Survival 12 gauge question.

K Williams said:
2 3/4" #6 High Brass: Squirrel, Rabbit, Pheasant, etc.

3" #2 Federal BlackCloud, Remington HD: Ducks, Geese

2 3/4" #4 Buck: Home Defense(also good for coyote & other medium sized predators)

2 3/4" & 3" Slugs: Whitetail deer
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That is pretty much what I am using. The only other addition is normally a case or better of Kent Fasteel in 3" #2

Also love 3" #5 winchester supreme for turkey hunting.

I would say that overall I have about 70 boxes of various shotgun ammo on hand at any given time. Far more than rifle ammo.
 
udtjim said:
For home defense I just load up with No. 8 shot, 2 3/4 inch, I want total control of the gun and we are talking shots at 10-12 feet almost any shell would work but light shot won't travel through walls as bad. As far as outdoors, For one gun I would much prefer the .22
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I prefer to avoid the debate in WSS about this topic, there's plenty in prac tac. That being said, first round up in the 870 is #4 pheasant, followed by buckshot (number 3 for the 20 ga)
 
#6 is probably the most versatile because it's legal here in Ky. for Turkey, squirrel and rabbit to name a few. I also like to keep plenty of slugs, and 00 buck for obvious reasons. BB or something large enough for water foul is good to have plus it wouldn't be to bad for self defense in a pinch.
 
Josh 111,

Very interesting slugs. I've seen mild steel jacketed pistol bullets (I believe Norma once made some) but never steel shotgun slugs. I imagine they would penetrate very well but I wonder how much energy they carry? At about 1-1.1 ounces, they would have to move faster than a Dixie Terminator (www.dixieslugs.com) to deliver the same punch. However, the demo video looked impressive. I'd like to shoot some.

As for that XRail, I wonder if it could be modified to mount right up against the receiver? At the end of the existing magazine tube, it seems like it would put too much weight near the muzzle and make the shotgun unwieldy. Very cool technology, however.

DancesWithKnives
 
1 ounce is plenty at regular 1100-1300fps velocities, even at 800fps it would be plenty. I don't have to match dixie's ultrasuper magnums.

I'd love to handload that monolit.... but I'd love to find out how to get it in the US at all.
 
Those Dixie slugs turn the shotgun into a world wide game taker. The hard slugs are designed to penetrate just about any critter alive. The tri ball is pretty impressive too.
 
I have an old Ithaca Model 37 that I love.

I just bought some federal 2 3/4 #8 shells that I'm going to try out soon and I have a few slugs too.

Where I live, the bears are pretty brazen and are known to break into porches and wander into homes so I keep it loaded but with an empty chamber. Currently it's loaded with one less-than-lethal rubber shot, 2 #8's, and one slug, in that order. Bears don't speak English so this setup is meant to say "Please go away", "You really should be going", "get the hell out of my house", and "goodbye", also in that order. :D
 
koyote said:
1 ounce is plenty at regular 1100-1300fps velocities, even at 800fps it would be plenty. I don't have to match dixie's ultrasuper magnums.

I'd love to handload that monolit.... but I'd love to find out how to get it in the US at all.
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True. The greatest carry time for my 590 is on salmon streams in Western Alaska. That's the reason why I look at those total energy and penetration figures. For most Lower 48 applications, I'm sure you're right about smaller/slower slugs.

DancesWithKnives
 
valcas1 said:
That is pretty much what I am using. The only other addition is normally a case or better of Kent Fasteel in 3" #2

Also love 3" #5 winchester supreme for turkey hunting.

I would say that overall I have about 70 boxes of various shotgun ammo on hand at any given time. Far more than rifle ammo.
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My low-budget steel shot are Winchester Xpert 3" #2. They had them on sale by the case @ Dicks. I'm in Nassau. I usually go duck hunting @ Timber Point or Bellport tidal wetlands.
 
DWK2 said:
True. The greatest carry time for my 590 is on salmon streams in Western Alaska. That's the reason why I look at those total energy and penetration figures. For most Lower 48 applications, I'm sure you're right about smaller/slower slugs.

DancesWithKnives
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Given the barrel lengths of my 12s, I'm happiest with looking at the possibility of lighter alloy slugs rather than smaller- though I haven't tried a sabot out of the brush gun or the 500. I'm not expecting to need 100 yard ranges.

I can understand elephant gun rounds fro grizzly defense, but fortunately I'm one of the people who doesn't have to base my whole survival gear choice around that. Well, not terribly fortunate for the squirrels and rabbits :D I'd probably look into the dixie slugs if I moved north into the big sky and had a nice heavy gun.

a 1000 foot pound 12ga (relatively) non deforming wadcutter, I'm tickled. I really want to give those a try. They also have the 32s on the site.

One of the nice things about shotguns is the variability of ammo options.
 
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K Williams said:
My low-budget steel shot are Winchester Xpert 3" #2. They had them on sale by the case @ Dicks. I'm in Nassau. I usually go duck hunting @ Timber Point or Bellport tidal wetlands.
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I live in Sayville So I know the areas you hunt very, very well;) Nice to see a local on the forum.
 
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