good defence load for a remington 870
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Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
When in doubt, use 00. Find a decent patterning load and buy lots of it.
HTH....
HTH....
dfariswheel
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- 6,653
NOTHING works as well as standard loads of buckshot.
The best loads are #00, #1, and #4.
Which to use is more or less a personal choice of what you like.
Many police and civilian shooters are now using the new reduced recoil shells that are quite effective, but reduce the amount of recoil, allowing faster shooting.
In addition, these new shells typically produce tighter patterns.
The best loads are #00, #1, and #4.
Which to use is more or less a personal choice of what you like.
Many police and civilian shooters are now using the new reduced recoil shells that are quite effective, but reduce the amount of recoil, allowing faster shooting.
In addition, these new shells typically produce tighter patterns.
TOADMAN
Member
What Dave said!!Dave McCracken said:
Dave McCracken
Moderator In Memoriam
Right. Slugs are not the answer when the question is" What do I shoot perps with when surrounded by non perps behind thin walls"?....
In your shoes, try a variety of buck loads and see what patterns tightest in your shotgun. Buy lots of that....
In your shoes, try a variety of buck loads and see what patterns tightest in your shotgun. Buy lots of that....
AStone
Member
#1 buck v. 00
With much respect for Dave McC, from whom - with a lot of help from Lee Lapin, Powderman and others here, I've learned much about shotguns, and with the caveat that - due to a glacially slow LA legal system, who still controls the $ that I will use to buy my 870P (user name sake), I still don't actually own a shotgun - I'll humbly submit this, but am willing to be corrected as for why I'm wrong.
I'm planning to load said 870 with #1 buck based on this page (& several others that seem to corroborate it).
Nem
With much respect for Dave McC, from whom - with a lot of help from Lee Lapin, Powderman and others here, I've learned much about shotguns, and with the caveat that - due to a glacially slow LA legal system, who still controls the $ that I will use to buy my 870P (user name sake), I still don't actually own a shotgun - I'll humbly submit this, but am willing to be corrected as for why I'm wrong.
I'm planning to load said 870 with #1 buck based on this page (& several others that seem to corroborate it).
Nem
Fred Fuller
Moderator Emeritus
If anyone loaded a reduced recoil load of #1 buck, I'd use it at home. Or better yet, if they would make #1 sized pellets in HeviShot- now that in my own personal theory would be the bee's knees. Getting 16 pellets of HeviShot buckshot in a 2 3/4" shell, each of which weighed about as much as a lead 00 pellet- could serious buckshot get any better than that? If anyone here has the ear of the shotgun gods, please whisper this along...
Lacking such a wondrous development though, I will stick to reduced recoil 00 buck and Brenneke KO slugs, and suggest the same or similar to all comers for repelling boarders at home.
lpl/nc
Lacking such a wondrous development though, I will stick to reduced recoil 00 buck and Brenneke KO slugs, and suggest the same or similar to all comers for repelling boarders at home.
lpl/nc
mwelch8404
Member
sm
member
Personally I run Fed 1oz slugs.
I prefer slugs in any platform, slugs work from "right here" to "out yonder a bit" - slugs don't seem to scatter at distances either...
The reality is - each person has different needs and each gun has its druthers for tasks and expected ranges. You have to visit Mr. Pattern Board.
Disclaimer - THR ,Staff, Mods -and whatever else I'm supposed to type -to say they don't advocate or take respsonsiblity for the following.
Once upon a time[tm] We did not have screw in chokes, we were not required to use non-toxic shot for waterfowl. Most folks had one shotgun, and they used for everything - quail to deer. If you bought a 26" bbl , it was either fixed choked skeet or IC, a 28 " was Mod, and 30" was full.
We didn't have all the loadings we see today, one simply patterned the gun to find what load did what at what range. One could buy individual shells out of the coffee can or waxed milk carton.
Chilled shot (soft shot) had less antimony, so it opened up. Hard shot ( more antimony) deformed less. If the loading had 'buffer' that too protected the shot from deformation and tighter/ better patterns.
So we "stacked" the loads, meaning we chambered the chilled shot load, and if we missed the quail, the next shell had hard shot for tighter patterns at that distance.
Some of us still stack loads, even using hard shot only...payload , dr wt equiv, shot sizes...etc.
Then folks starting reloading.
See the waterfowl loads had bigger shot , T,BB, and 2 -also had grex buffering in the Winchester loads.
