Loading the HD Shotgun
- Thread starter DDDWho
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cdb1
Member
I'd just load the buckshot for HD, use the birdshot for practice or birds and the slugs for deer and hogs.
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RPRNY
Member
FWIW (not a lot), I like #4 buckshot better for HD, usually 8-9 pellets vs 15-16 and somewhat diminished risk of tearing through walls into occupied rooms without diminishing the impact on Mr. Bogey.
I agree with the above. For HD, I'd load buck and keep a couple of slugs and two more buck shells in a side saddle for 'just in case', though for what, I'm not sure.
I agree with the above. For HD, I'd load buck and keep a couple of slugs and two more buck shells in a side saddle for 'just in case', though for what, I'm not sure.
Blkhrt13
Member
Medium brass 2ought till she's full. I use wolf 9 pellet 2 3/4
Corpral_Agarn
Member
Rounds 1-4 : Buckshot.
5 and 6: Buckshot.
7 and 8: Buckshot.
After that just load buckshot.
5 and 6: Buckshot.
7 and 8: Buckshot.
After that just load buckshot.
1911 guy
Member
Small shot is for clays and wild game. Slugs are for extending the range of a shotgun and putting down large game or threats at distance. Buck is the go-to for in-house distances. But cdb1 already said that. And Corpral Agarn. He must have been typing at the same time I was.
AJumbo
Member
AJumbo
Member
FL-NC
Member
This. Exactly this.
+1
All this load juggling says to me that:
1) The shooter isn't sure what ammo to use.
2) He intends to do his experimentation in real life.
Decide what load to use (buckshot is an excellent choice) and load it. The last thing you need in a real HD situation is having every shot behave differently.
herrwalther
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Just load it up with buckshot. For those instances where you might NEED birdshot or slugs, use a bandoleer sling or shell carrier on the shotgun to store the other rounds.
Select your shot by you living circumstances. Do you live in an apartment, urban housings or a rural single family dwelling? Are there other people in the house and are their bedrooms on the opposite end of the house where it puts them in the likely field of fire, if so you need to consider the penetration of the ammo. Best thing is to go to YouTube and key in "shotgun shell penetration test" in the the search field. There are several tests you can find showing the penetration of different shot size through walls and other things.
A shotgun slug has a lot of penetration being capable of passing through several walls and several people before stopping. 00 Buck can easily penetrate one or more common interior walls constructed from Gyp Board and household appliances like refrigerators. 00 is also capable of penetrating completely through a human body especially if the shot is a hard copper or nickle plated shot. 4Buck is a good choice for a more urban setting. For apartment living a good argument can be made to use large size loads in bird shot like BB that is used for large birds (turkey/geese) and can be used for small mammals like rabbits and Coyotes.
A shotgun slug has a lot of penetration being capable of passing through several walls and several people before stopping. 00 Buck can easily penetrate one or more common interior walls constructed from Gyp Board and household appliances like refrigerators. 00 is also capable of penetrating completely through a human body especially if the shot is a hard copper or nickle plated shot. 4Buck is a good choice for a more urban setting. For apartment living a good argument can be made to use large size loads in bird shot like BB that is used for large birds (turkey/geese) and can be used for small mammals like rabbits and Coyotes.
I'm a little late to this, but my HD loads are buckshot in the magazine, and slugs on a side-saddle. I load 00 buck, but there's a member here who has (had?) a very useful website on terminal ballistic performance years ago that convinced me that #4 buck was the best overall choice for the defensive shotgun. I wish I could remember the site name now.
00 is easier to find and train with though, so there you go.
00 is easier to find and train with though, so there you go.
Nicky Santoro
Member
Load the 00 for now, then get some #1 buck, preferably reduced recoil.
I'm with the others that say just load buckshot. I'm starting to be of the mind that #1 buckshot is a really good choice. It consistently gets the penetration I believe is paramount. It has 8 more pellets than 00. That said I'd feel just fine with 00.
"12 Gauge Shotshell Ammunition
For personal defense and law enforcement applications, the International Wound Ballistics Association advocates number 1 buckshot as being superior to all other buckshot sizes.
Number 1 buck is the smallest diameter shot that reliably and consistently penetrates more than 12 inches of standard ordnance gelatin when fired at typical shotgun engagement distances. A standard 2 ¾-inch 12 gauge shotshell contains 16 pellets of #1 buck. The total combined cross sectional area of the 16 pellets is 1.13 square inches. Compared to the total combined cross sectional area of the nine pellets in a standard #00 (double-aught) buck shotshell (0.77 square inches), the # 1 buck shotshell has the capacity to produce over 30 percent more potentially effective wound trauma.
In all shotshell loads, number 1 buckshot produces more potentially effective wound trauma than either #00 or #000 buck. In addition, number 1 buck is less likely to over-penetrate and exit an attacker's body."
Mixed loads in the tube are not a great idea. I want as good an idea as I can have what is going to happen when I pull the trigger. Mixing buck and slugs doesn't really seem to do that or have any advantage I can think of. Birdshot is not something I'd load in the gun for defense unless I had no other choice.
I have some slugs on the side of my shotgun. I don't know that a select a slug drill is something that is really going to come up in a HD scenario, but the are there.
"12 Gauge Shotshell Ammunition
For personal defense and law enforcement applications, the International Wound Ballistics Association advocates number 1 buckshot as being superior to all other buckshot sizes.
Number 1 buck is the smallest diameter shot that reliably and consistently penetrates more than 12 inches of standard ordnance gelatin when fired at typical shotgun engagement distances. A standard 2 ¾-inch 12 gauge shotshell contains 16 pellets of #1 buck. The total combined cross sectional area of the 16 pellets is 1.13 square inches. Compared to the total combined cross sectional area of the nine pellets in a standard #00 (double-aught) buck shotshell (0.77 square inches), the # 1 buck shotshell has the capacity to produce over 30 percent more potentially effective wound trauma.
In all shotshell loads, number 1 buckshot produces more potentially effective wound trauma than either #00 or #000 buck. In addition, number 1 buck is less likely to over-penetrate and exit an attacker's body."
Mixed loads in the tube are not a great idea. I want as good an idea as I can have what is going to happen when I pull the trigger. Mixing buck and slugs doesn't really seem to do that or have any advantage I can think of. Birdshot is not something I'd load in the gun for defense unless I had no other choice.
I have some slugs on the side of my shotgun. I don't know that a select a slug drill is something that is really going to come up in a HD scenario, but the are there.
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