Which ammo for apartment home defense...

[Godspeed]

I live in an apartment complex and I have a delemma. Which ammo should I use for home defense that will assure lethality but will minimise the risk of ruining my relations with neighbors? I was thinking #4buck but I wonder if that would be enough for a 300lb leather clad intruder....
Also, what's all the fuss about federal reduced recoil stuff? I have a recoil reducer and am quite comfortable with standard loads, so is ther any advantage to my spending extra $$ on federal's "tactical" loads?

Regards,
Godspeed

 

[Dagny]

PUHLEESE do a search of the archives with the keyword
apartment
and if you've a spare all-nighter in you
search for both these words at once
home defense

hint: search shotguns
then search handguns

This topic has been hashed over so many times that the moderators usually kill it and refer the poster to the archives.

 

[Bogie]

Okay - To make a long story short, get a box of Winchester AA #8 or #9 light trap/skeet loads. A bud and I did a little experimenting, and while darn near everything up to duck loads blasted right through wallboard/2x4/wallboard walls, the above loads went through one side, and were contained by the other. I wouldn't wanna be in front of it either - 6" hole at about 5-6 yards...

 

[Eric of IN]

Ammo selection is entirely dependant on range. Out to about 5yds (with my Ithica) the shot is all contained in the shotcup, so there is virtually no difference between bird, buck and a slug. After 5 yds, the differences increase. I use birdshot simply because I live in a small apartment with a max range of 15 yds, so I don't think the bird is a handicap. Buck has a longer effective range, and slug ranges are longer still, but both present more of an overpenatration hazard. Pattern your shotgun with the different ammo at the ranges that would be most common in your apartment, and decide based on that. If you're not sure how to pattern the gun, Dave McC has a good thread here.
Eric

 

[taco]

I keep my 870 HD shotgun loaded with both birdshots and buckshots. First 2 shots are #6 low-brass bird shot followed by 4 shots of Federal Tactical #4 buckshots. On the sidesaddle are 3 shots of Federal Tactical OO buckshot and 3 shots of Remington Low-recoil 1 oz slugs.