What has this got to do with Defense you are wondering?
WE made our own "defense" loads to fit our guns, for tasks.
Now a 1 1/2 oz load of Super X Magnun # 2 copper plated shot -will get your attention as a shooter if your gun does not fit, or you don't use proper form.
Now...take them copper plated #2s out, and the grex buffering , reload using 452AA powder to match a 2 3/4 dr equiv 1 1/8 load, and you had one helluva low recoil defensive loading.
We didn't know about low recoil, sheesh, another missed opportunity by me it seems...
We did this for 20 ga, 28 ga and .410 as well. We might be defending the henhouse, the garbage cans, or the office, one room we rented from a boarding house, to farmhouses. We never knew the size of the critter, we KNEW the pattern and ranges of loads. WE also tested on game, and shot dirt for penetration.
I made loads using T, and BB for 28 ga that shot so soft on the shoulder, but felled ducks, geese, and even big raccoons at distances.
In 20 ga, well I was not a long distance waterfowler, but in backing folks up have felled ducks at tree top level with these reloaded, bigger shot sizes and grex buffered loads.
2 3/4" shells btw. Never owned a gun with chamber any bigger that 2 3/4" except for .410, until a few yrs ago and have yet to fire a 3" shell thru it.
Folks back then didn't have a lot of choices, no internet, and money was tight. A reloader allowed one to shoot quality loads for his gun and tasks - loads he could not buy locally - maybe not even offered commercially.
Couple of folks get a 5 # bag of shot of different flavors - share, tweak loads and knew what to buy for future uses.
I stole a lot of pellets, slugs and buffer out of factory shells to learn and make loads. When I came accross Fiochhi nickel plated shot, or Win Copper plated shot in various sizes...and grex buffer, I was in high cotton. I had some sources and they knew I was looking for stuff for trial and testing.
As I shared with someone this morning - I used a lot of Malto-Meal, Grits, and flour to use as buffering too.
We learned to shoot correctly. We learned to handle long bbls, we took steps to protect the home in all sorts of ways. The firearm was just another tool in the toolbox.
I went to slugs and prefer for a reason for ME.
Not that I did not have some nickel plated Fiocchi's in 00 buck, or offerings from Fed or Win.
I also had some homebrews, in all 4 gauges. I know what a homebrew in 28 ga will do, quite a few others do as well, this is what I made up for a specific purpose, and yes it works.
My contention has always been to be able to secure a load locally if need - that has already been tested and patterened. One might finds themselves in a situation where being able to buy 'right now' is important. I also want to know what my second and third choices are if caught in a situation and I'm standing in small town gas station and have to make a choice.
There is something to 2 3/4 and 3 dr eq loadings with different payloads and wads. Folks that came up with Target loads knew/ know something - and amazing what tweaking the payload will do.
The old Pigeon load - is another one to learn from.
Steve
I prefer slugs in any platform, slugs work from "right here" to "out yonder a bit" - slugs don't seem to scatter at distances either...
The reality is - each person has different needs and each gun has its druthers for tasks and expected ranges. You have to visit Mr. Pattern Board.
Disclaimer - THR ,Staff, Mods -and whatever else I'm supposed to type -to say they don't advocate or take respsonsiblity for the following.
Once upon a time[tm] We did not have screw in chokes, we were not required to use non-toxic shot for waterfowl. Most folks had one shotgun, and they used for everything - quail to deer. If you bought a 26" bbl , it was either fixed choked skeet or IC, a 28 " was Mod, and 30" was full.
We didn't have all the loadings we see today, one simply patterned the gun to find what load did what at what range. One could buy individual shells out of the coffee can or waxed milk carton.
Chilled shot (soft shot) had less antimony, so it opened up. Hard shot ( more antimony) deformed less. If the loading had 'buffer' that too protected the shot from deformation and tighter/ better patterns.
So we "stacked" the loads, meaning we chambered the chilled shot load, and if we missed the quail, the next shell had hard shot for tighter patterns at that distance.
Some of us still stack loads, even using hard shot only...payload , dr wt equiv, shot sizes...etc.
Then folks starting reloading.
See the waterfowl loads had bigger shot , T,BB, and 2 -also had grex buffering in the Winchester loads.
What has this got to do with Defense you are wondering?
WE made our own "defense" loads to fit our guns, for tasks.
