Home Defense Ammo

Any of 'em will work just fine.

Expecting a home invasion by the local sasquatch brothers maybe?

NO WAY would I pick house gun ammo out of a lineup of 3" shells to start with (2 3/4" is plenty), based solely on pellet count and size. NO WAY would I buy a metric buttload of shotgun shells I hadn't gotten a box or two of to begin with, in order to check for fit, function, pattern and performance in my particular gun or guns.

Any good 2 3/4" 9 pellet 00 load put in the right place will do all that needs to be done on the average thin skinned, light boned animal that weighs 150-250 pounds or so. There's a history there that goes back several decades, you don't have to believe it just because I say so. 3" maggie numbs take up more room in the magazine, usually deliver fiercer recoil (which slows down follow up shots) and don't seem to offer enough advantages to be worthwhile IMHO.

But that's just me, it's your money, your shells, your house and your gunfight if you ever have to have one, and you should go into it with whatever you want to have.

fwiw,

lpl

2 3/4 00 buck is good and proven so. Agree with above post no need for 3in shells

I always buy the 00 bk from Walmart for $9 for a box of 15 shells. Works great with my Rem 870 HD.

more pellets or higher velocity

Neither of those make much real difference, really, the way I see it. Pellet count, pellet size and velocity (as long as it isn't reduced velocity, as per reduced recoil loads at 1100 FPS) count for less than how the given loads pattern IMHO.

Buy some samples (a box or two) of each load for testing, and buy a quantity of whatever tested load gives you the kind of patterning you want at the longest range you're apt to need buckshot. If you plan on trying for longer ranges, you might give the edge to the 000 load with its larger pellets, as they will carry more energy per pellet. At 50 feet or less it will make no appreciable difference.

If you want open patterns, select for that. If you want tight patterns, select for that. I used to shoot Federal Premium 3" 000 at 100 yards and get 30-50% of the pellets on a GI E type silhouette. But if it really is for house duty, that won't matter.

The one thing you could say that would make me shut up about 3" shells in a defensive shotgun was reliability issues - did you know that already?

lpl

If those are your choices I vote heavy payload low velocity 15 pellet OO buck.The more hits for one shell the better the slower the velocity the less likely it is to punch threw walls and other things.

For in the home I like #1 buck as well. There is an argument that it penetrates sufficiently and gives more holes in the target. It won't handle barriers as well as 00 or 000. I live in a densely populated area. I have troubles imagining a shot I'd really take that's longer than 25 feet. I'd feel safe with any of them if I knew ahead of time that they functioned properly with my shotgun. Right now I'm out of #1 and have 00 ready so at this moment I'm using 9 pellets of 00 in a 2 3/4" shell.

The velocity is pretty much immaterial at 'house' ranges. More projectiles increase the probability of hitting a vital area, but the reality is that at room length distances, you are dealing with a column of shot anyway. There's not much spread at 10 feet.

Stock with ammo like Federal low recoil - not because of penetration issues, but rather a faster follow up. You can miss with a shotgun.

#1 or #2 buck will suffice any home defense actions. At 25 ft. its just a column of shot anyway, unless fired in a short barreled outfit, its still going to be a short, tight column. Why over penetrate the target?, an 10" hole will be enough!

Loaded in the 870 I have both hornady 8 pellet Critical Defense and Tap.

I only use birdshot in the house - I don't want buck going through 6 walls and killing a family member or neighbor. At interior distances, it ain't gonna matter much to the perp.

None of the above.
My Winchester Defender has 2 3/4 Winchester WinLite Low Recoil 00 Buck.
More than enough and then some inside the house.
Easy to shoot and easy follow up shots as well.

2 3/4" #1 is the way to go! A long time ago I figured out the amount of lead in a buckshot load for each size, and surprisingly #1 buckshot delivers more lead to the target than any other size of shot, and still delivers at least 16" of penetration (FBI Minimum). Good Luck finding it though!