VIDEO HERE (11:25 minutes)
Tuesday, March 12, 2024
Choke Tubes for Home Defense Shotguns
Most shotguns with 18-20" barrels have a plain ol' cylinder bore with no choke. Is that a problem? There is some debate about whether defensive style shotguns loaded with buckshot can even benefit from choke tubes. We fired some test patterns to find out. Like... a whole bunch of 'em. Four different buckshot loads, four different choke sizes at five-yard increments from 5-25 yards.
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Good video. What I got out of it is good copper plated quality buckshot patterned better across the board. But plain ole lead buckshot at 20 years or less seems to do the job just fine with occasional fliers. The patterns shown showed that fliers were the main increase in the spreads.
ReplyDeleteMind you I don't want a flier hitting my kids but it's not easy nor cheap to get enough quality buckshot to practice with. And Muscle Memory is what happens under stress, so practice is critical. Birdshot is useful for Muscle Memory along with wind sprints to simulate the stress of real shooting.
Also, my Grandkids know to go to Grandmom and the library when told something was wrong. That way they have some book lined walls, an exterior door with lock, a shotgun in there along with a cell phone. I then can clear the house without worrying about a friendly being that movement.
Home invasion what happens in the first 30 seconds will set the tone for the rest.
Ha Ha, that's the pet name my GF calls me!
ReplyDelete@Luis-SheGoesAggghhhhhh
I have a Winchester Defender 12 Ga w/ 18" barrel. Choke is NOT a concern. Surviving an incident I needed to use it, is
ReplyDeleteI'm no shotgun expert. But it seems there are some pretty large gaps in the patterns over 15 yds.
ReplyDeleteMaybe smaller shot, or duplex loads would produce better density.
45 feet. Big house. Big room. Shoot twice?
Deletehttps://youtu.be/dtJ7I-Jk3ZM?t=737
DeleteMy 870 Wingmaster had a shot out barrel. I put a birdshead grip, cut down the barrel to 18.5" and a tube extension with spring for extra capacity. It is cylinder bore. I have patterned it. I keep it in my bedroom. It is not my primary home defense weapon. It is the weapon to get me to my AR-10mm pistol.
ReplyDeletea old guy told me years ago to use #4 buck inside the house and 00 outside. of you are using a shotgun. I stuck with my old 1911 in 45. the one time I had to use it. it worked very well
ReplyDeletethe shooting may be bad. but the court nightmare afterwards is worse !
thank god I had ball ammo in it. something to think over before the lawyers start in on you in court. where the DA may have no problem with the shooting. the family can sue for wrongful death regardless of what his rap sheet has on it. so, shut up, get a damn good lawyer and listen to him ! and even with all of that , it going to cost you some big bucks and
nightmares. best bet is to get a good dog to keep the assholes away.
I have a Remington 870 Express 12 Gauge Turkey model, that has a 21" VR choke tube barrel. I installed a Turkey choke (Xtra Full) and the pattern shot with it appear to be considerably tighter than the more open choked Modified I have on a similar shotgun. At 7 yards, about 15" wide. Its for residential protection so I think that will work.
ReplyDeleteMy brother used a round of Federal FliteControl 12 Buckshot to kill a hog just over 30 yards away. Most of the pattern was evident on the hide near point of aim.
Good information.
ReplyDelete-lg
It sure is. It satisfied a few points I've been curious about for quite a while.
DeleteLucky Gunner is one of your more enjoyable shooting channels.
There are some good videos of Clint Smith from Thunder Ranch talking about shotguns. He does a demo showing typical buckshot spread. Average is about 1 inch per yard. Federal flightcontrol might be a tad tighter. It has 8 pellets and it seems 8 pellet loads don't typically have the fliers. Luvky gunner does some informative vids also.
ReplyDeleteI sent my Mossberg’s 20” barrel to Vang Comp for their standard treatment. They lengthened the forcing cone, backbored the barrel and comp ported it. This reduces felt recoil, eliminates muzzle flip and diminishes muzzle flash, and they guarantee a 10-12 inch pattern with 00 buckshot at 25 yards. I replaced the iron sights with a green circle dot holographic and shoot in local 3-gun matches. For defense, I load with Winchester Super-X 15-pellet 00 buck, which sends 900+ grains (2 ounces) of lead out the muzzle at 1210 fps. I keep six rifled slugs in the sidesaddle, should the need arise to punch through cover, such as a car door. I try to practice “slug-select” drills at least annually.
ReplyDeleteWhat I found interesting was the way the full choke kept the pattern tight till it got to 20 yds, then it spread like crazy. I was discussing this with a couple buddies this morning while shooting sporting clays.
ReplyDelete