Hi, I own a a 20 round shotshell-belt and I would like to hear your opinon what kind('s) of shotshells you would pack into it: different shot/buckshot sizes, slugs, different buck/birdshotloads for changing pattern sizes, less lethal round etc... how would you fill that belt? may be there will be a situation where theres no handgun avaiable or yor spouse/wife/husband has it and you can only reload when your shotgun is empty. I'm looking forward to read about your ideas.
shotshell-belt for HD
- Thread starter trol79
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I wouldn't use a 20-rd shotshell belt for HD. You going to have time to put it on or carry it with you? How do you differentiate rounds in the dark?
I'd keep extra rounds on the shotgun itself.
Besides the 00Buck in the SG, I keep a buttcuff with 3 more 00 primer down and 2 slugs primer up so I can tell by feel which is which if I need to do a reload or shell-selection drill.
I don't think there are any realistic SD/HD scenarios that don't end after 1-3 rounds being fired.
I'd keep extra rounds on the shotgun itself.
Besides the 00Buck in the SG, I keep a buttcuff with 3 more 00 primer down and 2 slugs primer up so I can tell by feel which is which if I need to do a reload or shell-selection drill.
I don't think there are any realistic SD/HD scenarios that don't end after 1-3 rounds being fired.
shiftyer1
Member
If it takes 20 rounds to defend yourself and your home I think you need to move. Also I don't think it's very realistic to think you will have time to get dressed before acting.
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
First, my HD shotgun had 10 rounds in or on it. Two slugs are in the S/S, the rest is a well tested and performing buck load of known effect.
Near my Panic Box is a 25 shell belt for any major crisis. Five slugs are loaded base down and 20 more buck loads base up to differentiate by feel. This preparation is not for HD, but Community Defense.
As for less lethal or birdshot, forget it.
Near my Panic Box is a 25 shell belt for any major crisis. Five slugs are loaded base down and 20 more buck loads base up to differentiate by feel. This preparation is not for HD, but Community Defense.
As for less lethal or birdshot, forget it.
monduconstruct
Member
Dave - I'm interested in "Community Defense" what type of scenarios fall into that category in your opinion?
Thanks!
Thanks!
oneounceload
member
I can't imagine a community event, like a hurricane or economic chaos that would not give you ample time to get prepared. Even in a tornado, looters aren't typically the first group out and about
MCgunner
Member
Gonna ninja up before that burglar kicks in the door, eh? ROFLMAO! Buy a side saddle or butt cuff and keep your spares on the gun. It messes up the balance of the gun, but you ain't dove hunting, after all. I keep a coach gun handy with five on the butt. It's home defense, not an assault on an enemy position.
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
About the most reasonable way to carry extra ammunition for a home defense gun is on a side saddle. I have a hard time believing that you would have ample time to put on a proper bandoleer or belt when suddenly awakened at 3am due to someone breaking into your home.
That said, for the vast majority of situations, I suspect that the average shotgun with a capacity of five-nine rounds provides more than enough firepower.
That said, for the vast majority of situations, I suspect that the average shotgun with a capacity of five-nine rounds provides more than enough firepower.
monduconstruct
Member
I'm in the market for an 870P once I get my LTC, and I was not planning on adding extra carrying capacity at all. All this talk about side saddles has me questioning myself here..
I was going to get the 6+1 capacity version .. I thought in 7 rounds if I haven't dealt with the problem, chances are I'm fighting the police.
I was going to get the 6+1 capacity version .. I thought in 7 rounds if I haven't dealt with the problem, chances are I'm fighting the police.
What comes to mind would be another Hurricane Katrina, an event that devastated several States.
Also, with the number of major earthquakes happening in the news...
Unfortunate events can and will continue to happen where local Emergency Services will be unable to restore order for weeks at a time. Times like that, you need to work with your street or neighborhood to ensure order and safety from outsiders either looking to take advantage of, or simply too desperate to care about others.
Justin
Moderator Emeritus
FWIW, though, your odds of dying from heart disease are far higher than from being caught in some sort of major catastrophe.
oneounceload
member
Right next door - we got just as many, if not more, earthquakes. We had the LA-based gang syndicates running around, etc.
