-12 and they worked fine.  So late last year I loaded up 2 cases worth of 3/4 oz loads and this weekend finished off the 1st case.  Every shotgun target I hit has gone down.

Did something similar about four years ago. Shoulder issues demanded a lighter load and went from 1 1/8 straight to 3/4. Worked great as far as recoil but I tend to get a lot of edge hits and occasionally didn’t go down. Changed back to 7/8 with the grey wads and got a better crimp as well as more certainty of taking down the target. Win-win! Amazing what a relatively small change in shot weight can do. 
Regards

    

Gateway Kid

[Tennessee williams]

On 6/14/2026 at 6:27 PM, Sedalia Dave said:

Easiest way to drop from 7/8 to 3/4 oz and maintain the stack height is to add a pinto bean to the shot cup before adding the shot. 

Dave, instead of using that pinto bean try using a popcorn kernel to see if'n you can get it to pop!

[Jet]

On 6/14/2026 at 7:30 PM, John Barleycorn, SASS #76982 said:

3/4 oz knocks them down no problems 

IMG_8363.mov

If you don't mind me asking what is he shooting caliber wise on the rifle/pistols?  My 12 yoa great nephew just started shooting and he already wants to move away from .22's  

[John Barleycorn, SASS #76982]

43 minutes ago, Jet said:

If you don't mind me asking what is he shooting caliber wise on the rifle/pistols?  My 12 yoa great nephew just started shooting and he already wants to move away from .22's  

We just switched to New Vaquero 38/357’s with 105gr bullets and a short stroked 73 that was a back up rifle. I located a stock that someone had already cut down. 

He was using Ruger Wranglers and a Widder soft stroke Henry Youth 22