Mixing shot and slugs in the magazine for HD

[357wheelgunner]

I prefer to keep my magazine loaded with 00 buckshot, I prefer consistency. I keep 4 spare rounds of 00 in the side saddle, and 2 slugs for hand loading. I dont trust myself to keep count in a shootout, and would hate to confuse buckshot and slugs, as they are very very different from one another.

What are your reasons, for or against, mixing ammunition types in your HD shotgun magazine?

 

[darkknight]

In an HD situation i cant see the justification for using slugs. Most shots would be under 21 ft and buckshot will keep a tight grouping at that range. So why alternate? I just dont see a point for it. If your a on duty slugs maybe better but for hd buckshot would prolly be better.

 

[Youngster]

The only time I mix ammo is wilderness defence, where I keep 1 round of birdshot up first {as a fast spreading easy to hit with load to blind a surprise charging animal}, followed by all Fiocci Aeroslugs. Inside the house I usually run #1 or #4 buckshot.

 

[mljdeckard]

Keeping a split on the sidesaddle makes more sense than say, stacking a particular of mix in any given order in the magazine. Honestly, you really don't know that you WON'T need to penetrate something heavy. AP ammo is FAR down on my list of HD needs, but that doesn't mean it's impossible to ever need it. I tell people not to load their HD weapons with say. steel-core AP ammo, but that doesn't mean it's a bad idea to keep a magazine of it handy.

 

[mgregg85]

I wouldn't bother alternating ammo in any weapon other than perhaps alternating tracers and non tracer rounds in a FA weapon.

I'd rather know just what kind of ammo i'm shooting instead of having to guess which it might be if you lose count. If you wanna have some slugs handy then put them on the side saddle and you can load one in a second for a longer shot if needed.

 

[huntershooter]

In a HD scenario, slugs would not be advised. Unless perhaps you were trying to shoot someone concealed behind the Grand Piano.
Slugs have a tremendous amount of penetration. A lot of Salmon guides use 870's and slugs as Brown Bear protection in Alaska.

 

[Fred Fuller]

I watched an entire shotgun class of twenty-something shooters fail to be able to keep up with how many rounds they had left in the gun under pressure. JUST how many- not how many of what from mixed loading. There may be some hardened veterans who can keep count in a firefight. Most folks can't.

I want to know what is coming out of the muzzle of my shotgun without a doubt every time I pull the trigger. I know I can't keep up with some fancy candy cane loading scheme. I was one of those students I mentioned earlier...

I load buckshot in the magazine in the 870s at home (one round short) and slugs in the sidesaddle, action cocked and safety locked. I figure I can be collected enough under pressure to load a slug if needed first up, or I can load one any time later if one is needed by loading it into the magazine. Why might I need a slug? Either to stretch the range of the gun (buckshot runs out of oomph pretty soon), or because I need to turn cover into concealment

I did the select slug deal in training, I do it in practice too. Having to use a shotgun in self defense is not a very likely thing to happen, but still, it's better to be trained and practiced at it in case you ever need the skillset involved.

lpl