I'm addressing the Community aspect. The looters won't be at your door in 30 seconds - there will be enough time to get prepared for those emergencies
I was kidding... But, I have friends who did have to defend the hill their houses were on, during one of the (now apparently annual) massive brush fires that swept through the southern hills of California. The looters did come, before the fires were even a threat. They left when they found themselves staring down the muzzles of a few guns. It certainly helps to be prepared.
WRT a shotgun for community defense, I think it's also important to remember that buckshot retains its ability to injure and kill long after the pattern has spread to be wider than a human target, which can happen at a relatively short distance outdoors. Therefore, in the interest of being responsible for every bullet I shoot, I would not use a shotgun, especially in a cylinder bore, for most community defense scenarios. Obviously, if you have a good backstop, or there's nothing and nobody within a few hundred yards, this isn't as much of a concern. But in a populated area, I'd really give thorough consideration to how and where a shotgun could be fired.
WRT a shotgun for community defense, I think it's also important to remember that buckshot retains its ability to injure and kill long after the pattern has spread to be wider than a human target, which can happen at a relatively short distance outdoors. Therefore, in the interest of being responsible for every bullet I shoot, I would not use a shotgun, especially in a cylinder bore, for most community defense scenarios. Obviously, if you have a good backstop, or there's nothing and nobody within a few hundred yards, this isn't as much of a concern. But in a populated area, I'd really give thorough consideration to how and where a shotgun could be fired.
chas08
Member
After losing a home and almost all personal posessions to a 500 year flood. I don't find the above words all that comforting as I approach retirement age.
monduconstruct
Member
ArmedBear - very interesting perspective on the Community stuff. I always just picture the pump SG as the quintessential SHTF weapon. I guess there are limitations to be aware of.
oneounceload
member
That's because that is one of the seasons in CA - they don't have spring, summer, fall, and winter -
They have Mud, Flood, Fire, and Quake.............
They have Mud, Flood, Fire, and Quake.............
chas08
Member
Then not much has changed since I lived there in the '70s.
When we lost our home it was a few days before the looting started. When outside help started arriving so did the lowlifes.
No, that part has changed (see above). My friend's neighborhood got the looters before the flames came within a mile.
IMO that has something to do with the fact that guns aren't seen in public, there. Dirtbags just don't figure the decent suburban folk are armed.
Here in Idaho, I doubt looters would be so brazen, simply because it's pretty well understood that a critical mass of the population keeps loaded guns around the house -- and many carry them in their cars, pockets, and purses, too. OC in the grocery store is not widespread, but it doesn't raise many eyebrows here, either.
On-gun carry is not do-able with some configurations. Say, a top-folding stock.
I would be inclined to go 75%/25% slugs/buck. As mentioned above, if you have the time to go grab the shell-belt, it is likely a "community" disturbance, not just a home defense situation. As such, the ranges would likely be greater and another poster mentioned the lack of utility of buck at range, while it still can be deadly.
There might be better "community disturbance" guns out there, but a shotgun is not a bad choice. Most are good to 100 yards with slugs vs a human-sized target and they "don't scare the straights" as much as an EBR might.
I would be inclined to go 75%/25% slugs/buck. As mentioned above, if you have the time to go grab the shell-belt, it is likely a "community" disturbance, not just a home defense situation. As such, the ranges would likely be greater and another poster mentioned the lack of utility of buck at range, while it still can be deadly.
There might be better "community disturbance" guns out there, but a shotgun is not a bad choice. Most are good to 100 yards with slugs vs a human-sized target and they "don't scare the straights" as much as an EBR might.
kingpin008
Member
Untrue. I've seen plenty of shotgun setups with receiver-mounted shell carriers that ride on the side. That'd work just fine with a top-folding stock.
chas08
Member
That could be the difference between Fire & Flood catastrophes. Fires of that magnitude leaves almost nothing salvageable. Floods are a little more forgiving if the water isn't moving too fast. Either way, lowlifes like that should get what they deserve.
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