Which particular ammunition?

[CrossedRifles]

New to shotguns and just got a M4. 2 3/4" or 3"?

For range use and home defense. Preferably the most devastating.

Cost isn't a problem since I won't be shooting thousands of rounds.

[Richard Erichsen]

New to shotguns and just got a M4. 2 3/4" or 3"?

For range use and home defense. Preferably the most devastating.

Cost isn't a problem since I won't be shooting thousands of rounds.

2 3/4" is about the only length you should even consider for almost any application save for upland bird hunting. 3" only came about because of the change from lead to steel shot as a consequence of regulations to ban lead shot for hunting aquatic birds that dive for their food. You need more steel to do the same job as lead shot and there is a whole heated if utterly fruitless debate about whether solid lead shot really poisoned a single aquatic bird given the lack of solubility of the common lead oxides formed in the presence of water. Different topic for a different day...

For the 2 3/4" shells, "short magnums" and other high velocity shells are not appropriate for HD or tactical use due to the recoil, flash and blast. A reduced recoil 2 3/4" #1 or #4 buckshot Federal LE shell, or any relatively mild 2 3/4" shotgun shell is going to be devastating at short ranges (under 25 yards). Slugs and hotter loads are for use in the field, particularly for hunting, but are not good choices for HD/tactical use.

If you cannot find #1 or #4 buckshot locally (I usually find it online myself), 00 buckshot is the next best thing. Even 8 pellet reduced loads are very effective considering the ranges of a typical HD encounter are 3-7 yards and only two or three shots are fired, statistically.

Federal shotgun shells with the flight control wad designed for LEOs and HD use are among the very best you can buy:

LE132-1B #1 buckshot (15 pellets) - probably the best all-around HD shell
LE132-4B #4 buckshot (27 pellets) - a close second, but with more shot density and less penetration through drywall construction
LE133 00 - 00 buckshot (8 pellet) - third choice, reduce recoil
LE132 00 - 00 buckshot (9 pellet) - forth choice, one extra pellet, higher recoil

For hunting, you'll want a longer tube and a choke. The shells you choose will depend on what you are hunting or the kind of clay sport shooting you might want to engage in (skeet, trap, sporting clays, etc.). The gun setup for HD use will often need to be drastically reconfigured for these other roles.

Good luck.

[mrkam]

However, IIRC, sometimes the M4 won't like certain reduced recoil rounds, so you might have to keep that in mind.

[Richard Erichsen]

However, IIRC, sometimes the M4 won't like certain reduced recoil rounds, so you might have to keep that in mind.

With any shotgun, you have to keep trying loads, see how they pattern, how well they cycle and find what your shotgun "likes." Federal seems to work in almost everything, but as they say, YMMV.

R

[BigDogatPlay]

Agree with the above that 2.75 inch shells are all that are needed. The extra payload, flash and boom you get with a 3 inch shell come up a negative for me when I do a risk / reward analysis.

Also as noted... the M4, like the 11-87P, is known to sometimes not like reduced recoil rounds. It has a very good self adjusting gas system and will run a variety of loads but low velocity birdshot loads may not cycle on the range. If you use loads, bird or buck, that are >3 dram equivalent you should get good results. Just try a bunch of different loads for both function and pattern. When you find what works best in your gun, stick with it.

Bear in mind also that as a gas operated gun, you get something of a break on recoil as the operating system soaks some up.

[prc77]

you should shoot 1000's of rounds. It is important that you learn how to run a weapon that someday,you may use to save your life.