Mercalf

What's the best home defense 12 gauge load in your opinion? (Brands, "weight", loads, etc)

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Cap'n

I'm a big fan of the Hornady Tap 12ga. 00 buck FPD (for personal defense). Test have shown that they hold a very tight pattern.

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Pete Zaria

If over penetration and damage to the house if you miss aren't a concern...
The hottest .00 buck load your shoulder will take. For me that's a 3" Federal .00 buck load. The 3.5" shells are more than necessary and don't feel very good on your shoulder either.

From my rough math these should throw off around 4,000 ft-lb of energy... No more need be said.

If over-penetration is an issue, I'd consider #4 buck or some real heavy turkey loads.

Frankly, arguing over 12 gauge loads for self defense is kind of ironic. Any modern 12 gauge load intended for hunting or personal defense WILL do the job - IMHO you're just asking which will make the biggest mess.

Try a few .00 buck loads, see what feels good to shoot repeatedly, maybe test them out on some melons. Or an old TV. Stop worrying about it :)

Peace,
Pete Zaria.

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f8lranger4x4

00buck

Mercalf

Thanks. Yes I have to worry about over penetration because of the other rooms in the house. The shot will not penetrate my walls, but the other rooms is a concern.

Agreed that any 12 gauge load will do the job, I just like doing the job right with no concern or question. I've heard #4 from a few others as well.

Cap'n has a point with the Hornady loads though. Especially if they hold a tight pattern, (main selling point of any ammunition tbh). Thanks,

-Mercalf.

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matiki

I'm loaded with these:

MidwayUSA - Winchester WinLite Low Recoil Ammunition 12 Gauge 2-3/4" 00 Buckshot 9 Pellets Box of 5

And carry these on the stock:

MidwayUSA - Winchester WinLite Low Recoil Ammunition 12 Gauge 2-3/4" 1 oz Rifled Slug Box of 5

A few years ago a friend bought some, we also had a bunch of misc. stuff laying around, and we tested it on a couple pieces of wall (2x4's + 5/8" drywall & insulation) we tore out of his house to expand a room.

Everything that said "buckshot" went right through both walls.

I gave up on reducing penetration and decided to concentrate on recoil management.

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sniper58

Mercalf.....if you can handle 40 rounds of .300 Weatherby Magnum's in 50 minutes, you can handle 00 buckshot!

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semperfi.45

I think the new gold standard for shotgun amunition is Federal FliteControl . I tried the reduced recoil 9 pellet 00 and it is now in all of our department shotguns and my HD shotgun.

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aus71383

I got a good deal on some Winchester Ranger Low Recoil 00 Buck at a gun show. Also got some Low Recoil 1oz. slugs at the same time. They both work - I'm not too concerned about shot pattern at 25 yards, so it really doesn't matter all that much to me. Most likely if anyone is using the shotgun it'll be my wife and it will be across the room distances. Just my $0.02

Austin

Ragin Cajun

If you are worried about penetration, use a # 5 or 6 turkey load. Smaller pellets will not penetrate as much and a turkey load from the distance that you would shoot inside your home will do the job.