12 gauge HD ammo?

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Mixing magazines is silly to me. You should know what you're getting every time you pull the trigger, and there's no way you'll remember what round is next during a high-stress incident like a shooting (most people can't even recall how many rounds they fired in those instances). I say choose one load that you like, and stick with it. For my HD shotgun I use either 00 Buck, or rifled slugs. One or the other. Both will work.

I'm not worried about over penetration since I live alone, and any shot from my bedroom towards an approaching attacker would have to go through the entire house, and out a brick wall before it could do any damage elsewhere. But, if you live in an apartment, I'd probably choose the buckshot over a slug.
 
non-lethal

Not non-lethal. The usual term is 'less lethal.' http://www.less-lethal.org/web/home.aspx

That's a VERY dangerous legal fallacy for the armed citizen. A shotgun is by definition a deadly weapon. Anything you load in it (including a blank) is potentially lethal. What you're essentially saying by using so-called less lethal loads in a shotgun is that you didn't really have enough legal justification for shooting someone in the first place, and you just wanted to shoot them a little bit.

There are a lot of prosecutors out there who would have a field day with such a shooting by a private citizen, untrained in the employment of less lethal munitions, with no sworn duty to confront a situation with less lethal munitions if possible and with no use of force policy to support their use. And I don't want to even talk about the potential legal jeopardy involved in using some kind of weird home-made ammunition ("Your honor, the defendant could not be satisfied with buying the usual kinds of ammunition but instead fabricated this cruel, unusual, dangerous and deadly projectile in his own home... .")

I'm no lawyer, but I understand that in every jurisdiction I'm familiar with, if you are legally justified in shooting, you are legally justified in killing. If you aren't justified in killing, you aren't justified in shooting at all.

Please don't go there with so called less lethal ammunition... and if you insist it's a good idea, I strongly suggest you consult a good criminal defense attorney in advance of need and see what they think of it. Or try reading http://www.mypolice.ca/research_and_publications/TheRisksAssociated_with_UtilizingLess.htm to get an idea of what can happen even to LEOs properly trained and legitimately employing less lethal munitions.

lpl
 
Don't have a shotgun but if I did I'd probably load No. 1 Buck.

Is that wax round a pure wax slug or a wax slug impregnated with birdshot? It might be the idea that the wax holds the shot together during flight until the round hits the target/wall/etc. and the wax/shot disperses (much like a frangible). If anyone has tried/seen something like that I'd be curious to know if the wax melted or if the round worked (though I'd still never use one for HD because as others have said it might not be the easiest thing to explain in court just why you made a home made "super lethal" round).
 
Reaver 1488, I try not to speak too strongly in here, but that's about the worst idea I have ever heard. Are you using deadly force or not? And do you REALLY know what that wax will do when you zap someone with it? I absolutely agree with those who say you need to know exactly what is coming out of that barrel with every shot.

I have started using #4 buck, because it's what I keep on hand for coyotes anyway. More wound channels.
 
My 12 ga isn't used too much for HD. It finds its duty use as a farm gun where feral dogs are running around. For that business I keep it loaded with either #4 or 00 buck, with slugs in the shell carrier that is kept on the stock in case I see some dogs that are a little further away.
 
Is that wax round a pure wax slug or a wax slug impregnated with birdshot? It might be the idea that the wax holds the shot together during flight until the round hits the target/wall/etc. and the wax/shot disperses (much like a frangible)
Click to expand...

It this would work I could see it as a pretty reasonable idea. Sounds almost like a Glaser safety slug?
 
5 rounds of Federal le132, with 3 more in the elastic cuff.
Keep life simple, le 132 will work fine from 0 to about 40 yards, depending on your barrel. My likely shots for HD are 0 to 6 yards so any 00 or 1 would probably work just fine, too.
 
Sitting right next to this chair would be 2 20 round drums of #7 birdshot, and 1 12 round drum of 9 pellet 00 buck.

And a 5 round stick mag of 12 pellet 00 buck for good measure.

How's that for a s12? :)
 
2 3/4" buck. I just bough a box of Hornady ammo labeled self defense. My reasons for this:
It's a name brand and any 12 gauge short of bird shot should be able to stop an attacker, I like to think.
 
Sitting right next to this chair would be 2 20 round drums of #7 birdshot, and 1 12 round drum of 9 pellet 00 buck.

And a 5 round stick mag of 12 pellet 00 buck for good measure.

How's that for a s12?
Click to expand...

Nice... I need to pick up some more mags at some point, maybe get a drum one day, but I like the sticks.

As an added bonus with those 20 rounds drums of birdshot, any Hitchcocks "The Birds" style home invasion incidents will be of no concern for you :evil: :D
 
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Hey, here is my take on the matter of HD ammunition.
As some of the others have said, mixing buckshot/slug seems like a not so good idea. In my opinion it’s a bad idea because I want to know what I’m shooting each time. So for me, I’d load my 590 with all 00 buck, and then in the side saddle put slugs. Inside the home, I feel that 00 buck would do the job just fine, but I think slugs in the side saddle are great in case you do end up needing extra range in a situation.
 
Slugs

wouldn't ever want to shoot a slug unless I was in an extremely rural area. The ideal round for home defense is the one:
1. that is most likely to stop a threat

and a very close second

2. That will not likely go on to hit an unintended target.

If my neighbors (suburban neighborhood) loaded slugs in their SD shotguns I wouldn't be at all happy. Kind of sends a "my safety is more important than yours" signal.
Just my .02

I'd stick with 00 buck and still be very aware of where I was shooting and what lay behind the target. (Bedrooms, other houses etc)

Most importantly have some game plan in mind should you ever have to encounter such an experience
 
870, chamber empty, + 2 mag.
First round slug the rest 00.
All 2 3/4".

In my rural situation over penetration is not much of a concern, the slug is up front to provide a bit of a surgical option.
 
whatever i have in the ammo cabinet.i dont really understand the "self defense round" for 12 guage. Regular buck shot or slugs wont have any issues taking out a threat. just my 2 cents.
 
The magazine tube is full of LE132 00 or its commercial cousin, H132 00. The low-recoil rounds patterened a lot better out of my 590 than everything else I tried.

The six round side saddle has three 00B (brass down), and three slugs (brass up).

if you are legally justified in shooting, you are legally justified in killing. If you aren't justified in killing, you aren't justified in shooting at all.
Click to expand...
That sums up how I feel about LL rounds.
 
00 Fed RR LE buck in the tube, downloaded x1. Win Ranger LE slugs and more of the Fed 00 on the sidesaddle, with the slugs head up to distinguish.

Birdshot is a great choice for defense...against birds.

Non-lethal does not exist - ask the Boston PD. Less lethal is going to get you into one of two locations: the losing side of criminal and/or civil legal proceedings or the morgue. By the time a private citizen picks up a gun, there had better be an explainable need to stop the attack with deadly force.
 
What is the secret of being able to shoot a shotgun loaded with Magnum Buckshot loads? I find this to be painful enough to interfere with competent shooting.

What is the technique for casually absorbing shotgun recoil?
 
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