# what loads to use



## Sea Raptor (Oct 15, 2012)

what would be the best loads for my 12 gauge for home protection


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

no. 4 buck....I believe that's what the police use
it's like 27.... 22cal. round ball pellets....ouch


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## MikeG (Oct 5, 2007)

Police use 00 buck


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## ironman172 (Sep 28, 2007)

I stand corrected


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## bigbulls (Mar 12, 2008)

I use Federal 2-3/4" low recoil #4 buck. Smaller pellets fired at lower velocity. They aren't as lethal across the street due to lighter weight pellets and the reduced velocity and thirty four .24 caliber pellets make a lot more holes in the body and quite a bit less recoil to recover from.
http://www.federalpremium.com/products/details/buckshot.aspx?id=908

A heavy load of 2-3/4" #4 bird shot is incredibly devistating inside a home.


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## hsiF deR (Oct 4, 2009)

#6's, That way if you were too shoot in the dark you don't have much to worry about it passing through the wall and killing someone else.


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## sj1 (Aug 18, 2011)

*Real*

I have used #4 buckshot, 3 inch shell, on a predator clawing his way into my chicken coop once. I was 110 feet away, measured. That's about 33 yards, if my math is correct. It was only a 15 pound predator, but the shot broke a leg and went through a shoulder. Not every pellet hit, but any of them would have done the deed. I was shooting a 20 inch barrelled over/under, with a modified choke.

My point is, the load was sufficient. Sure, it was a smaller animal, but a shotgun pellet breaking two bones is a convincer for any size critter. If it was a turkey, I might have lost some meat, for sure.

Based on that experience, at indoor distances, for home protection, heavy buckshot isn't entirely necessary. The suggestions by hsiF deR and bigbulls sound like good advice to me. Bigger isn't always better, especially when "small game loads" aren't yet getting sucked into a feeding frenzy. $6.99 for 25 #6 Federals at Bass Pro, last time I checked, and they were gathering dust....:blink:


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## Flatspro (Oct 3, 2007)

Right now I happen to have 3" #4 magnum hv steel for ducks. I just leave in it what I used last. I imagine that 7.5 high velocity dove loads would change someone's mind about breaking into your house. Then again it depends on how many sides of the story you want.


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## TURTLE (May 22, 2008)

hsiF deR said:


> #6's, That way if you were too shoot in the dark you don't have much to worry about it passing through the wall and killing someone else.


 
*Same here. Anything else you could end up killing one of your kids. I think if you hit a perp with even a #8 they would not advance. After the sound and pain, I would imagine they would think their dead.*


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## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

easy rule of thumb - birdshot is for little birds , any round capable of stopping a bad guy can also go through a wall .


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## doggfish (Oct 30, 2009)

*870 wingmaster*

I use a 870 wingmaster 2 3/4 it has a 30 inch full choke even a birdy round from it in a home would be ugly...one less evil doer in this world

doggfish

your best friend you have never met


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## snapperfan (Aug 30, 2009)

Y'all should really read up on using bird shot. The last school shooter did not even kill anyone.

http://www.mercurynews.com/crime-co...oting-student-aimed-alleged-bully-surrendered


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## bigbulls (Mar 12, 2008)

The last shooter was a lousy shot. He hit one person on the shoulder and missed the other. It wouldn't have mattered if he was using 00 buck or a slug. A bad shot is a bad shot. The kid that was shot in the shoulder was in critical condition. Sounds pretty effective to me.

Anyone that says that #4 or #6 shot isn't effective at typical home defense distances (20 feet or so) has never taken a load of it to the chest or head. 

The next time you kill a deer or hog, take a standard High Velocity dove load (3-3/4 dram, 1-1/4 ounce, #4 or #6) and shoot it at the chest or skull of the deer from 20-25 feet away and see what happens.


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## Baitcaster (Oct 4, 2007)

better yet, take the same #4 or #6 load and shoot said deer or hog while still alive and get back to me .

not saying it WON'T work , but why handicap yourself ?


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