00 Flitecontrol - bad pattern

[blues]

I bought a case of the old Federal H132 00 in 1999. Gone through 100 rounds or so last month, and it seems to work just fine. YMMV

I've also fired off 00 and slugs dating from around the same period during the past year. The very few that had obvious corrosion on the brass were not tested. All the others fired without exception.

[txdpd]

You might try picking up a box of brand new ammo before you go too far down the rabbit hole. I don't remember the details, but seem to recall Dagga Boy say that shotgun shells have a short shelf life. Like a year or two.

If left loaded long enough, hulls can compress and start to mushroom or flare and cause feeding problems. It's most evident in a magazine fed shotgun like a Saiga, and in a tube even cheap stuff will take years to deform. Stiff Flitecontrol/Versatite wads that run the length of the hull make it a non issue on relevant Federal and Hornandy buckshot in a tube. Since "sealed" shotgun hulls can only be counted on to resist incidental contact with water, it doesn't hurt to change them out on an annual basis.

Stored properly they should have a decades long shelf life, but I'd keep fresh stuff in the shotgun and save the ammo testing for the range.

[RevolverRob]

If I remember correctly Tom also mentioned that one should choose the 8 pellet 00 buck load over the 9 pellet load. The 9 pellet was reported to often throw 1 pellet. I think he called it "8 pellet and 1 flier".

This.

9-pellet buck more frequently produces fliers than 8-pellet.

I personally use 8-pellet 00 Flitecontrol or TAP (versatite) in all of my 12-gauge guns. I would not use 9-pellet, because of fliers.
@shootist26 to answer your question - yes I've had fliers with 9-pellet FC buck. I use only 8-pellet and have not had an issue with fliers.