The best 12ga 00 buck for burglars & blackguards...

[Conelrad]

What do you more-experienced folk use?

I want to lay in a good supply.

Going through a Mossburg 590 milsgun

Dennis

 

[jtcarm]

Unless you live alone in a detached home I wouldn't recommend it. Buck and even larger bird shot will penetrate dry wall.

1 1/4 ounces of 7 1/2 shot is still super-deadly at home-defense ranges.

 

[Derek Zeanah]

I'd default to #4 buck. Of course, I live on a few acres..

 

[49willys]

I use double buck,9 pellets per shell.like unloading a whole pistol magazine with each pull of the trigger.

 

[Panzerschwein]

I like #1 buck for HD work, but if you are set on 00 Remington express 2 3/4" 9 pellet 00 buck is good and available at any Wal Mart (usually). It's pretty cheap when on sale and I like that it's buffered and has decent components vs some other brands cheap 00 offerings. Steer clear of the green OD hulled "military surplus" 00 shells that I've seen at Wal Mart recently. That stuff is unbuffered, and uses cheap cardboard components. It is alright but doesn't pattern very well over range. Don't be fooled by the tacticool black painted brass and camo hull, it's no better and actually worse than the Remington express load mentioned above.

 

[rondog]

Don't know much about buckshot, but what's a "blackguard"? Never heard that before.

 

[Tony617]

I use LE132 9 pellet 00 buckshot in my 590A1. I also having Remington 9 pellet 00 buckshot as well. I tend to use Federal or Remington 00 buckshot since the Rio 00 buckshot has a plastic cap on the crimp so I can only put 7 in the magazine. Federal or Remington 2 3/4" shells I can load 8 rounds in magazine tube instead.

I use Rio Royal 00 buckshot for training.

 

[19-3Ben]

I use Hornady's #4 buckshot varmint express load. It patterns beautifully and functions perfectly in my guns.

 

[CajunBass]

I don't use a shotgun for HD, but if I did, I really wouldn't worry too much about what kind. I'd just default to whatever I happened to have around for deer hunting, which is 99% of the time, Remington 3" No. 1 buck.

I've been putting venison on the ground with it for over 40 years. I suppose it will work on burglars too.

 

[JamieC]

The best and the cheapest is what's in the gun when you need it. Inside the home distance, any standard 00 buckshot will get the job done, (buffered is less powder, less power, but inside the home, should be fine). #4 seems a good load, #1 is 'supposedly' the best all around load. I don't agree with bird shot, if it's in the gun, you're inside the house, will probably get someone's attention. I don't worry too much about over penetration, if I did, no point in having any hand guns around. Use an AR, those rounds will stop pretty quick hitting walls and such.

 

[Coyote3855]

Don't know much about buckshot, but what's a "blackguard"? Never heard that before.

black·guard
ˈblaɡərd,ˈblakˌɡärd/
noundated
1.
a person, particularly a man, who behaves in a dishonorable or contemptible way.

 

[200Apples]

.
I use 00 buck because it is what's available in my area. I live in the suburbs, but with an L.A.-area zipcode prefix (900--) so shippers like Midway, Cheaper Than, etc... even my local! LAX Ammo cannot ship ammunition to my door. I have to go get it and bring it home.

Therefore I have a good stock of 00 (.33" diameter ball) 9-pellet loads from Fiocchi, Remington, and Federal, with two velocity loadings in the Fiocchi.

Word from those who teach defensive shotgunning is to use full-power loads (1350 fps +)rather than the reduced-recoil (1150 fps) for home defense. Through a cylinder-bore (no choke) 18.5" barrel, the pattern for either velocity remains surprisingly tight at distances through 10 yards.

Whichever brand you choose, you'd be on top of your game if you first pattern the load through your gun.

Have fun! and stay safe.

 

[pps]

I like just good ol' Remington Express @ Wally world. The Plain Jane Winchester 9 pellet 00 buck should work well too. Whichever full power 00 Buck I can get the cheapest.

 

[wnycollector]

I use LE132 9 pellet 00 buckshot

Same here. It shoots nice tight patterns out to 25 yards in all of my shotguns.

