Buckshot can be an excellent choice for a home defense shotgun, but not all buckshot is created equal. Here are a few tips on how to choose the right buckshot for personal protection inside your home.
We originally posted this way back in 2015. YouTube recently removed it, so we're reposting it, now in glorious 4K.
I keep #7 birdshot loaded.
ReplyDeleteInside the house ranges I use #6 lead birdshot. I used to not have to say lead but new shotshells can be other metals. On the side saddle of my shotgun I have mixed foster slugs and 00 Buck.
ReplyDeleteIf Turkey Shot wasn't so expensive I'd use that. Vicious stuff on troublesome large dogs near the chickens.
Always assume body armor and aim for the groin. Even drugged up folks cannot stand if you rip their pelvis and groin to bits. If it's good enough for the Sherriff in my area I guess I have to call it true.
Fuck the groin. Go for the eyes.
DeleteI used to keep #4 buckshot in the shotgun back when I lived in Philly. better close range work and didn't go thru walls as much as 00 did. out here in the woods, I tend to keep 00 buck and slugs in it. not that I have much to worry about up here. maybe a bear. although I never saw one close by. they tell me there are a couple around here. dave in pa.
ReplyDeleteI keep a Mossberg 500 as a backup for my handgun for home protection, first 3 are 00 buckshot the rest are slugs...
ReplyDeleteHaven't had to use it, hopefully never will
JD
The ultimate buckshot home defense is the M-18A1 Claymore mine, but they're very hard to come by.
ReplyDeleteI keep birdshot loads in my Mossberg alley clearer. At close quarters, as in inside my house, birdshot will punch a hole in an unwanted guest about the size of a Big Mac, but its energy will be eaten up further downrange and as it goes through the nearest wall. I want to kill the BAD GUY; not one of the people I'm trying to protect!
ReplyDelete100% right!
DeleteWatching this video should be required for all the keyboard warriors that believe they need an AR-15 with several extra magazines, a side arm, a backup side arm, a tactical knife, tactical gloves, body armor, tactical goggles, tactical pants, tactical underwear (it does exist) to "protect" themselves.
ReplyDeleteYou only need a shotgun and a few buckshot shells. 99.9999999999% of intruders will leave at the sound of buckshot the other 0.000000001% will experience it and regret it.
If you want to get all the other hardware, be my guest. But be realistic, you do it because you want, because you like the toys, etc. It is not needed or useful for self defense.
Speak for yourself. I've got a pistol on my hip, a 12 gauge 3 feet away from my chair, a 357 on top of the refrigerator next to the back door and an AR in the bedroom.
DeleteI also live in the country on 3 acres. A fucking shotgun isn't going to do me one bit of good if I'm being shot at from a hundred or more yards away. Also, seeing as I rarely see a sheriff's cruiser this far from town, I want enough ammo in magazines to last until they get here.
Well we all have our own opinion and needs when it comes to defending ourselves, our loved ones and our home...
DeleteSpeaking only for myself I'm a huge believer in having and not needing than needing and not having so I would never limit my options to only 1 type or number of firearms...
Variety is the spice of life and I love my shit spicy..
JD
Agreed. I'm not saying a shotgun doesn't have a place, but for sure it's not a catch-all. If you live in town or have neighbors in close proximity and over-penetration may be an issue, then a shotgun is a great choice, in fact probably your best one. Each person has to do an honest evaluation of their own situation, then gear up accordingly.
DeleteWirecutter you should stop watching action movies. Black Hawk Down happened in Somalia not in a farm.
DeleteDon't know you, don't know your line of business but most people don't need to worry about being shot at from hundreds of yards away. Most people are concerned with the potential home invasion, the occasional thief that might step too far into their property.
I'm not too afraid that MS-13 or Hezbollah will set up a position hundreds of yards away and start shooting at me.
You have all the extra hardware because you like it. I do too. You will never have someone setup a position hundreds of feet away and open fire on your house...
DeleteWe live in America not Afghanistan. You are a farmer at best, not "The Punisher".
Own every gun you want but be realistic about the reason you want to own them.
I own 2 AR, 1 pistol, 1 shotgun and 1 revolver.
What can I say, you know everything. Except for preparedness - that you are painfully ignorant of.
