Best defense round for a shotgun?

[Clay]

Building a home defense Rem 870. What is the best round for this particular application? 00 buckshot? slugs? etc


All thoughts and opinions welcomed.

thanks,
clay

 

[ATM]

Survey says... 00Buckshot

They do have some recoil reduced rounds that are popular for HD.

 

[shooter521]

00 Buck. Slugs are best utilized for penetration of hard cover, or for taking shots beyond 25 yards and/or requiring a higher degree of precision. Birdshot is for birds, period.

More specifically, I've found the Federal reduced-recoil 8-pellet load with the Flite Control wad (FED LE133 00) to produce the tightest patterns of any 00 loads I've tried, while being easy on the shoulder and providing 100% function in my semi-auto Saigas.

 

[Yamaha]

I cant remember the name of it, but there is a company that makes modern day "buck and ball" for the 12ga.....its one very large ball and 6 00 pellets. or you can go brutal and load up some flechettes, those would have to be the most lethal round you could put in a 12ga

 

[Steelman]

Can you describe your house construction?

 

[Clay]

standard stick built, 2x4 interior, 2x6 exterior, w/ 1/2" drywall in most rooms. One or two remodeled rooms w/ 5/8" fire rated (hey, it was free! )

 

[Clay]

Found this was searching for flechettes rounds:

Shotgun Home Defense Ammunition, .357 SIG -- A Solution in Search of a Problem?

good info, granted, its 10 years old, but Im sure its probably still applicable.

 

[cce1302]

If there's nobody else living in your house and you don't have anybody else's house in your line of fire, I'd go with slugs. From Clay's link above

With the right load, a shotgun can be very effective in quickly stopping the deadly violence being perpetrated by a criminal who's invaded your home.

Slugs will stop anybody.

Edit: Ok, sure, if you miss the vitals, someone shot with a slug can survive. I guess I should have made it clear that I was talking about heart/lung/brain/spine shots, not shots through the body that miss everything important. If that's the sort of shooting we're going for though, just throw away all your guns and give up. Any caliber/load can be survived if the round misses.

 

[shooter521]

Found this was searching for flechettes rounds:

Shotgun Home Defense Ammunition, .357 SIG -- A Solution in Search of a Problem?

Interesting that they recommend #1 buck. 16-20 seems like an awful lot of little lawyers. I haven't done any patterning with it in my guns, though. IMO, 00 buck is the standard, and has the advantage of being available in a much wider variety of loadings from more manufacturers.

Slugs will stop anybody.

That's an awfully absolute statement isn't it?

From Gabe Suarez:
Let me put it in a different perspective. A student of mine who works for a narcotics Unit in the south recently reported in. He told me that he and his guys had gotten in a gunfight with a violent drug dealer. Our student shot the bad guy once with a shotgun loaded with Federal Tactical Slugs. (Slugs incidentally are about .72 caliber and are suggested as anti-bear insurance in Alaska). The shotgun slug entered the right side of the bad guy's chest from about the 2:00 and exited through the back at about the 8:00.

Nice shot. However, the bad guy not only kept fighting, but stole a car and evaded the pursuing police officers into a wooded area. A week later, the bad guy's attorney arranged for him to turn himself in. He was alive and well, albeit injured. Does anyone want to tell me how deadly their pistol round is now?

So select the size of your pistol first and foremost. Base it on what you need to carry it 24-7-365. That means all the time. Select a caliber that is easily obtained, and shootable for you. And finally, train to hit and keep hitting until the threat has gone away (one way or the other). A hit with a 9mm is far better than a marginal hit or a miss with a caliber you cannot control."

 

[GlockRock]

I prefer 8 shot for a home defense shotgun. My main concern is safety in the house for myself and my family. I would rather shoot an invader and not kill them as to shoot and kill a family member on the other side of the wall with a stray round. While each home is different, safety should remain the main concern. Buy a tac light and put on the weapon as well to make sure to propery identify the intruder.

 

[Rookie]

I prefer 8 shot for a home defense shotgun. My main concern is safety in the house for myself and my family. I would rather shoot an invader and not kill them as to shoot and kill a family member on the other side of the wall with a stray round. While each home is different, safety should remain the main concern. Buy a tac light and put on the weapon as well to make sure to propery identify the intruder.

Uh oh...

 

[shooter521]

I would rather shoot an invader and not kill them

Killin' ain't got nothin' to do with it... we're talking about stopping an attacker, and birdshot just doesn't have the "oomph" to reliably get the job done.

as to shoot and kill a family member on the other side of the wall with a stray round.

Be mindful of Rule #4 (be sure of your target and what's behind it) and that shouldn't be an issue.

 

[GlockRock]

I am open to criticism about my choice of ammunition to use. If I am wrong about it then hopefully I can be corrected before the time comes when I have to use it. Rule #4 is something that I am mindful of as well. I would not have made the comment about buying a tac light to properly identify the intruder had it wasn't. My personal choice of home defense is a Glock 32 with an M3 attached.

 

[Gungho_1989]

I run Remington or Federal 00 buck for my HD needs and I use the Managed or Low recoil loads due to the fact the wife may need it as well.
Bird shot is a bad Idea as stated by Shooter521 The key is to stop the attack or intruder and a guy hopped up in crack with a few layers of clothing (it is winter after all) is going to get pissed when he realizes he's not toes up.

 

[shooter521]

My personal choice of home defense is a Glock 32 with an M3 attached.

OK... you're using #8 birdshot in your HD shotgun because you're concerned about (over)penetration... but your HD pistol is a .357SIG???

 

[Metro 40]

.

 

[kludge]

+1 to Metro 40.

That's what I buy.

 

[elaw555]

00 Buck in the gun...Slugs in the side saddle

 

[Panama]

My 870 is standing muzzle down next to the bed, with tac light, and has NOTHING BUT 00 Buck in it!
Bird shot will work just fine............if your being attacked by birds!

 

[tyler34]

ask and you receive: Specialized Shotshell Ammunition


now if they only sold the one that have ninja stars in it.