Any one use slugs for home defense

[Orr89rocz]

OK, I thought I might be missing something there. I tried a Patternmaster with buckshot back... well, several years ago. It worked pretty much as advertised but they advised against shooting slugs through it and I didn't want to be limited to just buckshot so I kept experimenting. Sorta tough on the wallet to experiment with $100 choke tubes and premium buckshot loads, so I went looking for the lower-priced spread at that point. Haven't tried any more high-dollar choke tubes since then, but the premium buckshot loads sure make a difference in most guns.

yeah thats the price to pay...tight patterns for buckshot use only or slugs. most lead slugs tho will shape down as they come out the choke since lead is soft compared to steel, but i still wouldnt do it.

While he's shooting back..........

Does it matter? Still at that range if you shoot back at him while he's shooting and you hit him....he's not gonna like a buckshot load at that range. its still gonna cause damage and make him look for cover or treat his wounds.

 

[[email protected]]

I have my 870 loaded with 00 but I have 5 slugs in the stock on a ammo carrier. No real reason except that if there was ever a situation that 7 12ga 00 buckshot would take care of, I figuire the only step up is a slug.

Honestly, at home defense ranges, ANY and I mean ANY 12ga load with more than kill a man. Even the lightest birdshot will do horrible damage to a man's chest at across the room ranges.

 

[Dave McCracken]

There's two slugs on the Sidesaddle for unlikely and unfortunate circumstances.

Main HD 870 is chokeless and loaded with 00.

Backup has a skeet choke in place and more 00.

Frankenstein currently has it's old 21" barrel on with a Mod choke and stoked with 4 buck.

WHy? Because someone gave me a mess of it and it patterns nicely at the max distance of an inhouse shot on that floor with that choke.

 

[SoCalShooter]

Frankenstein? Would that be something chambered in 3 1/2 inches?


Would any of you guys use a 3 1/2 inch 18inch say like and FNH pump or semi for HD?

 

[rantingredneck]

Does it matter? Still at that range if you shoot back at him while he's shooting and you hit him....he's not gonna like a buckshot load at that range. its still gonna cause damage and make him look for cover or treat his wounds.

Does to me. Anything beyond 25 yds and the buckshot maybe no longer becomes the immediate fight stopper it has a reputation for being at close contact ranges. Maybe the BG catches a pellet or two from that dispersed pattern and he's still spraying and praying with his gangbanger special.

Too many maybes. I'll keep a slug or two around for those maybes just in case.

 

[Orr89rocz]

i dont think you'd need 3 1/2 inches...too much recoil and not really practical. standard 2 3/4 is fine for most work


well its nice to keep some slugs on you, just make sure your gun can reliably and accurately shoot those slugs at those ranges. 25-40 yards even with a vent rib barrel is a chip shot with a slug. rifle or ghost ring sights would be ideal, but i'm sure your slug load wont be hitting the same spot as the buckshot patterns.... so in that case, what do you do? keep the sights sighted in for slugs? and wing the buckshot loads?

 

[CWL]

Would any of you guys use a 3 1/2 inch 18inch say like and FNH pump or semi for HD?

Nope. Unlike handgun cartridges where bigger may be better, in shotguns used for SD/HD, control is better. 2 3/4" shells are good enough.

 

[czbegenner]

Ok guys ive got it remember i have a rem870 super mag,with a 20"barrel,and a 8 shot extention tube.Thanks going to go tomorrow just to get some 00buck,and some slugs.Also got to buy 40ammo for my Glock22 40cal. got to also get some 357 ammo for my Ruger security six Yes i have a trained police
k-9 also who is in the house,And a good alarm system on the house.

 

[rantingredneck]

well its nice to keep some slugs on you, just make sure your gun can reliably and accurately shoot those slugs at those ranges. 25-40 yards even with a vent rib barrel is a chip shot with a slug. rifle or ghost ring sights would be ideal, but i'm sure your slug load wont be hitting the same spot as the buckshot patterns.... so in that case, what do you do? keep the sights sighted in for slugs? and wing the buckshot loads?

I've got a 20 inch IC rifle sighted smoothbore slug barrel that shoots slugs at 75 yds and buckshot to 25 yds at the same point of impact.

 

[rantingredneck]

Indeed the 3.5's are overkill for human adversaries.

They do pretty well on whitetails and turkeys though

 

[hmp32]

I just completed a course at Firearms Academy of Seattle and now carry buckshot 00 that I have patterned in my shotgun.

But, one of things I learned is how much 00 buckshot can over penetrate. They show you a demontration video where a box was setup with 3 sheets of plasterboard followed by 3 sheets of 3/4" plywood. Each sheet was seperated aprox 2" to simulate a home.

