I don’t do anything special for shotgun ammunition. Buckshot is mostly 2 3/4" 00 from Remington, slugs are “Sluggers” by Remington which is a rifled slug, why? because they are convenient and although there are better rounds for patterning at distance, higher pellet count, more velocity, and all that they will work and I don’t go out that far with shotgun (yet). I do think of changing up looking for better performance with less $$$ being spent but as/is this will ruin someones day.
Hunting, #8 bird/multi purpose shot for smaller birds like pigeons, want to go after larger ground game then it needs to step up, squirrel and rabbit is 6, jackrabbit is more 4, pheasant 4, groundhog well might as well get messy and have some fun :jester: basically the question is what your killing and if you want it in tact. I not really a hunter hunter so my advice here is mediocre in general and you may want to consult with someone who hunts what your interested in.
I will second the Federal Flitecontrol LE132 buckshot as linked above. As for slugs go no further than Brenneke and you will be all set on bipedal homo sapian ammo.
The above shot shells are high-quality and a good starting place. I currently use/ or have used all of the above. I do not like the newer Wal-Mart birdshot shells (any brand, i.e. Winchester, Remington, or Federal) steel based shells. The steel based shot shell is more prone to malfunctions than the standard brass based shell. Although, they do serve a limited purpose for training on dealing with malfunctions.
The more I shoot Fiocchi shells the more I am liking them. Though, any quality shot shell will suffice.
Your logic in starting-out with the basic shotgun is sound. I read-over the commentary regarding the DEA edition rifle sights. They look interesting. I have used the basic Remington rifle sight and also the model produced by Mepro-lite. I really liked the Mepro version with the tritium. It was fast and familiar having used standard rifle sights for hunting many years.
In the end, I personally selected a Wilson’s/ Scattergun Ghost-ring sight. It is fast up close and effective further-out with slugs too.
Most important, spend some time patterning your shotgun. I would even try-out the second barrel you purchased. Because every barrel is going to have some variation with the same brand/ load.
Regards,
SkiDevil
P.S. I would consider the Wilson’s steal deal:http://www.wilsoncombat.com/s_remingtion_steal.htm. I have seen two 870s with the package done and both came-out pretty good in my opinion. It used to be priced pretty reasonably. The site says you have to call for the price now.
Note: I have no affiliation with Wilson’s, I am just a satisfied customer.
When choosing buckshot, I think you need to do some patterning from YOUR weapon before settling on a load. If you are LE, you may not have a choice. LE who can choose will probably want the Federal ‘FlightControl’ 00 Buck loads for that possible ‘long shot’, but others more in the HD camp need to be realistic about their possible/likely scenarios. I wanted a tighter pattern than standard 00 Buck, but not as tight as the Federal FC loads after patterning some on an outing a while back. This can be especialy true if your weapon has a bead front sight, IMHO. I settled on a load that patterns about midway between the Federal FC loads and standard loads… Winchester Ranger ‘Low Recoil’ 00 Buck (9-pellet, RA1200).
I agree that you need to pattern in your OWN weapon. FC buckshot sucks out of my shotgun, it patterns much tighter with conventional buckshot past 15 yards. Hornady TAP is pure trash out of it, patterning very poor past 10 yards. Totally off a human target with 1/2 the payload at about 20.
Once you need to buy slugs, you might consider Winchester 2.75 Foster slugs as they are inexpesive, accurate and shoot about the same POI in my shotguns as the 2.75 Brenneke Classic Magnums I carry.
I shot a lot of the 2 3/4" Brenneke Classic Magnums, and the similar 2 3/4" Brenneke Heavy Field Short Magnums. The performance is impressive, as is the RECOIL!!! Compared to the ‘Low Recoil’ 9-pellet 00 Buck load I shoot, the recoil is a LOT more… close to PAINFUL, in all honesty.
I eventually switched my ‘serious’ slug load to the 2 3/4" Brenneke Tactical Home Defense (1 ounce, same basic slug style as the Brenneke Heavy Field Short Magnum, but lighter and slower). This slug will do everything you need for LE and HD, but the recoil is a lot more tolerable!!! Check it out…
For personal SHTF scenarios I like to run a saddle with multiple options. I run 00Buck in the tube and have other options at the ready. 00Buck is similar to throwing 9 9mm bullets at the bad guy, just remember where they are going if you miss him!
00 Buck is about .33" in diameter and weighs only 55 grains, if memory serves me correctly. You can count on about 13-15" of penetration, maybe a bit more depending on velocity. Expansion will be small, if at all. The wound track from a 00 Buck pellet will not be anything remarkable.
9mm is .355" in diameter and the ‘better’ JHP loads weigh 124 to 147 grains, if memory serves. You can still get 13-15" of penetration with the 9mm (JHP’s), but expansion and the resulting crushed tissues with 9mm JHP’s will produce a much more devastating wound track than a 00 Buck pellet can/will. Even a FMJ/FMC 9mm with little/no expansion will do far more damage per projectile than 00 Buck due to far greater penetration and bullet yaw effects.
I do, however, agree 100% with having 00 Buck loaded in a shotgun for a SHTF scenario… I feel the same way!!!
