Nirvana, the Aguila 1 3/4-inch Minishells are nice and small and have low recoil, but the tradeoff concern is I'm not sure how lethal they are. Can't find any tests on the Internet, and the indoor firing range just gives paper target indications.
I bought the unusual duplex load of 11 buckshot pellets -- seven No. 4 and four No. 1. That's an intriguing combination, but I need to apply it to some 3D targets at my son-in-law's farm to get a better understanding of what that load can do.
In my Stoeger double barrel 12-gauge Coach shotgun, the Minishells shoot a wider pattern with fewer and smaller impacts than the No. 1 Buckshot that remains my preferred home defense load or 00 Buckshot.
I had time only to fire two Minishells at 7 yards and two at 15 yards, and compare them to same number of Federal Power-Shok 00 (9 pellets) low recoil loads. The 00 kicks more, fires tighter patterns, and is obviously more lethal.
My double barrel has an Improved Cylinder choke on the right barrel, optimized at 30 yards, and a Modified choke on the left barrel, optimized at 35 yards.
A full choke would tighten the pattern, but I prefer the IC and Mod chokes which seem to be a standard starting arrangement on many double barrels.
At 7 yards, the Aguila Minishells had hit diameters of 9 inches and 7 inches; the Federal Power-Shok were 3 1/2 inches and 2 3/4 inches.
At 15 yards, the Aguila Minishells were 12 1/2 inches (only 8 of the 11 pellets hit the 14x18-inch target) and 10 inches; the Federal Power-Shok were 6 1/2 inches and 9 inches.
I'll fire more Minishells in the future, but after the quick look I don't see them replacing regular 2 3/4 shells for most people.
The exception might be making a 12-gauge more usable to shooters who don't like the usual 2 3/4-inch shell recoil and blast. And that's one of the main reasons Aguila invented the Minishell. Different strokes (shells) for different folks.
