Shot size for Home Defense use.

Your IDEAL shot size for Home defense.

  • 000 Buck

    Votes: 5 4.4%

  • 00 Buck

    Votes: 60 53.1%

  • 0 Buck

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • #1 Buck

    Votes: 29 25.7%

  • #2 Buck

    Votes: 1 0.9%

  • Other... Please elaborate.

    Votes: 18 15.9%
  • Total voters
    113
It's interesting what Box o Truth says... they list #0 Buck.

Randy Wakeman also recomends #0 Buck as a close second to #1 as his choice for the best.

If you look at this poll though - it's not chosen at all. That's odd becasue with 0 in between 1 and 00 I'd expect it to be chosen by some people as a sort of in-between load or something but no one chose it.

I wonder if it's because #0 is hard to get?
 
I wonder if it's because #0 is hard to get?
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Not hard at all, if you cast and load your own shells.

There you go, hogdogs, still another reason.:)

maybe my bad arm requires I use "progressive" gear.
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If it's REAL bad, maybe a hydraulic or electric progressive.:D (A progressive press would be more hindrance than help in loading Buckshot).

DC
 
So, you'd rather be shot at 20ft by a load of #5 shot than a load of buckshot.
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A: I'd rather not get shot with a squirt gun filled with cat urine. But that doesn't make it a reliable stopper.
B: given the hypothetical choice to have my opponent's gun filled with #5s or OObuck. He gets bird shot.

Dead is dead
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as mentioned in an earlier post maybe maybe not #5 is going to require certain shot placement. and mr BG just might not stand still and let you shoot him in the head.heck he might even try to hide behind cover.:rolleyes:
"be very careful about assuming whatever gear you pick will work out perfectly
for the gunfight script you've written in your head" ...... smince
then again you might believe that a .300 Win mag is required to kill a whitetail where as a .243 will do all I need it to.
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Hunting is a might different than SD. .243 is fine when you can chose your shot.But when bambi's hiding in the trees and shooting back things are different. once again.
"be very careful about assuming whatever gear you pick will work out perfectly
for the gunfight script you've written in your head" ...... smince
The point was that human life just like any living thing can be extinguished by the smallest of things. At 20ft which seems to be the agreed upon interior limit of most shots one would likely encounter inside a residential structure, both loads would have a high component of lethality. One just offers a much less chance of collateral damage.
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Google "congressional medal of honor citation" you might find that some human life's a little harder to extinguish.
 
I use Federal® #1 Buck in my 16ga SxS; Remington® #3 Buck in my 20ga SxS. In my 20ga Mossberg® 500 pump I chose Federal® 3" Mag #2 Buck.
 
Have y'all had to point a shotgun at someone or had a shotgun pointed at you?
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Yes, and Yes. And yes I've actually been shot at and shot with a shotgun. Buckshot whistling over and around your head is not a sound you'll soon forget, and it sounds absolutely evil hitting trees around you.

Birdshot from across a dove field fired by a 10 year old shooting at a low bird encouraged by an adult that shoulda known better sorta stings a bit too..........but I digress....


Based upon my own pattern testing (and real world performance on game), I buy and use Federal LE12700 "Flite Control" shells. 2 3/4" 9 pellet 00 load at 1345fps MV.

It patterns well, I use it for deer (where it performs admirably out to distances I'd not trust other loads) and it stays loaded in my home defense ready guns.

If I ever find a #1 load that patterns as well I may switch. Until then I'll stick with what I know works from the guns I own and shoot.
 
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My wife's 20 gauge 870 is topped off with #3 Buck, because that is all I can find for it. My 12 gauge 870 has 2 rounds of #4 buck followed by 6 rounds of 00, and here is my reasoning:

I live in a fairly small apartment, there won't be a shot longer than 20 feet and over penetration is a realistic threat in several (but not all) directions. Should all of the internet talk about nothing smaller than #1 working prove to be true there are still a whole bunch of pellets inside of whatever decided to come in un-invited and I have made my way to the bigger pellets.

The #3 and #4 buckshot are by Federal, the 00 is Hornady TAP.
 