 

[nathan]

I have the Walmart Winchester econopack for $10 for 15 shells. That should be enough to do the job.

 

[oneounceload]

Word from those who teach defensive shotgunning is to use full-power loads (1350 fps +)rather than the reduced-recoil (1150 fps) for home defense.

Why? At that distance 200 Fps means nothing. There will be 50 +\- Fps variance in any given box. Added velocity producing greater recoil isn't fun.

38s at 850 have done the job for a century, as have 45s at about the same velocity

Sometimes bigger/faster does not always mean better

 

[btg3]

I tried numerous 00-buck loads to pattern with. Glad I did. Some are better than others for my gun.

 

[JWH321]

Mine has 7 1/2 in it. The largest distance in my house is 60 feet. From my tests, at 60 feet there will be a very tight group of little projectiles moving at 1100 fps which, I'm confident, will dissuade even the most determined.

I am also convinced that at that range, I will have much better control of the gun than I would with 00.

YMMV.

 

[rbernie]

Unless you live alone in a detached home I wouldn't recommend it. Buck and even larger bird shot will penetrate dry wall.

1 1/4 ounces of 7 1/2 shot is still super-deadly at home-defense ranges.

No, it is NOT. There is plenty of empirical data showing that birdshot is really only suitable for sub-5lb birds and will not reliably penetrate ribs nor face.

Mine has 7 1/2 in it. The largest distance in my house is 60 feet. From my tests, at 60 feet there will be a very tight group of little projectiles moving at 1100 fps which, I'm confident, will dissuade even the most determined.

You can be confident, but you willl almost certainly also be wrong.

Guys - the simple fact is that anything that will provide adequate penetration of a person will do the same on drywall. Conversely, anything that won't reliably penetrate drywall won't do so well on people, either. It's been tested extensively, both in real world incidents and in formal testing.

Maybe your confidence stems from the notion that a shallow flesh wound is all that's needed to repel boarders and discourage blackguards. I am not confident of that at all. I insist that my HD/SD projectiles be capable of actually penetrating 12" or more per the FBI protocols.

Federal LE buck with the FliteControl wad is the gold standard for SD/HD buck.

 

[cowboy318]

#4 buck

 

[1911 guy]

First, re-read post by rbernie. Simple physics. If it's capable of penetrating a human, it's capable of penetrating drywall and plywood. If your chosen load is "safe" for drywall, it most assuredly does not have what it takes to definitively stop an attacker.

I got a case of Federal 2 3/4" 00 a while back and am happy with it. Shoots well in my shotgun, I've got enough to last me a couple classes and still have some socked away.

The odds of having to defend me and mine from violent attack are slim. But should those odds run out, I want the hammer of Thor to stop an attack. In a perfect world, I'd have claymores, booby traps and hired snipers to keep me and mine from ever having to meet an attacker. But since this is the real world and I'm not Batman, I'll settle for a 12 gauge stuffed with 00 buck and some common sense about deterrence and home security.

I used to hold stock in the small shot at close range theory. Kept 3" #4 in the gun because I had it on hand. But the more I actually looked at real data on shotguns, I switched.

 

[LeonCarr]

Birdshot is for birds.

Per numerous gelatin tests and real world shootings it takes #1 Buckshot or larger to RELIABLY penetrate 12 inches or more in flesh.

Even in an apartment I would use #1 Buckshot or larger, with Federal Flitecontrol 00 Buckshot currently residing in my home defense Remington 870P.

Just my .02,
LeonCarr

 

[herrwalther]

HD shotgun loaded with Heavy 8 birdshot. Will do the job at close distances and is easy to get, even during ammo shortages. I still keep a few slugs and 00 buck shells in a sidesaddle carrier.

 

[Fred Fuller]

Federal LE127 00 9 pellet, 1325 FPS with FliteControl, in a CYL bore barrel
here.

But try several loads and choose what patterns to your satisfaction, before buying a truckload.

 

[Squidward]

For practice I'll use any factory loads that are available. I'm not looking for extreme accuracy, just ammo for weapon manipulation and various shooting drills.

For HD (when accuracy really matters) I only use federal Flite Control LE132 (also sold as PD132) 00 buck. After many boxes i know how it patterns at distances that I may encounter.