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Shotgun Ammo--Buckshot

12K views 40 replies 24 participants last post by  batpot 
#1 ·
Can someone direct me to an website where I can learn about the different types of buckshot. In particular, the difference among 0, 00, 000, and #4 shot. I thought that it was pellet size, however, I stand corrected. One person told me it was about shot pattern.

Thanks.
 
#3 ·
It is pellet size 000 is the largest and #4 the smallest.

Different brands will have different pattens
 
#4 ·
It looks like I received some bad advice. I was originally told that 00 9-pellet buckshot for my 12g was a good home defense round. So, I started to buy a box or two each trip to Wally World. Is this round a good choice?
 
#5 ·
Well every situation is different, but most all LEO dept use 00 buck. So if it's good for them, it's good for me....:smile:
 
#7 ·
Sounds good to me. ATG has a good price on some LE 00 made for the Italian Caribineri and other police departments. I will use it for the range. Delivered, it would be about 70 cents/round. Remington and Winchester would be about $1 per round.
 
#40 ·
Well, I finally got around to shooting the above Noble Sport ammo. It kicked me in the buttocks. Do not get me wrong, i have shot 00 Buck before without any issues. However, this stuff was on steroids.
 
#8 ·
#4 buck or larger is good.

If you are worried about shooting through your walls I would use #4 buck

If you want to shoot through walls I would use 000
 
#10 ·
2 3/4" 00 buck mainly for me. Slugs are nice also. 9 pellets in the 2 3/4" loads and if you want more, 15 in the 3" magnum loads. I have some #2 steel shot, and I really like the pattern that leaves at the range on a cardboard target out of my 12ga 870. When I had my former Mossy 500 in 20ga, I always had it stoked with #4 shot.
 
#20 ·
If I could only have one knowing that it may have to do outside duty as well as inside, I'd go with 00.

Hoss
 
#15 ·
I settled on the #4 buck after a lot of research and conflicting opinions. I ordered reduced recoil #4, 2 3/4 shells through Sportsman's Guide and found their service (and price) very good.
I think the #4 shot has less danger of penetrating walls. I believe the shell holds 28 pellets, vs the 9 pellets of #00. Both travel at the same speed, and I wouldn't want to be hit with either.
Shotgun shells from Wal-Mart were more geared to hunting and I found the marking on the Winchester box to be unreadable. (nothing to tell if it is birdshot or buckshot, no reduced recoil.)
 
#16 ·
If you stick with the LE Tactical low recoil flight control wad ammo it really wont matter if you choose #00 or #4.
I patterned both at the range last week and both held a very similar tight pattern at 30 feet out of my 18" barrel.
 
#17 ·
Shot size, velocity, chokes, spread, ...: click.

Shotgun wound profiles: click.

Personal impressions of various loads, Rem 870P 12ga: click.

So, if you had a choice between 00 and #4 and you can only buy one box of ammo at this time, what would your choice be? Both are the same price.
For defensive use, I'd go with 2-3/4" #1 Buck, at least in my 14" Rem 870P 12ga.
 
#18 ·
Shot size, velocity, chokes, spread, ...: click.

Shotgun wound profiles: click.

Personal impressions of various loads, Rem 870P 12ga: click.


For defensive use, I'd go with 2-3/4" #1 Buck, at least in my 14" Rem 870P 12ga.
Interesting ballistics on #1 vs. 00. Any recs for good online deals for #1 buck? ATG has been the only online retailer I've used but they don't have any #1 buck.
 
#23 ·
I have both 00 buck and #4 buck.
I prefer to use #4 buck in my house for my families safety sake in case of fliers. Pistol is my weapon of choice though in the house if needed.
Big thing to know is that #4 buck is about twice the size of #4 birdshot.
A lot of info is at:
Shotgun shell - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia


:wave:
 
#24 ·
Some heavy-hitters in the LE training world think that #4 buck is best aimed at the bad guy's throat area, as its penetration into the human target is not always so great, compared to 00. Some like the compromise #1 buck. My chief authorizes #4 and 00, plus slugs if we take the requisite training class. I used to keep a 3-inch #4 handy, to be select-loaded as the first round if going into something like an apartment building, but I rarely bother anymore, just keeping 00 in various versions, from Federal Tactical or Remington 8-pellet on the slow end, to any good brand of high velocity for perimeter duty. I reserve Brenneke slugs for special occasions such as felony stops.
 
#30 ·
I just got back from the range. A quick review:
Noble Sport 12g 2 /34 in 00 Buckshot using a Winchester 1300 18 in barrel 12g shotgun. Bought at ATG for 78 cents/round delivered.

The above rounds worked very well without issues. The only thing that I was not prepared for is the kick/recoil from these rounds. I have fired other rounds before, but these kicked it up a notch. So, if you want to save some $$$, these rounds worked well.
 
#31 ·
I haven't seen this listed on this thread which is amazing.. Just pattern your shotgun once with this ammo and you'll be sold.



Using 00 buck at 10 yards and in and you have the same results as a slug, 15 to almost 20 yards and you can still cover the pattern with a DVD disk. I shot a man sized target at 50 yards and had 7 of 9 pellets in the target.



This is from DTI's John Farnam's Quips - Year 2007


Field-use of Federal Flight-Control 00 Buckshot:
09 Sept 07

Field use of Federal 12ga Flight-Control Buckshot, from a range officer with a large Midwestern PD:

"Last week, one of our patrol officers confronted a single, armed, robbery suspect at a range of ten meters. When the suspect made threatening verbalizations and gestures, the officer fired a single shot from his department-issued Remington 870. The round was Federal Flight-Control 00 Buckshot.

The tight cluster of 00 pellets struck the suspect in the right side of his hip. He went right down, offering no further resistance. At the hospital, attending sturgeons asked if the suspect had been hit with a slug. We assured them that it was a single, buckshot round.

X-rays revealed that several pellets were still in the suspects's body, but that most had transverse-penetrated and subsequently exited. Tissue destruction was copious, so much so that the suspect's right leg had to be amputated at the hip. He is expected to survive, but has obviously sustained permanent, disabling/disfiguring injury.

We are most please with this round's fight-stopping ability. This suspect went from dangerous/threatening to meek/crippled, all in less than a second!"

Comment: It is difficult to imagine a better fight-stopping effect than described in the foregoing. Federal's new wad technology represents a pivotal improvement in shotshell performance, breathing new life into the "old-standby" police shotgun. Something we all need to look at seriously!

/John
 
#32 ·
I've been eyeballing the Federal 00 for HD use with my Saiga 12. The price is attractive and the reviews are great. I understand Hornady uses Flitecontrol or something similar in their 12ga TAP ammo. Is the Hornady worth the extra $$ over the Federal? The Hornady comes as low recoil where the Federal LE 00 can be had in low or standard recoil. I'm assuming low recoil is sufficient and probably best for a HD situation.

I started another thread about the Federal vs Hornady over in the shotgun forum so sorry if I'm doubling up here. :embarassed:
 
#33 ·
Yes Hornady does use a flight control was also.

I would recommend patterning your shotgun with both and choose based on your needs (with home defense Low recoil should be OK, your not shooting farther than a hallway or room length), the pattern you like the best. (some like a tighter pattern and some like some spread) and your budget.
 
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