“The pattern for 00 buckshot at 15 feet is about 3 1/2 inches.”
Is that true? Seems like it should be more.
Depends upon your choke and barrel length, but at 15 feet, your normal hunting type shotgun will have that much of a pattern - choke is much more of a factor further out at the range you would be aiming at birds on the wing.
One reason sawed-off shotguns are illegal is because they have a larger pattern at close range.
I go to an indoor range about once every other month and shoot 5 and 7 yard targets. They only allow 00 2 3/4 inch ammo. At 5 yards the pattern is a consistent 3.5 inches.
Out in the woods I’ve tried 15 pellet 3 inch magnum loads. These give a little better than a 4 inch pattern at 5 yards but the recoil is a lot greater. I’ve also tried a variety of different brands of ammo. Cheap stuff, Remmington or Wolf, tends to give a slightly larger pattern than more expensive shot.
Bird shot may give you a 12 to 16 inch pattern at 5 yards but it won’t put a bad guy on the floor.
This is out of a 18.5 inch, cylinder bore 12 gauge barrel on a Mossberg 500.