DeleteI'm gonna guess you only have 1 box of ammo for each of your firearms.
BTW, I don't watch TV or movies.
WC, I would be ashamed to let anyone know that was ALL the weapons I owned. And I bet you're correct on the ammo supply to feed them.
DeleteI was going to leave that one alone.
DeleteAnon, you might've been able to get away with "not needed" for self defense. It was still bullshit, but less egregiously so. But adding "not useful"? You firmly established your identity as an underprepared, ignorant fudd, there. I hope you also don't wear a seatbelt, because the airbag should be sufficient, and don't take a reserve parachute (or maybe even any parachute) skydiving because statistics indicate very few people die from falling out of planes, and even fewer people who have a parachute.
DeleteStop telling people why they own more than the number of firearms *you* consider necessary. It was assholes like you who supported and created the Gun Control Act and the National Firearms Act. Get bent.
-WR
My money says the two magazines he has for his 2 ARs are 10 rounders.
DeleteRecently tried some Hornady critical defense loads in a Judge. Target was a tool box lid. Massive dent, no penetration. 45 LC went through like butter.
ReplyDeleteTranslation, the loads won't be apt to over penetrate and upset the neighbors.
The bad guy will have three extra holes to breathe through.
1100 Rem, with 22" barrel and matching mag extension, with tested, low recoil 00 buck. The 5'4" wifey can handle it, not so much a Mossy 500, the Rem. tames the 00 buck that much.
ReplyDeleteOutside the house, my 7.62x39 AR is good for as far as my trees allow, 'bout a hunert n fitty yards. My pack of free range dogs, assures no one approaches the homestead to begin with.
Only one neighbor, he loves my dogs and they love him.
I run 3" magnum 000. Fragmenting slugs designed for boar in the side saddle. Something beside every entry door but stashed and foaming 30' wasp spray by the garage door
ReplyDeleteDon't want my guns rusting out there
The wasp.spray is useless, and illegal. Bear spray is a much better choice.
DeleteTom762
I don't know where your live but wasp spray isn't illegal around here, in fact most everyone has it somewhere... If iIt's in the garage for wasps, not my fault some idiot confronts me in my garage and it's handy..
DeleteAs to being useless, well when the idiot finishes rubbing his eyes he'll see my pistola in my hand
JD
If you can have a can of wasp spray there, you can also have a can of mace there. And the mace won't provide an excellent justification for a lawsuit from the guy you sprayed, in the event he survives. Lawdog has spoken on this subject exhaustively, and he's far from alone. Misusing a chemical, even in self defense, opens you up to a lawsuit. And people have lost those suits before.
Delete-WR
3" #4 or go home.
ReplyDeleteI use a couple of Remington Express #5 lead left over from Wood duck hunting before steel. Good out to 40yrds on ducks in the swamp should be devastating at 40ft in the house. Then comes the buckshot.
ReplyDeleteBC, I stagger mine, OO Buck shot, Slug, OO Buck Shot, Slug, etc. yes, I have the plug pulled
DeleteI keep #4 buckshot in my 870 Wingmaster.
ReplyDeleteA word to the wise…..
ReplyDeleteFor the near future……if able……
Constitution or conceal carry a hand-gun…..
and put a long-gun in the trunk…..
with some spare mags.
BTW…..check on the laws about the long-gun……
in the trunk……reportedly a loaded long-gun is……
illegal in some states.
Ed357
If you're a turkey hunter, that will work (#4 or #5 shot). Turkey ammo is always on sale somewhere.
ReplyDeleteI use a S&B 00 buckshot that has a low recoil 65mm length shell (Slightly over 2.5"). With my extended tube I can have 8 shells in the tube. This is on an 870 Wingmaster, birdshead grip, and 18.5 inch smooth bore barrel. At 15 feet it has a 9 inch spread and at 25 feet it has a 16 inch spread. This is the bedroom gun that fits between the box spring and bedrail. I will use it to get to my AR 9MM pistol, it is basically a short barrel rifle but falls within the pistol definition. I am good with it to 50 feet past the road that turns into my driveway. It has a .8 MOA with me behind the trigger.
ReplyDeleteMy store gun was a 12pump with 00. Still have it 40 years later just keep a little tape over the barrel to keep out bugs
ReplyDelete#4 shot for me.
ReplyDelete