Shotgun Ammunition. School me on how many and what kind.

ratski · May 6, 2011

At first I thought I might put this in the Ammo forum, but figured this wasn't so much a discussion about loading and shooting as to levels of stocking and acquisition.

I dont do a lot of shotgunning. I have one, it is a Mossberg 590 12 gauge.

Ive popped a few clays with it, but that is about it. Probably only put 100-200 shells thru it overall.

Never knowing where the winds of chance will blow, Im curious about some recommendations on ammunition for this and any possible future shotguns.

I see 100 round boxes at WalMart and havent got a clue as to what I might get, or even if I should get a few.

I believe that I should have at least 1000 rounds for most firearms that I have, but am ignorant of what I should have and am looking for suggestions.

So, does someone want to school me in the ways of shotgun shells brands and shot size to have around?

How would your stash be broken down percentage wise?

Thanks in advance.

Dave

beast1989 · May 6, 2011

I like this thread but im a bit too tired to go in depth right now, so I will check back in tomorrow with my opinion.

Dr_Mitch · May 6, 2011

If you have 1000 rounds to purchase, and you don't really shoot your shotgun, you should get 300-400 birdshot, 300-400 buckshot, and the balance in slugs. That should prepare you for anything except a surprise. The buckshot and slugs are $0.80 to $1 per shotshell, in general.

ratski · May 6, 2011

Dr_Mitch said:
If you have 1000 rounds to purchase, and you don't really shoot your shotgun, you should get 300-400 birdshot, 300-400 buckshot, and the balance in slugs. That should prepare you for anything except a surprise. The buckshot and slugs are $0.80 to $1 per shotshell, in general.

Showing my ignorance here, but what is the difference between birdshot and buckshot? Size?

I've noticed on some boxes it will reference that they are certain kind of "loads". What are the different loads? I remember seeing something about certain brands being lighter than others.

Dave

Honeybee · May 7, 2011

Birdshot is small, buck shot is much larger
Birdshot will do nothing against a zombie, but slugs only make one hole so buckshot is the house rule for zombie hunting.
any shot is worthless at 100 yards, you can take a direct hit yourself and not break the skin but rifled slugs in a smooth barrel or smooth slugs in a rifled barrel will go as far as a bullet.

Norman · May 7, 2011

I have about 500 shells of #7 shot for bird hunting most everything but turkey and waterfowl.
I have probably 2-300 shells of 00 buck for general shotgun defense for 0-25 yards (can get pretty good hits at 50 yards with the right buckshot though). For buckshot I like federal with flight control wad. I think it's LE127
I have about 50-100 slugs for 0-200 yards. I like federal trueball.

Basically you want larger shot (smaller shot number) for bigger game and further distance. Buckshot is for defense, and I like 9 pellet 00 ( 00 is the shot size.). You can use slugs to hut deer in Ok. It pretty much turns your shotty into a .74 (I think that's right) caliber rifle sending 1 oz of lead down range. I like to have slugs in the side saddle and buck in the mag tube. When you chambe a round don't top off the tube so you can 'select a slug' if you need.
IMHO, YMMV and all that

z06man · May 7, 2011

You can get the Remington bulk pack (15 per box, I think) buckshot and slugs from Wal-Mart for less than $0.50 per shell last I checked. It's not the "premiere" stuff, but should serve your purpose fine.

I think you got that backward there, Norman. Bigger shot for bigger game.

Norman · May 7, 2011

Doh! Good catch, I meant small shot #'s as in #4 or #6 shot. I'll fix it. That remmy buck/ Winchester bulk stuff is shite outside of about 7 yards. Would be good HD for most people or practice ammo, but I still love the flight control.

z06man · May 7, 2011

Oh yeah. Bigger numbers mean smaller shot. That makes sense in that context.

I haven't even patterned the Remington buck, so I can't say how it does there. I have a Ranger LE load that I keep in my HD gun.

Perplexed · May 7, 2011

Here's a link where they concluded that in a 12-gauge shotgun, No. 1 buckshot was the best all-around for home defense:

http://www.firearmstactical.com/briefs10.htm

Unfortunately, No. 1 buckshot is hard to find, so the next recommendation was plain old No. 00 buckshot.

Shotgun Ammunition. School me on how many and what kind.

ratski

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