What is the maximum effective range of an 18 inch

My 1100 Remington pattern at 100 yards is a joke to me using 2 3/4" 00 buck.
But it does put holes in the paper...so I guess the target would be bleeding and quit fighting. I guess you could call that "effective".

50 yards is a huge difference, and that would be the distance I would call effective for my gun. I have seen some pattern better.

BTW - my gun is 18.5" no choke. I also have a 20" rifle sight bbl with IC choke.
 
50 for buck seems realistic. At 100 with my 18 1/2 Remington 870, using only a front bead, I can keep a slug on a torso sized target. It aint pretty but it would do the job.
 
50 yds with an open choke? Hell, I cant get a very good pattern with a extra full choke at 50 yds. I would say something like 25-30 yds would be better for an cyl/skeet choke.
 
I don't believe you could ever convince a DA or jury that it was self defense if you fired any weapon at someone beyond 15-20 FEET. JMNSHO:)
 
I haven't shot 2 3/4" 00 buck shot shells in awhile, but when I do use the 3" shells I can get about a ~20" pattern at 40 yards with my 18.5" bbl. Would be cool to tap that bbl to accept my accu-choke tubes. :cool:
 
What do you mean by "effective"? I can get hits on the target at 100 yards with certain rounds of buckshot, but I would prefer a slug after about 50 yards for what I would call effective.
 
Pattern it yourself and find out.
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Pattern, pattern, pattern! Get several brands and pattern at 15, 25, and 40 yards. In my Remington 870 Remington's managed recoil 00 buckshot at 15 yards is pretty much equal to a slug. Only opens up a little at 25 yards. At 45 yards, it patterns out to about 18". The Hornady Tap reduced recoil gave similar results up to about 25 yards, but opened up much more than the Remington at 45 yards. Federal law enforcement reduced recoil 00 buckshot was all over the place. At 25 yards it patterned like the Remington did at 45. This is with a 20" improved cylinder rifle sighted barrel. Point is, different ammunition performs differently in different guns. The only way to find what works best in yours is to buy an assortment of ammo, pattern it, and record the results.

I greatly prefer the rifle sights. Makes slugs really deadly at longer ranges. Musketeer states that he can put a slug on a mansized target at 100 yards with a front bead, but with the rifle sights, I can keep it consistantly on center of mass. A 1 oz. slug (thats 437.5 grains) at 100 yards is still moving around 1000 fps. for an energy of about 1060 foot pounds of energy. That, boys and girls will "mess" you up.
 
Chances are your best patterns will come from either Hornady TAP buckshot or the Federal law enforcement/Premium offerings. Both brands use a wad that is very effective in most barrels in producing good patterns at longer range. It's called the Flite Control wad BTW.

Shotgun patterns are about as individual as fingerprints. It is nigh impossible to predict what any given barrel is apt to do with a given load at a given range unless it is patterned. The pattern board is your friend, if you're a shotgunner.

Stay safe,

lpl/nc
 
Pattern shmattern

Putting holes in paper is NOT the same thing as putting a bad guy down

There are two issues...being able to hit your target (patterning) and those pellets actually being effective...as in getting enough penteration...since I know of no buckshot loads that expand:D

At some range, assuming you can get pellets on target you are only going to suceed in "stinging" the bad guy

Obviously I don't know the answer to the question;)

It would be interesting to know what range would make clothing an effective barrier
 
I don't believe you could ever convince a DA or jury that it was self defense if you fired any weapon at someone beyond 15-20 FEET. JMNSHO
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So you'll go to prison if you have to shoot someone when they come up the stairs to the bonus room and you're at the opposite wall (more than 25 feet in my house)?

What about in a hallway of, say, an office building? At my work, that would be between 15 and 20 yards, with some going more than 30-35 yards.

15-20 feet is nothing. What's the average bedroom? 10x12? Can you not imagine circumstances in your average day in which you might not have to defend yourself at greater distances?

Most any distance at which a handgun is reasonably effective is defensible if the underlying facts support it.
 
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Effective on what, bad guys? I'd imagine a good 25, 30, or maybe 35 yards. After that, with no choke, the pattern spread can get so large that you may miss altogether, even if you have a good hold, such that pellets are on all sides of the target. With an extra-full choke, I'd feel confident to 40 or 45 yards. Triple naught buck and an x-full would be a mean combo for fighting bad men in close-but-not-indoors situations (thick woods, urban combat). For in the house, the cylinder bore is fine - no shots over 10 or 15 yards at absolute most.

Only way to know for sure though of course, is to go to range and pattern your gun at various ranges. Depends also on which buckshot.. 4, 3, 2, 1, 0, 00, or 000.

As far as actual effectiveness once the hit is made? That depends even more highly upon which shot type, BUT I'll say that for 00 and 000, if you just make a hit, there is plenty of velocity to penetrate to the vital areas out to 50 yards, easily. So making the hit is more important than having a higher velocity. Now with a more marginal choice like #4 or #3 buck, penetration COULD potentially be a problem past 20 yards or so - I dunno really. But an 000 lead pellet of .36 diam. going 1,300 at the muzzle will still be going plenty fast at 50 yards to penetrate to heart/lungs of an average man, I do believe. Bottom line.. if you really think a long-ish shot could be necessary to save your bacon (past 25 yards or so), then use 00 or 000. Choke choice is far less important than shot choice, but full or x-full would be preferred.

FWIW, triple naught 2.75s with improved cylinder bore, is what is loaded in my Saiga-12 in the bedroom.
 
Those 00 pellets are what? 53 gr? They'll shed velocity rapidly in flight so 100 or even 50 yds is wishful thinking in my book. Holes in paper does not translate to effectice stopping power.

10 or 15 yds (inside) seems realistic to me. Past that, gimmee slugs or a rifle.
 
lets say your 00 buck pellets are going 1300 muzzle. what would you figure at 50 yards ? do they have penetration tests for this sort of thing ?
 
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