Shotgun Ammo

[GMFan]

Back from the range. I was there for about an hour and a half and I tried all different shots I had. This 870 loves eating it all.

I went through 66 rounds:
15 slugs
10 #4buck
7 #00buck
34 #8shot

I did target at 20yards. The #8 birdshot is meh...I can't even see the holes on the target with binoculars...too small. You only really see some paper particles when you shoot it. The #4 buck and #00 buck are predictably easy to see on the target and buck is definitely what you want for HD. The #4 buck looks more powerful but it's due to the 27 pellets vs 9 pellets with the #00. Recoil was about equal with the Federal #4buck and #00 Remington buck. I think the buck had about the same recoil as the slugs. Slugs are my favorite to shoot for target.

Overall the recoil wasn't that bad with #00. #00 allows me to fire, reload and get a second shot on target in about 1 second.

I'm very happy with my 870 and had no loading problems to speak of.

 

[bubbatime]

Great thread! My 870 police sat next to my bed for many years and is a fantastic home defense gun. I put it back in my safe and replaced it with an AR-15. Less recoil, faster follow up shots, more accurate, defeats body armor, larger capacity, quicker reloads, etc. If AR-15's were outlawed in my state I would feel well armed with an 870.

 

[mjk]

I'm wondering what type of damage my Browning Gold 10g and either BBB steel, or #4 Hevi Shot would do (If presented with a home invasion).

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: mjk
I'm wondering what type of damage my Browning Gold 10g and either BBB steel, or #4 Hevi Shot would do (If presented with a home invasion).

Clean up, aisle 3.

10 gauge loads are far and few between. It will probably work as intended.

 

[GMFan]

I bought some Federal Law Enforcement Low Recoil rifled slugs for the range and Federal Power-shok #00 buck for extra HD ammo today. Next time I go to the range I want to compare the pattern of the Remington 00B Express to the Federal 00B Power-shok. I bought a bunch of the Federal 5 packs and a few of the packs have shells in them with leaky hulls at the top and this white sandy stuff is leaking out of a few of the shells. It's the stuff that surrounds the pellets in the shell but I'm not sure on what it is. Either way it's kind of a bummer. The Remington shells I have are all buttoned up tight.

 

[GMFan]

I went with a buddy yesterday for skeet shooting in a really nice quiet field.

I was using Remington 2.75" 12g #8 shot 1oz Premier STS Target rounds. I probably shot ~60 clays and used 1 shot for each. After about 40 rounds I had one of the rounds fail to properly eject from the action. Is this typical for target rounds? Is it because it was low brass?

This was the first ejection problem I've had in ~200 shells.

 

[Jim 5]

For HD duty, I think I'd choose my Beretta Extrema semi-auto with the plug out and loaded with 7, 2&3/4" 12g shells in #1 or 0. I can't make that thing jam for anything. From the cheapest light target loads in 2 and 3/4" to the heaviest deer loads in 3.5". It blasts them out as fast as you can pull the trigger, the action is inherently low-recoil, and the kick-off buttstock helps significantly.

When I pull the trigger, that thing always goes bang. Always. I agree that it's easy to short-stroke a pump gun, especially when you've got other things on the mind. I've done it a ton of times at the trap range with a borrowed gun.

For general target loads, I find that the federals in the blue box are really smoky and dirty. They're a few bucks cheaper by the flat but it's not worth the time spent on extra cleaning and sniffing the smoke on the line. I don't buy the super premium shells, but find that the Fiocci's and Rio's and sometimes the Winchester AA are good value for money for an average (non-competitive/amateur)trapshooter like me.