Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Buckshot tests

I keep a 20g. double handy with #4 buck. I haven't patterned it, but you really wouldn't want to be within the length of any room in our house. 15 yds isn't an issue. 6 yds would be a long shot.

The Winchester 2-3/4" 16 pellet #1 buck load is what I use for deer hunting. I've tried just about every combination available and it tops them all in pattern density and penetration.

That said, the house gun is loaded with the Remington 8 pellet 00 low recoil loads. Patterns like the one Rancho posted are the norm, and follow up shots are quicker. I also have a source where I can get them in bulk, cheap.

Years ago testing revealed #1 buck held a better pattern than did 00 in many shotguns with full and modified chokes which eastern hunters used deer hunting.

My 3 in. Auto 5 with a 30 inch full choke barrel wouldn't shoot 2 2/3 or 3 in. Mag 00 worth a crap but did very well with 1 Buck with Winchester or Rem. shells with a shot cup

Here's the penetration tests.

[video:youtube]rhZf_x8Esms[/video]

17x11", not 15x11". I recognize the old pin-feed green-bar line-printer paper. It's 17" wide because that's the same as two 8.5x11" sheets of paper side by side.

Good on you for shooting holes in it. There must be tons of that stuff just being burned because nobody can figure out what to use it for; you're using it for targets, which is cool.

You could probably get some decent terminal-ballistics comparisons if you soaked boxes of it and then shot them. You'd make a (biodegradable) mess, though.

Unless you're expecting the police on a no-knock warrant - or the Sinaloa cartel - I wouldn't worry too much about ballistic vests during your home invasion.

Actually, if you are interested in putting a BG down and out of action, experience has shown shooting for the belt buckle/hips works best. It will take him off of his feet, and at least a few pellets should hit high enough to make him dead if he doesn't get fast, expert medical assitance.
I'll give you a couple of examples. One was a cop that took a 00 pellet in the side of the buttocks that had bounced off of the pavement. He was spun around and went down for the count.
The other was another cop that was hit in the side of the stomach with one 00 pellet at either 50 ft or 50 yds. He died before they could get him to a nearby hospital.
Don't underestimate the power of buckshot. E

...with #6's. For "home defense: it doesn't matter what you shoot them with from a shotgun and smaller shot won't go thru as many walls.

Never shot a block of ballistic gel. Never saw one either.

My lay testimony on shot of various sizes as relates to hogs.

#8 field load, 12 bore, 10 yards: One shot stop
#3 Buck, 20 bore, inside 30 yards: Dan 70+/- Hogs 0
#1 Buck, 16 bore, 30 yards: dead pig
00 Buck, 12 bore, 20 yards: dead pig

All in all I found it as reliable as a .30-30, .257 Roberts or a .22 CB Short.

Never saw a shotgun pattern large buck as well as small. Never met a pig that would stop any size buckshot on a broadside shot unless it hit heavy bone. People are a lot like pigs more often than not.

Ballistic vests? Never met anyone who went anywhere without their crotch, including Elvis. Living with a perforated crotch is a serious challenge.

Back to your regular programming....

Right in the chest and he won't be getting back up at that range.

I patterned some Hornady Critical Defense 12ga 2 3/4". It's 8 pellets in a "versatite" wad (I suspect it's a Fed Flite-Control renamed). velocity is 1600 fps.

I'm shooting a Rem 870 18.5" Cylinder bore

This stuff patterned'

10 yds - 3"
20 yds - 7"

I was impressed, as 1 inch per yard seems typical in my experience.


Didn't get a pic of the 20 yd target, but this was 10 yards,




A gratuitous pic of my shotgun, with new Magpul stock and forend.

Those are the type of patterns I got Shane..... Night and day difference to any other loads tried..... I am interested in the Magpul stock.... Does it accept lights/lasers?

NC just started allowing night hunting for coyotes..... Pretty sure they ate my cat last year...... I would like to do some field testing on them.....

One of our neighboring dept's just got new shotguns. After a day of goose hunting with me, their firearms guy asked to borrow one of my Patternmaster choke tubes. He called me up and said that at 25 yards with 00buck duty loads he was getting a pattern the size of a volleyball. Their new guns now all sport PM chokes

See my pic?

Nice in combo with factory mod 18.5" barrel and night sights.

Magpul offers these pic rails for their MOE stocks, and I believe they fit the shotgun forend as well. Looks like they attach through the vent slots.

http://www.midwayusa.com/product/23...uards-polymer-black?cm_vc=ProductFinding

I'm guessing these are what Rancho Loco is using.

Yeah.... Just checked.... They sell the forend and then a seperate lighting rail....I have one of the new Surefire Ultras that is just stupid bright..... The barrel I have has adjustable sights but I can't see the non illuminated front sight after dark.....

Seems like my options would be to either install a night sight or add a laser to a different rail.... Has anyone else worked out a good night hunting system on an 870?

I can attest to this first hand. 00 will stop a ramped up charging Pit Bull immediately. I've had to dispatch plenty of them on duty...NOTHING is more effective at close range. Period!

Barak, it's actually 14 7/8" but I rounded up. I bought a box of 5000 sheets of this stuff for $5.00 on closeout at Staples sometime in the late 90's and have been using it for my targets since then. The 1/2" color bars give a useable estimate of height for sighting scopes and knowing how many clicks of elevation to use.




MontanaMarine, your 870 is the shotgun I've decided on except I'm getting the regular 4 shot magazine version for various reasons and will add a mag extension. These models have a 1/4" shorter LOP than a standard 870 and after trying Express models, Wingmasters and these personal defense models that 1/4" makes a felt difference in mounting it. One of my big concerns with this, as with any shotgun, was that it fit me. For some lucky reason Remington has my body type dialed in. Their shotguns come up and point right where I'm looking which is among my top priorities in a defensive weapon.

Thanks to all for the additional info on performance and patterning. I had picked up some of the cheaper ammo ($5 to $6 a box) just to get an idea of what to expect. But when I load this for real I'll use the best copper plated, hardened shot I can find. Even if it costs $2.00 per round it would be well worth it if it came to actually use it.

I don't figure on taking out any animals with this and the longest shot in my house from bedroom hallway to front door is a measured 12.5 yards or just about 38 feet, so longer range patterns aren't really a concern.

We all love our handguns but arguments abound about effectiveness of this caliber over that or this bullet over that. But when you absolutely, positively have to put someone on their ass and stop them right now, I've never heard anyone knocking a shotgun for the job.

By RIO I assume you mean the Royal Buck? It worked just fine but then I only fired one round at a time. One round of one brand in the chamber and another brand in the magazine for those targets where I shot a side by side pattern.

I bought 5 round boxes for testing but I see where Estate, Royal Buck and maybe one or two others have 25 round boxes of 00 which work out to be a lot cheaper for 5 rounds than the small boxes. There's better performing ammo out there but again, this is a shotgun at close range. If Estate or Royal Buck was all I could get my hands on I sure wouldn't feel helpless.

Home defense #2-4 shot for me. It's all about the choke. Figure out what you want your pattern at what range and pattern accordingly.