The 00 buck when through all 3 sheets of platerboard and 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood.

Just food for thought.

 

[rantingredneck]

Basically any round from any weapon that will penetrate adequately to stop an attacker will penetrate interior walls and whatever or whoever is on the other side if you simply hit the wall and not the attacker.

"Overpenetration" is when the rounds penetrate fully through the attacker then walls/people behind them. This is mostly an issue with heavy, deep penetrating rounds such as slugs or heavy caliber rifle rounds. I wouldn't be surprised if some handgun rounds could do this, but I'm not sure its such a huge risk. This level of penetration with double aught buck is unlikely, but again I wouldn't rule it out.

I guess my point is you have two different issues here.

 

[Kalashnikov]

I prefer slugs in mine, because I'm not too worried about over penetration and I'm far more accurate with slugs than 00.

 

[Dave McCracken]

SoCal, Frankenstein is a parts 870 I built a couple decades back. Part of it worked at the MD Pen. It served as a test bed for lots of stuff, has taken game from woodcock to giant Canada geese, and is less than new looking. It's also been a loaner for a half dozen or so new shotugunners.

It had a 3" chamber.

 

[Chupacabra]

I just completed a course at Firearms Academy of Seattle and now carry buckshot 00 that I have patterned in my shotgun.

But, one of things I learned is how much 00 buckshot can over penetrate. They show you a demontration video where a box was setup with 3 sheets of plasterboard followed by 3 sheets of 3/4" plywood. Each sheet was seperated aprox 2" to simulate a home.

The 00 buck when through all 3 sheets of platerboard and 2 sheets of 3/4" plywood.

Just food for thought.

Hay! I was in this class too! Small world.

Marty's demo was indeed very insightful.

What really surprised me was how much the wads and shot cups were penetrating that drywall.

 

[thrasher64]

I keep the pipe filled with 00 and a few slugs in the side saddle.

In general slugs are just fun to shoot

 

[Orr89rocz]

I've got a 20 inch IC rifle sighted smoothbore slug barrel that shoots slugs at 75 yds and buckshot to 25 yds at the same point of impact.

wow thats a nice setup there! sounds like you got it all figured out lol

 

[DBR]

My setup:
AR15 midlength 16", iron sights (tritium front post), light on forend, chamber empty, 20rd mag loaded with 18rds of Hornady 75gr PSD TAP beside my bed.

Benelli Nova loaded with Brenneke KO slugs in the nearby cabinet.

Rifle first choice for 2 leg defense, crack heads, meth heads or rabid animals. Shotty first choice for bear, mad moose etc in the woods. Yes, we have all of them here from time to time.

Only a roll of the dice where they may show up at any particular time. Police response is usually after incident to collect evidence etc.

I should add: my first defense inside is a 1000 lumen light and a 300 lumen light. If I flash an intruder with either of these all they can see for at least a minute is a blinding white spot. I have to remember to shut my eyes when I flash these lights but it definitely leaves the bad guys at a serious disadvantage. Hopefully during this interval, I can convince them to go somewhere else.

For the critics: no kids even as visitors, no parties, no "impaired friends" ever in the house.

 

[farscott]

For me, it depends on where we are. If we are at home in Georgia in a subdivision, I use #4 Buck in 2.75" shells. That way I do not need to be concerned about projectiles penetrating outside the home.

When we are in Alabama, we are on 22+ acres, and over penetration is not much of an issue as all of our neighbors are well out of shotgun range. The house structure in Alabama is also more substantial. There I tend to use slugs and #4 Buck in a rifle-sighted shotgun.

All of the HD shotties are in full magazine, empty chamber, safety on condition. They are also all 870s so that there is only one manual of arms.

 

[Sir Aardvark]

I live where the houses are very close together so slugs would not be a prime choice for my defense plan, although they are available if needed. The over-penetration of a slug makes it too dangerous for my neighbors for me to keep them loaded in the tube.

I currently have 00 buck in the magazine with one empty space and I have slugs on the sidesaddle in case they are needed. With the one empty space I can instantly transition to a slug if necessary.

I saw patterning mentioned earlier in this thread, and my observation has been that I get about 1" of spread for about every yard of distance, hence, a 10 yard target gets a bit over a 10" spread (this is out of a 18" cylinder barrel)

If I shoot out of a 18" improved cylinder using Hornady TAP ammo my patterns stay very tight! One day I will try to post some pictures of my targets with the Hornady ammo.

 

[Orr89rocz]

Whenever my range opens up again, i'm gonna go out and play around with some buckshot and my slug gun which i use for deer and shoot sabot rounds. Its pretty accurate and i hope to be better with the new stock and some new loads