Question posed was:
Your IDEAL shot size for Home defense.
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What is ideal for Joe the Plumber may not be appropriate fro Clem the Swat Team Commander or Gertie the retired Librarian. Anybody who says there is only one right answer is deluding themselves into thinking that there is only one right answer no matter who is doing the shooting, where the shooting takes place and who or what you are shooting at. Evaluate your situation, make your choice and live with it, I hope, but don't say that is the end all be all definitive answer for everybody. If you think that then you are wrong.
 
This question is overthought to the nth degree on this board.

2 3/4 in no4 buck has killed more deer than you could ever count
Where I'm from that's all the old timers ever use.
Now, either they're either talking the deer into committing harikiri, or they're using the no 4 buck
QED No 4 buck will kill a person. Easily
 
Wakeman makes a good argument that 2¾" #1 buck is the best for HD, but it's so hard to find locally, my SPX is usually loaded with 2¾" double aught, which is well received also.
 
Since I'm responsible for every shot, every pellet, I'm more concerned with over penetration.

Might be able to justify shooting an intruder but never the next door neighbor or someone else in my house.

Due to this and after my own testing I use #4 buck.

T.
 
I think the equation doesn't change all that much. The smaller the shot, the less likelihood of over penetration and inury to innocent bystanders. And the less effective it is.

The bigger the shot, the better the penetration and the more effective it is.

One company is now marketing the "ultimate" HD load. It's BB's. I always called them goose loads.



How much efficiency you're willing to give up in the interest of being more safe is a call we all have to make.

I once saw a charge of the popular HD #4 buck hit a quarter inch plywood door, at an angle, and not one shot penetrated. And sometimes we forget that birdshot can easily be defeated by an easy chair or couch even though it's deadly at real close range (before it starts to spread).

00 buck works just fine, and has less penetration than pistol rounds. #1 seems to be the choice of so many--even if you can't find any.

I use Federal Tac 00 buck for HD. 8 or 9 pellet without FliteControl wad.

When I leave home and the shotgun goes with me (such as when shooting on public land), then I use the newer stuff with FliteControl wad, which prodces 7 inch patterns at 25yds--regarless of choke.

NOTE: It's my understanding that Federal is now producing #1 buck in their Tactical line of ammunition. If so, Googling around should turn some up that can be bought on line.
 
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I have heard this argument several times and agree with Grump that circumstances differ. One thing some fail to consider is that the point of home defense is to instantly stop the threat. That usually means resorting to lethal force. Still, not all lethal force puts an immediate halt to threats. Depending on where you hit the bag guy and with what he may die, but not until after he has cleaned your clock and possibly taken the lives of a family member.

Also consider that if things if the occasion should arise, you may need to shoot through furniture and table tops. In an ideal world you can carry #4 or whatever in the tube and top load 00 or slugs if the need should arise, but I don't expect to react like a trained professional is a panic situation and I would plan on having nothing but what is loaded in the tube.

And should Mr. or Ms. BG barricade themselves behind furnishings, that is fine with me because my HD goal is to keep them from me and mine until the pros can take over things.

Your mileage may differ. All warranties are specifically disclaimed. Remember safe sex.
 
notice poll:

00 buck easily in lead on final stretch heading for home already 2nd half of 30range(call it advertising I guess). closest 2nd # 1 buck barely in the 20 range. lots of good points, and also there are much more right answers than wrong answers with this thread. 00 works for me, but it might not for some others depending on their circumstances or preferences
 
Best home defense load is not Buckshot. At close range (6-10 ft) just about any birdshot load is going to act like a glazer saftey slug on steriods, punching one gaping hole in the middle and excerting all energy inside the intruder. I have see 2 deer accidently killed with #6s (long story). When you are in your house and shooting 00 buck you are basically shooting the equivilent of nine 357 magnums in your house or apartment if using a 2-3/4" shell. Not good for anyone on the other side of the wall. Easy experiment: place sections of sheet rock 4" apart and shoot at them and see how many walls it goes through before it stops.
 
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