4411 Mercury St, Suite 103 · Kearny Mesa, San Diego
Shotgun ammo · clays, field and home
Target loads, buckshot and slugs, over the counter in Kearny Mesa. A shotgun shell carries more information on the box than any other ammunition — this page is how to read it.
Start here
First the length your gun takes, then what you are shooting at.
Every shotgun has its chamber length stamped on the barrel: 2-3/4 inch, 3 inch or 3-1/2 inch. You can fire a shorter shell in a longer chamber. You must never fire a longer shell in a shorter one.
The length on a shell box is the length of the fired, unrolled hull, not the shell in your hand — which is why a 3-inch shell looks shorter than three inches before it is fired. Match the number on the box to the number on the barrel.
The numbers on the box
Three different kinds of payload share one hull. The shot number works backwards: the bigger the number, the smaller the pellet.
#9 to #2 · hundreds of pellets
Small pellets, lots of them. #7-1/2 to #9 is for clay targets and small birds; #4 to #6 for larger game birds and rabbits. The ounce figure is the weight of shot, and the speed in fps is how hard it is pushed — more of either means more recoil.
00 buck · a handful of large pellets
A few large lead pellets per shell — a standard 2-3/4 inch 00 buck load holds eight or nine, each roughly a third of an inch across. Primarily a defensive and large-game load. Reduced-recoil versions are easier to shoot well and are what many people should choose.
One projectile · rifled or sabot
A single heavy projectile. Foster-type rifled slugs are made for smooth-bore barrels; sabot slugs are made for rifled slug barrels and are wasted in a smooth bore. Know which barrel you have before you buy either.
What a target load's box is telling you
A box reading 12 GA · 2-3/4 IN · 1-1/8 OZ · 1200 FPS · 8 SHOT is: the gauge, the unrolled hull length, the weight of the shot charge, the velocity it leaves the barrel at, and the pellet size. A second box that differs only in the fps figure is a different load with different recoil, so bring the whole line when you ask us for it.
Counter mistakes
The questions that come up most once somebody knows what they are shooting.
A 20 gauge shell dropped into a 12 gauge chamber can slide past the chamber and lodge in the barrel, where a 12 gauge shell loaded behind it can burst the barrel. That is why 20 gauge hulls are traditionally yellow. Keep gauges in separate bags and read every box. We carry 10, 12, 16, 20 and 28 gauge, and the same caution applies to all of them.
Steel shot does not deform the way lead does, so it patterns tighter and is harder on tight chokes and older barrels. Many older shotguns are not rated for steel at all. Check the barrel or manual for steel-shot approval, and use the choke the maker recommends for steel. Bismuth and tungsten loads are gentler alternatives for guns that cannot shoot steel.
California requires certified nonlead ammunition to take any wildlife with a firearm, and that includes shot, buckshot and slugs fired from a shotgun. Target shooting at a range is not taking wildlife, which is why lead target loads are still sold. Our lead-free hunting page covers what counts as certified.
Clay ranges and indoor pistol ranges have very different rules. Some indoor ranges do not allow shotguns at all, and many that do restrict buckshot or slugs. Our guide to ranges around San Diego is the starting point, and the range's own rule is the one that counts.
On the shelf in Kearny Mesa
Real boxes that have been across this counter and on the deals board. Pictured as printed, so you know what you are looking for on the shelf.
Recent 12 gauge boxes on this counter came from Clever Mirage, Fiocchi, Winchester — and that is a record of what we have sold, not a promise of what is on the shelf today. The shelf moves daily and this site is updated by hand, so call or text before you drive out and somebody will go and look.
Why there is no price on this page
Ammunition pricing moves with the wholesale market, and a figure printed next to a caliber is wrong within weeks. So we quote 12 gauge on the phone, with a number that is true today. The one exception is the deals page, where a fixed price on a fixed quantity runs for a fixed week.
Before you drive out
A few minutes longer than buying anything else, and almost every problem we see at the counter could have been sorted out at home.
Ammunition and accessories only — no firearms, and no shooting range at this location. If you need somewhere to shoot what you buy, we keep a list of ranges around the county. Se habla español.
Common questions
Real questions from real customers, answered the way we answer them in person.
Slugs are sold here like any other shotgun ammunition: to an eligible adult, 18 or over, face to face, after a DOJ eligibility check. The two limits that come up are where you shoot them — many ranges restrict slugs — and hunting, where California requires certified nonlead ammunition to take any wildlife. This is general information, not legal advice; the California ammo law guide on this site has the detail.
No. Never fire a shell longer than the chamber length stamped on your barrel. The reverse is fine: a 2-3/4 inch shell fires safely in a 3-inch or 3-1/2 inch chamber, though some semi-autos cycle light 2-3/4 inch target loads less reliably than the heavier shells they were set up for.
#7-1/2, #8 or #9. Most shooters buy #8 as an all-rounder, #9 for close skeet targets and #7-1/2 for longer trap or sporting shots. A 1 or 1-1/8 oz load at around 1,150 to 1,250 feet per second is the standard target shell.
Most people choose 00 buckshot, often a reduced-recoil version that is easier to shoot quickly and accurately, or a slug. What matters more than the label is how the load patterns through your own gun at the distances inside your home — so buy a box to shoot and pattern before you buy a box to keep.
Not for hunting. California requires certified nonlead ammunition to take any wildlife with a firearm, which means steel, bismuth, tungsten or another certified shot. Lead target loads are still sold because shooting clays is not taking wildlife. This is general information, not legal advice; check the current California hunting regulations before you go.
Call 858-987-0509 or text 310-499-3499 and we will quote today's price and check the shelf while you are on the line. The catalog carries no prices because ammunition moves with the wholesale market; when 12 gauge is on the weekly deals board, the price is published on the deals page. This site is updated by hand, so treat nothing on it as today's inventory.
Stock & deal questions
Text is usually faster than a call. Send the gauge, shell length, shot size and what you are shooting — clays, birds or something else — and somebody will check the shelf.
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Keep reading
Closed Thanksgiving Day, Christmas Day and New Year's Day.
Calls only
310-499-3499Text only
Text anytime. Anytime — immediate during business hours, forwarded after hours.
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How California's ammo law worksRestock & deal alerts
One email a week with that week's in-store prices, sent Sunday night. No spam, no shipping offers — we don't ship. Unsubscribe from any of them.
