I'd suspect that Federal Tac. 00 buck with plated shot would have as much penetration at low recoil velocity as lead shot would with standard.
At those ranges so close that pattern isn't an issue, then neither is the velocity difference. The Ranger uses lead shot, and would tend to deform more, while penetrating less--sounds like a good trade off to me, while offering excellent followup shot capability.
Federal's FliteControl wad tightens up patterns to a somewhat incredible degree. At 10 yds, one hole. About the same at 15. At 25 yds, about 7X9" thru my Scattergun Tech cyl bore.
Hornady Tap uses the exact same wad, producing the same tight patterns, but uses lead instead of plated.
Winchester Ranger is the mildest recoiling of all of them and is excellent for home defense using lead shot that Chrono's at 1107 fps. from 18" bbl.
My own testing showed this ammo to produce patterns tight enough for effectiveness at 15 yds. thru my cyl. bore. Sorry, but my testing didn't include penetration. Have heard of no complaints with re: to street results for Ranger lead 00 buck at lower velocity. It's pleasant to shoot and procuces patterns much bigger than FliteControl ammo, but still tighter than standard buck at 1300 fps.
Fed. Tac 00 8 pellet Chrono's at 1160 fps. Older stuff without FliteControl. 18" bbl.
Win. Ranger LE, 1107 fps. bbl. length 18".
Fed. Tac LE132-00 with FliteControl Chrono's at 1124 fps. 18"bb.
I believe all Federal Tactical ammo now uses FliteControl wad. This wad doesn't release the shot until it's gone done range a ways. The choke has no influence on the pattern size at all.
All tactical ammo works fine on the street for LE. The 8 pellet loads are created for bureaucratic agencies that mandate 8 pellets instead of nine, perhaps because they feel that 8 pellets produce better patterns. My own testing doesn't indicate that, but the 8 pellet loads work fine, also.
Low recoil buck has penetrated just fine on the street, but standard velocity is readily available for those who want more penetration at the expense of more muzzle blast, more recoil, and bigger patterns. Not a good trade of IMO.
Yes, it's true that low recoil buck was, at least to some extent, developed with wimpy police recruits in mind, but the stuff has proven it'self on the street where it counts.
Heck, I need a shorter barrel for the 12 gauge maverick and will buy the basic cyl choke in 18 or 20 inch so it serves my HD needs... that is unless I trip over a good deal on an accuchoke like new with tubes.