Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Buckshot sizes for social work?

Well, the thing is that buckshot won't expand where your .45-70 bullet does. Back in the mid '90s I had occasion to put down over 70 hogs, a couple of yotes and a few other assorted critters with buckshot. Mostly used #3 buck in a 20 ga but also used other gauges and shot sizes. Smaller buck is a quicker killer than large is the distilled message. Thinking it occurs because the number of wounds are higher.

I seldom shot anything beyond 30 yards and think folks shooting out beyond 40-50 yards are sprayin' and prayin'. My comments about buck penetrating thru and thru was not BS, just reporting the facts. Note too that I qualified that by saying it wouldn't happen if bone was struck.

BTW, a load of #8 birdshot at 20' will kill a hog deader'n a stump right where it stands.

I gotta ask what ya'll think of using steel shot and how effective it would be against body armour?
Seeing what it does to waterfowl, i don't want to get hit with a load of t's!

The last actual shoot-out locally involving buckshot involved three police agencies using different shot sizes: One was #4, one was #0 and the other #00. This was a running gun battle for the most part on a freeway. Care had to be taken because hostages were involved. Spike strips were used and the tires were flattened also by gunfire. The subject after taking loads of #4 and #0 was finally stopped by the officer replacing #00 with a slug. First shot with the slug at close range in the subject's head ended the confrontation and the subjects life. Subject was high on meth.

I have never shot the first load of steel shot. My opinion os steel shot v body armor is you're looking at a non-starter. It takes different properties to punch thru armor as compared to flesh.

On the other hand, unprotected heads, legs, arms and crotches remain vulnerable when wearing body armor so far as I know.

To touch again on the relative penetration of shot versus bullets in game animals, I've seen a similar result with use of CB shorts as compared to HVHP shorts an SV LR bullets. Expansion reduces penetration irrespective of impact energy, mass or energy. CB shorts will penetrate far deeper than HVHP ammo, or even SV LR. The CBs retain whatever SD they start with while the higher velocity bullet expand greatly...and stop. I think the analogy works with buck and conicals for the same reason.

Inside the typical room I would think the concussion from a 12 gauge would be enough to disable both the shooter and the shootee!

Jim

Right, that's why they invented ghost-ring shotgun sights, Remington low-recoil slugs, side-saddles, and select-slug drills. You give me an 870 so equipped and about 2 seconds and you'll be [bleep].

Steel shot will not penetrate a vest any further than lead in the 'testing' that I've done.
I was disappointed with the level of penetration from a 12 Ga shotgun at anything past 10 feet.
A slug, while not penetrating a vest at all, will leave it's mark!

Well, just so happens that I load and use both those sizes for most of my social work.

Here's my question back to the OP....why not use both?

I've used OO Buck on critters and I shoot #4 Buck for song dogs and any other varmint I'm after. Both have merits and will work fine.

My current loading in the Benelli M2 is 3 rounds of #4 buck, followed by 2 rounds of nickle plated 00 buck. I leave the chamber open with a round of 3" lead BB ready to stuff in it. This way I'm ready to kill a raiding Raccoon, or Coyote in the back yard (I live way in the country) or am set to deal with a two legged varmint as well.....

Good luck

IMHO, the Winchester slug and 3-00 buck load is ideal. They are in all of my home guns. This load covers all the ranges I may need.

80 yard buckshot patterns would be, for the most part, too revealing.

Fixed to fit the OP's question. Figure it cuts the # of guys with first hand knowledge down a bit.

Well, I never killed people with buck but have used it on monkeys, do that help?

00 to deer head at 30ft was so devastating.

NRA Magazine article from test results about 30 years ago suggested that #4 shot offered the best penetration/knock down inside a building with less chance of going thru walls & injuring the innocent.

It would seem if someone is shooting at me that I'd prefer something that could shoot through walls. I figure people are quicker to shoot from behind a wall then say a broom.

I'm also curious, what percentage of bad guys make ammo choices based on what is less likely to penetrate a wall?

Point one: I have had the occasion to see several dead people did in by scatterguns. The worst damage I saw was by a charge of 7 1/2's. Can you say "bloody rathole"??? Point two: to answer Steelie, the bg's don't worry about anybody else's life and have no interest in liability. Standard issue citizen,one each does tend to care about such matters.

The wall penetration issue is a valid one if the possibility of family members on the other side. That not withstading, I prefer #1 shot over 00. #1 equates to 30 cal and there are lots more of them than 00 in your standard 2 3/4" shell.

I already answered that and they don't want to hear it. 00 will work in instances that #4 won't. I've never witnessed any advantage in smaller shoot, other than the fact it is less lethal, which may be desired.

I'll stick with 00 (1's would be fine also and I have some). I'd rather a load of 00 at 20 yards than 7 1/2's