shotguns, skeet, shot-sizeAccording to Wikipedia, shot sizes #8 and #9 are typically used for skeet shooting. Are these the best shot sizes to use? If so, why?
Every gun patterns differently. I also use 7 1/2 shot, it patterned nearly identically at 20, 30 and 40 yards as 8, and I can buy it cheaper locally. I’d suggest getting a few boxes of each and seeing what kind of patterns you get - Just because they’re the most ‘typical’ sizes, doesn’t mean it’ll be right for you & your firearm.
Both of those are good choices assuming they pattern well out of your gun. I personally use 7 1/2s because I felt they patterned a little better then the 9s I tried. But, it is going to come down to how your gun works with them.
To maximize your change of hitting the target, the goal is to get the largest possible pattern that doesn’t have any gaps larger than your intended target at the typical distance. The pattern depends on the individual gun, choke, and ammunition (which varies by shot size, weight, manufacturer, etc), and also on things like air temperature and wind. Then there’s also the matter of whether the pellets still have enough energy to break the target when they get there.
While #8 and #9 have been found to work best by a large number of people, that doesn’t mean they’ll be what’s best for you. It’s very likely though that they will be good enough to go out and hit some targets and have fun, especially if you’re just starting out, so you don’t have to get worked up about it right away. However, to find the best pattern, you have to try various chokes and types of ammunition in your particular gun. Even between two guns which are identical on paper (same mfgr, model, choke, ammo, etc) there can be differences in patterns, so everyone has to do their own experimentation.
You can decide for yourself how obsessive you want to get in your research. A good starting point would be to try 3-5 different types of ammo (different shot sizes will give the biggest pattern differences) through 1 or 2 chokes which should give you a sense of what the differences are, what will work for you, and what direction to look if you want to experiment further.
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