Now a 1 1/2 oz load of Super X Magnun # 2 copper plated shot -will get your attention as a shooter if your gun does not fit, or you don't use proper form.
Now...take them copper plated #2s out, and the grex buffering , reload using 452AA powder to match a 2 3/4 dr equiv 1 1/8 load, and you had one helluva low recoil defensive loading.
We didn't know about low recoil, sheesh, another missed opportunity by me it seems...
We did this for 20 ga, 28 ga and .410 as well. We might be defending the henhouse, the garbage cans, or the office, one room we rented from a boarding house, to farmhouses. We never knew the size of the critter, we KNEW the pattern and ranges of loads. WE also tested on game, and shot dirt for penetration.
I made loads using T, and BB for 28 ga that shot so soft on the shoulder, but felled ducks, geese, and even big raccoons at distances.
In 20 ga, well I was not a long distance waterfowler, but in backing folks up have felled ducks at tree top level with these reloaded, bigger shot sizes and grex buffered loads.
2 3/4" shells btw. Never owned a gun with chamber any bigger that 2 3/4" except for .410, until a few yrs ago and have yet to fire a 3" shell thru it.
Folks back then didn't have a lot of choices, no internet, and money was tight. A reloader allowed one to shoot quality loads for his gun and tasks - loads he could not buy locally - maybe not even offered commercially.
Couple of folks get a 5 # bag of shot of different flavors - share, tweak loads and knew what to buy for future uses.
I stole a lot of pellets, slugs and buffer out of factory shells to learn and make loads. When I came accross Fiochhi nickel plated shot, or Win Copper plated shot in various sizes...and grex buffer, I was in high cotton. I had some sources and they knew I was looking for stuff for trial and testing.
As I shared with someone this morning - I used a lot of Malto-Meal, Grits, and flour to use as buffering too.
We learned to shoot correctly. We learned to handle long bbls, we took steps to protect the home in all sorts of ways. The firearm was just another tool in the toolbox.
I went to slugs and prefer for a reason for ME.
Not that I did not have some nickel plated Fiocchi's in 00 buck, or offerings from Fed or Win.
I also had some homebrews, in all 4 gauges. I know what a homebrew in 28 ga will do, quite a few others do as well, this is what I made up for a specific purpose, and yes it works.
My contention has always been to be able to secure a load locally if need - that has already been tested and patterened. One might finds themselves in a situation where being able to buy 'right now' is important. I also want to know what my second and third choices are if caught in a situation and I'm standing in small town gas station and have to make a choice.
There is something to 2 3/4 and 3 dr eq loadings with different payloads and wads. Folks that came up with Target loads knew/ know something - and amazing what tweaking the payload will do.
The old Pigeon load - is another one to learn from.
Steve
Oregon_Rob
Member
- Joined
- Nov 3, 2005
- Messages
- 4
I know you didn’t ask about which gun, but may I recommend that if you haven’t already looked at the Winchester 1300, do so before you buy the 870. I have owned both and the 1300 fits me just a little better and I therefore shoot better with it. They are about the same money and both are very reliable. You may still like the 870 better, I just prefer the 1300.
sm
member
Whichever one my gun shot the best groups with.
Critter gettin' - is Critter gettin' -me.
Mine likes the Federal 1oz rifled slugs, or Foster as some refer to them.
Next up is the Win Equiv.
Being as I like simple, these have taken skunks, raccoon, groundhogs, blackbirds, orange clays, wabbit, , squirrel, greenhead, rabid dogs, deer... Chevy Doors, Ford Windshields, Toyota tailgates, 55 gal drums, there was that stump that needed killin'....
Ya know - Critter gettin'
Well...the feller said shoot one gun and know it - he didn't say ya couldn't find a load you liked , worked and one could not stay with that load now did he?
I can have more fun with a slew of slugs and a new bbl to figure out. I'm like a kid in a candy store. I am also the only idiot that probably put near 100 .410 slugs thru a single shot .410 in a day. Somebody has to bust rocks, shoot tennis balls, and lob slugs at paint cans in a safe field. Now if I could only get paid to do this stuff.
"Boy about half crazy"
"Whadda mean 'about'"
"and only 'half'?
VG
Member
I have an 870P with 20" Ic barrel.
Both Federal Tactical 00 and Speer Lawman #4 patterned well.
Both Federal Tactical 00 and Speer Lawman #4 patterned well.
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