Rem 3 inch 00 buckshot

I think if you ever had to use on an intruder they'd be drawing their final breaths. Period.


However, it's pretty hefty in terms of penetration for an HD round. But anything worth it's salt will be, by nature.

Can you sue the home invader after you shoot him for damages to your shoulder??

3" is kinda much for defensive use, but if it's all you can find, it sorta limits your options. Your gun DOES have a 3" chamber, right?

IMHO 10 rounds isn't enough to make sure any new load will run in the gun reliably, unless you've tried it already. Please don't tell me you'd load a gun you plan to stake your life on with rounds you haven't ever shot any of before, and don't really have enough of on hand to fire function...

lpl

It's not really worth the tradeoff of a recoil and space abusive shell. I don't even have a 3" shell in my ammo pile at all right now. Like Lee said, shoot what you've tested first hand and what's plentiful. Walmart ALWAYS has 2 3/4" 00. Any of the major brands will do the trick (I prefer Federal) but try it out in your gun.

I have 3" #1 Buck in mine now. I'm out of the 3 1/2" Magnum #4 buck that I have had in the gun in the past. It's overkill, but I shoot magnum loads on ducks geese and turkey...why would I be averse to a little extra recoil for that special someone breaking into your home in the wee hours of the morning?

That stuff would do the trick just fine. Sleep well at night with those until you can find some 2 3/4 00 buck. Lower flash, less recoil and they do not over penetrate as much.

I've been going thru a few boxes of the Remington 3" Magnum 00 buck myself, lately. I've found that in my gun (870 TALO) they pattern a little larger than the 2 3/4" 00 - 26 x 32 at 25 yards - as would be expected. And they carry a noticeablely larger impact: when fired into targets mounted on a standing wood pallet from the same distances I patterned the 2 3/4" rounds, the 3" shells actually knock the pallet over 75% of the time from the 10, 15 and 20 yard distances. They definitely carry a big thump.

The only drawbacks are, of course, that big thump is equally applied to my right shoulder and contributes to the ringing in my ears, despite hearing protection. When running tactical drills using full loads rather than birdshot/target loads I usually only wear ear plugs, since I'm not firing many rounds off. With the 3" mags I absolutely have to wear the cups, as well. I am concerned that in an HD situation I will be so shocked by the noise and flash that I will do something stupid in the fight. I'll not be buying any more of them as the 2 3/4" shells do everything I need from 00 buck. Hope you can find some.

Do they really penetrate more than the 2 3/4? I think you are slinging more lead at the same speed, and speed (size being equal) should be the factor on penetration.

The magnum loads actually have less velocity (same charge for a larger payload) and energy per pellet so should -in theory- penetrate less than standard. The difference is ultimatly smaller than if you'd switch to smaller shot.

For me the recoil tradeoff is too large for the added benefit. My shotgun will even fit the same number of both 3" and 2 3/4".

Try them and see what you think in terms of recoil. Penetration will be about the same. I would equate the difference similiar to the difference between a .38 Spl round and a .357Mag round being fired out of the same weapon. A little more kick and a little more boom. In terms of the trade off between more or less rounds, maybe look at a larger magazine tube. Just my .02 worth.

I'm no expert, but my understanding is that the only real benefit of magnum loads is a little extra distance for those long shots.

One of the THR mods (I think) posted here that 12ga Winchester Super-X 00 9 pellet buck (2-3/4") patterned better for him than the same load in Remington. I tested this and found this also to be true in my 28" bbl 870, testing at 15 yards and 40 yards, with both IC and mod chokes (mod was tighter at both distances... sounds logical, but I understand this is not always the case when choking 00 and possibly distorting the shot upon exit of the choke).

FWIW, and sorry for the slight thread-veer...
Les

I don't know how far you are expecting to shoot if need be, but 2 3/4 in. #4 shot will stop anything in HD ranges and ya don't have to worry about the kids in the other rooms in the house.
IMO 00 Buck or #4s at 20' your going to have a hole about 5 or 6 inches in a torso size target with a full choke. And both can remove limbs or render them completly useless.

#4 shot is not going to perform all that well on humans. #4 Buck is ok but not optimal. If it wont go through a sheetrock wall how the heck do you expect it to reliably stop a threat?

Not to argue with someone I don't know but 1/2 in sheetrock at 20' w/ #4 Lead shot ain't something I'd choose to hide behind.

If it's your opinion that a human can take a load of #4s at 20' or so and still remain a threat than I respect your opinion, but ya know what they say about opinions..

If I was to use shot instead of buck I would go with a #2 or bb Hevishot type of shot instead of lead.

The 3" 00 Buck is a little overkill for room distances

I keep mine fully stoked with 3" 00. I know from a pure tactical standpoint it is a bit much, but I rest better knowing I have all both I and my gun can handle on tap. I agree with Lee--you MUST practice with it in order to have any condifence in it. Be prepared. If you have never tried 3" magnums before, they easily feel TWICE as hard on your shoulder. They will also have more muzzle flip, so expect significant cheek pain as well. I cannot really handle touching off more than 8 to 10 in any practice session, and you WILL have a nice, recoil pad sized bruise for a week or so. I really hope any would-be BG goes down before I have to endure 6 of them. They do have really pretty muzzle flash, even on a fairly bright day, which also speaks to another negative in an HD round. Not good to be blind on your second shot.

maybe I will go back to 2.75" rounds.....

http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs10.htm
http://www.shadonet.com/?cat=35

2 3/4 00 buck...from brassfetcher.com

That might work.

My Walmart seemed to ALWAYS have one type of shotgun shells on the shelf. Remington 3" 00 buck 15 pellet load. The same three boxes sat there for months till I scooped them up to give'em a try.
My thoughts? I'd use'em for HD if a 9' tall Bigfoot was kickin' my door in.
But, I'm not gonna cripple myself using them on current production model human type vermin.

All pellets but one exited the 16" block in the above pic. Penetration above 18" is considered an overpenetration risk when shooting humans.

#1 Buck is the word to ya mutha. Ask for it.