best 12 gauge defence load for remington 11-87
- Thread starter agent00
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General Rule of Thumb:
Measure the longest distance you suspect you will encounter a defensive situation, add one yard to that and pattern YOUR gun with various loads to determine what load works in YOUR gun for YOUR task.
With pellet loads ( #4. #1, 00 ) keeping in a 9" paper plate is good. Why the paper plate? Hold one up to your torso and take a look in the mirror.
Makes no matter what a barrel, choke , box of ammo advertises , or what some guy on the Internet says. Only YOU and the Pattern Board will reveal.
Even two exact guns coming off the assembly line one right after the other with the same load - pattern different.
Me? I use Foster type slugs. Once I determine which one gives me the best groups - that is what I use In that gun. Slugs work from "right here" to "out yonder a bit".
HTH
Regards,
Steve
Measure the longest distance you suspect you will encounter a defensive situation, add one yard to that and pattern YOUR gun with various loads to determine what load works in YOUR gun for YOUR task.
With pellet loads ( #4. #1, 00 ) keeping in a 9" paper plate is good. Why the paper plate? Hold one up to your torso and take a look in the mirror.
Makes no matter what a barrel, choke , box of ammo advertises , or what some guy on the Internet says. Only YOU and the Pattern Board will reveal.
Even two exact guns coming off the assembly line one right after the other with the same load - pattern different.
Me? I use Foster type slugs. Once I determine which one gives me the best groups - that is what I use In that gun. Slugs work from "right here" to "out yonder a bit".
HTH
Regards,
Steve
OneInchGroup
New member
Self Defense Load - 12 Gauge
If you expect to be dealing with a home invasion, then figure as SM said, #4, 00, or Slugs. That kind of action is almost always under 20 feet, more commonly right up close, so any discussion about patterning, etc. will be moot. You are going to be in the ultimate point and pray mode if this ever happens to you.
Assuming you hear the miscreant coming, having crashed through your door, in an average house the biggest problem will be to maintain your own calm so you can act at all rationally in the few seconds this encounter will consume. Sad fact is most times the homeowner is caught sleeping by a 1000% alert intruder with maximum motivation to do bad things. Not a pretty sight, after.
Best real life solution in a hell of a big dog who'll make enough noise and delay the bad guy long enough for you to wake up and get moving.
If you expect to be dealing with a home invasion, then figure as SM said, #4, 00, or Slugs. That kind of action is almost always under 20 feet, more commonly right up close, so any discussion about patterning, etc. will be moot. You are going to be in the ultimate point and pray mode if this ever happens to you.
Assuming you hear the miscreant coming, having crashed through your door, in an average house the biggest problem will be to maintain your own calm so you can act at all rationally in the few seconds this encounter will consume. Sad fact is most times the homeowner is caught sleeping by a 1000% alert intruder with maximum motivation to do bad things. Not a pretty sight, after.
Best real life solution in a hell of a big dog who'll make enough noise and delay the bad guy long enough for you to wake up and get moving.
Wilson no longer offers the Custom 11-87. Their biggest customers were LE, and reliability issues developed with the low recoil Tactical ammo they were required to use.
The good news is that the 11-87 is the lightest recoiling gas operated semi-auto out there, so using standard buckshot shouldn't be a problem. Doesn't mean that yours won't be reliable with the low recoil Tac. stuff--get a case of Federal Tactical LE 132- 00, or 133-00 8 pellet load from Ammoman and test thoroughly.
Be advised that Hornady TAP LE 00 buck is available in standard pressure ammo (red--specifically for semi-autos), and low recoil for pump shotguns (blue). You can get it from Northwest Loading Supply. This ammo uses the same wad as the Federal FliteControl for VERY tight patterns. http://www.northwestloading.com/catalog/
The good news is that the 11-87 is the lightest recoiling gas operated semi-auto out there, so using standard buckshot shouldn't be a problem. Doesn't mean that yours won't be reliable with the low recoil Tac. stuff--get a case of Federal Tactical LE 132- 00, or 133-00 8 pellet load from Ammoman and test thoroughly.
Be advised that Hornady TAP LE 00 buck is available in standard pressure ammo (red--specifically for semi-autos), and low recoil for pump shotguns (blue). You can get it from Northwest Loading Supply. This ammo uses the same wad as the Federal FliteControl for VERY tight patterns. http://www.northwestloading.com/catalog/
Look up "dragon's breath shotgun shell"... they shoot a 100 foot flame 
, then I would follow up with some rock salt rounds then maybe some 00 buck shot... or bigger 
I would certainly suspect that any turkey load would be acceptable for self defense... slugs are hit or miss, but shot could be the way to go, if it's a strictly self defense gun some people load a slug then shot in the same gun... but you best know which one is which!
, then I would follow up with some rock salt rounds then maybe some 00 buck shot... or bigger I would certainly suspect that any turkey load would be acceptable for self defense... slugs are hit or miss, but shot could be the way to go, if it's a strictly self defense gun some people load a slug then shot in the same gun... but you best know which one is which!
"Be advised that Hornady TAP LE 00 buck is available in standard pressure ammo (red--specifically for semi-autos), and low recoil for pump shotguns (blue). You can get it from Northwest Loading Supply. This ammo uses the same wad as the Federal FliteControl for VERY tight patterns. "
This is GREAT ammo!
This is GREAT ammo!
"
I should have mentioned that the Hornady TAP (Tactical Action Police) uses lead shot, while Fed. 132-00 uses plated shot. When testing the TAP in two different 870's, I found that in one gun (barrel), about 1 in 8 rds failed to open up and the shot went into the target still in the cup. In the other gun, the TAP performed properly. The Federal load showed some variations in shot released, but none failed to open up in either gun.
I suspect that the lead shot is packed in tighter with more friction and that the cylinder bore with less back pressure contributed to the shot not releasing (the wad opening up at the rear and slipping off the shot column). The IC choked gun had no problems.
Note that the fin like petals open up at the rear to let the wad slip off the shot column and also the petals on the center of the wad that flex out just enough to release the pressure.
I should have mentioned that the Hornady TAP (Tactical Action Police) uses lead shot, while Fed. 132-00 uses plated shot. When testing the TAP in two different 870's, I found that in one gun (barrel), about 1 in 8 rds failed to open up and the shot went into the target still in the cup. In the other gun, the TAP performed properly. The Federal load showed some variations in shot released, but none failed to open up in either gun.
I suspect that the lead shot is packed in tighter with more friction and that the cylinder bore with less back pressure contributed to the shot not releasing (the wad opening up at the rear and slipping off the shot column). The IC choked gun had no problems.
Note that the fin like petals open up at the rear to let the wad slip off the shot column and also the petals on the center of the wad that flex out just enough to release the pressure.
