good, cheap practice ammo for a 12ga?

[Billmanweh]

I'm going to pick up my new 870 Police on Monday and I'd like to take it to the range and break it in a little. I know NOTHING about shotgun shells. So what should I look for in practice ammo? I want something cheap (BTW, what is considered cheap in 12ga shells?) that won't beat me to death.

 

[9mmMike]

"Valuepaks" of 100 shells go for about 15.00 around here. They are available in Remington, Federal and Winchester flavors. Usually in #8 or #7.5.
I have been buying them by the case at Cabela's now though. It's about the same amount but I like Cabela's far better than Wally World and the like.
Any deals I've seen cheaper are killed with shipping.

Want cheaper? Buy a MEC.

Mike

 

[R.H. Lee]

WallyWorld sells some lowbase in packs of 100 for cheap. I think it's like #7 or 8.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Congrats on the new scattergun.

Find any field or target load, the lighter the shot charge the better. Most 'big box' stores will have 1 1/8 oz. loads at 1275- 1300 fps. If you can find lighter loads than that, it's a better choice for getting started. Shot size is not much of a concern at this point.

Most of the time the top of the box the shells are in will give you all the information you need. I was running some Winchester AA Light Target Loads (bought on closeout at $2.99 a box) yesterday and that box is handy- here goes:

12 Gauge 2 3/4 Inches 2 3/4 Dr. Eq. 1 1/8 Oz. 7 1/2 Shot

That tells you guage, length, powder charge (smaller numbers equal less powder), weight of shot (again, smaller numbers equal less shot) and shot size (the bigger the number the smaller the size of the pellet).

HTH,

lpl/nc

 

[Billmanweh]

ok, so the "2 3/4 Dr" will indicate how much recoil it will have?

and $3.00-$3.50 is considered cheap practice stuff?

 

[marklbucla]

Around where I live, $3 a box at Walmart for the Federal is the best price that I know of. Most of the time, at other places, $3.50 is as good as it gets. $4.00-$4.50 seems to be about regular price.

 

[Billmanweh]

ok, I think I'm set to do some shopping this weekend.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Recoil will be affected primarily by the weight of the shot charge and the velocity at which it is launched. All other things being equal, the less/lighter the shot charge and the less/lighter the powder charge the less the load will kick by comparison. Other factors are present in felt recoil- the weight of the gun, the length/fit of the stock, the shooter's handling of the gun, the shooter's sensitivity to recoil. But with any light field/target load as described, recoil in an 870P should be no problem for a reasonably healthy person to deal with. Us oldf@rt$ here suggest starting off as a new shotgunner with light loads because there is a learning curve to master and getting one's eyes crossed by recoil every time the trigger is pulled leads to problems.

$3-4 a box of 25 shells is cheap as it's apt to get these days for 12 ga.

=============

In case you haven't looked, it might be worth while to read some of the old TFL threads 'stickied' in the list at the top of the index page at http://www.thehighroad.org/showthread.php?t=2766 . Especially the thread at http://thefiringline.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=11646 . Proper fit is important but technique is a 'software' issue- it is best learned properly from the start.

Best of luck- don't forget to wear ear and eye protection,

lpl/nc

 

[Titus]

May not be totally appropriate for what Billmanweh is looking for, but for folks looking for cheap ammo and have a Galyan's nearby, they have a bunch of ammo on sale as part of their clearance sale. They don't give the extra 50% off on ammo, but I bought Winchester 12 gauge 1 oz slugs for 97 cents a box and Brenneke original recipe 1-1/8 oz slugs for $3.99 (think those used to be $5.49). Not sure if that's a great price for the Brennekes, but I think it's pretty good for the Winchesters.

 

[lbmii]

If you want to closely approximate the recoil of standard 2 3/4 inch non-magnum buckshot like 9 pellet double ought buck then find a box of bird shot loaded at 3 3/4 DR EQV and with 1 1/4 oz shot.

 

[Billmanweh]

If you want to closely approximate the recoil of standard 2 3/4 inch non-magnum buckshot like 9 pellet double ought buck then find a box of bird shot loaded at 3 3/4 DR EQV and with 1 1/4 oz shot.

This is my very first shotgun, so I'm just trying to find some cheap ammo to out through it for practice before I start the police academy.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Which version of the 870P did you wind up getting? IMHO you did good on choosing a first shotgun, that one is likely to outlast you and whoever you will it to as well.

lpl/nc

 

[Billmanweh]

It's a #4901, bead sights, parkerized, 5 shot magazine, wood stock

 

[john l]

Try ESTATE. cat # SS12H8. a case of 250 is $33 and change out the door. This is a 3 dram load with a 1 1/8 oz shot load. It works flawless in my autos and of course the pumps. I have a handful of friends who reload, and they are reloading shotshells in the $27 per 250 rounds area. So spending 6 dollars more for some of them is worth it NOT to reload. So I agree with the above comments about a box of shells in the $3-4 range is just right.
Happy shooting!
john l

 

[The_Antibubba]

Better than the Valu-Pack

Just two days ago I got a 25-box of the Federal Game Loads(Game-Shok): 12 ga, 2.75 in, 1 oz. shot, #6-for $2.67. that comes out almost $3 less than the Valu-pack of 100 of #8 shot.

I'll be picking some up every week until it's gone

 

[foghornl]

For the normal "almost-always-on-the-shelf" inexpensive practice ammo, the $15/100 value packs are hard to beat. If you keep your eyes open on the ads for various sporting goods stores like Dicks, Galyans, Dunhams, Big 5, etc you can sometimes find them for less. Last year, I wandered into my local Dunham's many times, they kept putting the Federals on sale for $2.50/box of 25 in #6, #7-1/2 & #8 shot. Those are the 3-dram 1-1/8 oz loads. Got at least 200 of each shot size.

 

[BillL223]

The Dram EQV is only one part of recoil. The weight of the shot, 1 oz, 1-1/8, 1-1/4 etc is the other part. Keep both down and you have light recoil. Being a Clays and Tactical shooter, I tend to shoot pretty high volumn. My clays loads now are 1 oz @ 1200 fps.

 

[shoot870p]

value pack

The "value packs" at Wal-mart are about as cheap as it will get it seems to me. Some vendors will have a sale on some buckshot and slugs at times, but not at the birdshot prices.