“buckshot”

Nothing tops buckshot for toppling big game at close range. We’ve tested five of the most prevalent 12-gauge, 2¾-inch loads to determine the best one for your needs.

Federal has extended their Premium Buckshot line of ammunition to include a load of buffered, copper-plated No. 1 buck.

Federal Premium has announced that, for 2015, it will be making its Vital-Shok High Density buckshot—which has served as the load of choice for a professional feral hog exterminators—available to the general public.

Whether for range use, personal defense or hunting, Federal’s new Shorty shotshells pack a similar punch to their bigger brothers in a small, 1¾-inch shell. Loaded with No. 8 shot, No. 4 buckshot or a rifled slug, there’s a reduced-recoil Shorty for you.

Federal has combined the power of two of its newest technologies to create a shotshell option that changes the nature of self-defense. The new Force X2 Shorty shells measure just 1¾ inches but hold a payload of six 00 segmenting buckshot engineered to split into two equal pieces on impact.

In April, the Michigan Natural Resources Commission approved measures to expand coyote hunting in the state as well as extensions on the taking of other furbearers.

Federal Ammunition has announced two new No. 1 Buck loads: the 12-gauge, Premium No. 1 Buck Load, and the 12-gauge, Power-Shok No. 1 Buck load.

The Sporting Arms and Ammunition Manufacturers’ Institute has released new cartridge and chamber designs for Federal’s new 12-gauge, 1¾-inch Shorty shotshell.