12 gauge ammo question

[ajl2121]

Hey all,

I've been doing some research on my shotgun HD/SHTF usage. I have a mossberg 500 7+1, standard stock, and heatshield. I had the ATI folding top-stock, but replaced the original stock recently. Turner's sold me a bunch of birdshots for HD, and recently I have decided to purchase something more powerful...

Most calgunners seem to recommend 00 bucks for HD and SHTF. I am looking to buy a large amount of 12 gauge ammunition, and would PREFER to be able to buy just one type of ammo. Would 00 buck work for most HD/SHTF/Zombie attacks??? I am not concerned about overpenetrations and walls. Are slugs something I should consider, or is 00 buck the bonafide 12 gauge ammo of choice for HD/police/military/etcetera?

In that case...What exact brand and type of 12 gauge shells should I invest in? I am looking to buy around 250 rounds...10 boxes of 25 shells. What is your rationale for your recommendation???

I am looking for these qualities,

a minimal amount of recoil
quality
reliability
cost/value
attainability at most stores...(i.e. walmart, big 5, turners.)

Thanks everyone...I was hoping that instead of people just listing what ammo they currently use and whether they like it or not, we could start a thread that really explores the choices of ammo we have...This could be useful to newbies (like myself) or people interested in trying new brands of ammo. Please mention relative costs. Thanks again!

[aplinker]

To be honest, this has been hashed before.

Low recoil isn't going to be something to expect from a slug.

I have a variety of stuff for my shotguns, from bird shot #8 to 000 buck and slugs. You will want the same. The reason shotguns are great is their flexibility of ammo. Why limit to 1 or 2 types?

For in-home I keep #4 buck loaded up. I have #4, 0, 00 and 000 & sluges for defensive purposes &, well, if need arises hunting larger game. The bird shot is for hunting small game, and for practice.

Slugs, buck and birdshot you can get from WalMart.

Hey all,

I've been doing some research on my shotgun HD/SHTF usage. I have a mossberg 500 7+1, standard stock, and heatshield. I had the ATI folding top-stock, but replaced the original stock recently. Turner's sold me a bunch of birdshots for HD, and recently I have decided to purchase something more powerful...

Most calgunners seem to recommend 00 bucks for HD and SHTF. I am looking to buy a large amount of 12 gauge ammunition, and would PREFER to be able to buy just one type of ammo. Would 00 buck work for most HD/SHTF/Zombie attacks??? I am not concerned about overpenetrations and walls. Are slugs something I should consider, or is 00 buck the bonafide 12 gauge ammo of choice for HD/police/military/etcetera?

In that case...What exact brand and type of 12 gauge shells should I invest in? I am looking to buy around 250 rounds...10 boxes of 25 shells. What is your rationale for your recommendation???

I am looking for these qualities,

a minimal amount of recoil
quality
reliability
cost/value
attainability at most stores...(i.e. walmart, big 5, turners.)

Thanks everyone...I was hoping that instead of people just listing what ammo they currently use and whether they like it or not, we could start a thread that really explores the choices of ammo we have...This could be useful to newbies (like myself) or people interested in trying new brands of ammo. Please mention relative costs. Thanks again!

[adamsreeftank]

Federal tactical low recoil 00 Buck with the Flight Control Wad. It might be a bit harder to find (try Ammoman.com), but it is incredible. At close range it is almost lika a slug. At 25 yards it will still hold a pretty tight group.

[Mr. Mildot]

To be honest, this has been hashed before.

Low recoil isn't going to be something to expect from a slug.

I have a variety of stuff for my shotguns, from bird shot #8 to 000 buck and slugs. You will want the same. The reason shotguns are great is their flexibility of ammo. Why limit to 1 or 2 types?

For in-home I keep #4 buck loaded up. I have #4, 0, 00 and 000 & sluges for defensive purposes &, well, if need arises hunting larger game. The bird shot is for hunting small game, and for practice.

Slugs, buck and birdshot you can get from WalMart.

+1 on all of the above.

[Bassxhead]

Does birdshot shoot the same (recoil) as 00 buck for practice?

[ajl2121]

I've never shot bucks...only shot birdshots, but from what I have researched...Yes, 00's have more recoild than birdshots. Slugs have more recoil than buckshots.

[ar15barrels]

Does birdshot shoot the same (recoil) as 00 buck for practice?

recoil is a function of the weight of the shot/slug and the velocity.
If you are shooting less weight or at lower speeds, recoil is less.
Plain and simple.

Reduced recoil loads usually have less shot or lighter slugs, or they go slower.
Recoil almost directly correlates to performance when you eliminate gun variables.
Of course some guns recoil more than others, but this trend will also be seen with all different power ranges of shells.

[Mr. Mildot]

Does birdshot shoot the same (recoil) as 00 buck for practice?

If you want to practice, get some snap caps and practice in front of a mirror, it's a lot cheaper and will condition you to good habits if you practice good habits.

[Black_Talon]

If you want to practice, get some snap caps and practice in front of a mirror

Practice doing what, in front of a mirror?

[AKman]

I don't think recoil should be your issue, but instead the effective range you need from your SHTF rig. Up close, it won't matter what you are using. It will be very effective. However, larger shot and slugs have a greater effective range than bird shot.

If Dick Cheney had shot his buddy with 00 or a slug, the guy would be dead. Instead, he splattered him with a small bird shot.

I can't remember what the local LEOs use in their shotguns, but I do recall that they use a combination of 00 buck and slug to address different situations. Someone here that knows something about tactical shotgun use might know better, but I think their first couple of rounds are 00 buck and the rest slugs. I think their logic was that they would never need more than a shot or two with 00 buck, while a situation that requires a slug could require more shots.

They also wanted to avoid having to reload their shotgun for each unique situation. This stems from an incident where an experienced officer was changing his load at the last minute and shot the back of his cruiser.

[Mr. Mildot]

Practice doing what, in front of a mirror?

Taking an appropriate shooting position, learning to manipulate the controls correctly, working the pump w/o shortstroking it, just to name a few.

[jdberger]

Rasins.

Open the shell, dump out the shot and fill it with rasins.

Peanut butter works, too.

[ar15barrels]

Rasins.

Open the shell, dump out the shot and fill it with rasins.

Peanut butter works, too.

Raisins probably make less of a mess of the barrel than peanut butter.