I found some 20ga. shells loose in a bag. I shot a couple while shooting clays but didn’t really notice anything unusual. I usually am on the 12ga so didn’t pay much attention. Today I used some in close range shooting and at 25’ the wads were penetrating the wooden backing. Thinking about it I don’t believe I’ve ever shot that close before. Is that normal for a shotgun or are the shells I found suspect?

look at the cases,, the primers flat or backed out?

At 8 yards (25’), the shot column would almost still perform like a slug.

Thanks, makes sense.

shot shells will generally start to stick in the gun if they are hot

flattened primers would probably be way over pressure

depending on choke , the shot is probably mostly still in the wad at 25 feet

also very unusual to find hot shotgun rounds
people don't try and hot rod them like rifles and handguns

you can also typically see a reload as the crimp is not exatly like a new box load

If factory, nothing to worry about. When I was testing some hand loaded buckshot, I set the cardboard target at 15 yards. The wad would hit and dent the cardboard. Or if It missed, would fly another 20 feet or so past it.