So, if you’re shooting your shotgun in the mountains of Colorado, your pellets will go further than if you’re shooting at sea level. As a general rule, bullets will travel further in thinner air at higher altitudes.

One of the biggest things that determines how far a shotgun pellet can go is the air and weather conditions where you’re shooting.

Therefore, the higher the gauge of the gun and the more powerful it is, the further it will propel the contents of a shotshell. For example, a 12-gauge shotgun uses more force and pressure to fire a shot than a 20-gauge or smaller shotgun. Just as the size of the pellet plays a significant role, the size of the gun plays an equal one. While shells containing smaller pellets will have a higher concentration of them, the individual pellets won’t go as far. It’s simple physics that the heavier an object is, the further it will go when it’s propelled with enough momentum. The size of the pellets contained inside your shotshell will have the biggest impact on the distance they can go. Here are the factors that determine how far birdshot can travel. They will just have reduced velocity, which means they won’t be as damaging when they impact. While birdshot is only accurate up to a certain point, it’s possible for the pellets to travel much farther. The size of the individual pellets, the gauge of the gun, and weather conditions will all impact the accuracy of your birdshot. Just as there are a number of factors that determine how far a birdshot will go, there are also factors determining how far it will go accurately. Birdshot is considered effective up to a distance of 35 to 50 yards.

Shotgun effective range