Rounds of choice for home defense

Sargepug

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What are your rounds of choice? Out of many types of shotguns owned, I choose this tactical conversion of my Mossberg Shockwave 500 chainsaw, as my gun of choice. I currently have 00 buck, but do worry about wall penetration, etc. I have a family of 5 and 2 dogs. I hear #4 buck is the way to go in that arena, but curious to here all thoughts. Mossberg shockwave 500 12 Ga.jpg
 
Nevar

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Actually an excellent Question. To be honest it really depends on how you trained your Family and dogs to what and where they do and go!. When they hear you use A code word to "STAY" . With respect any Ammo from .22 on up will penetrate inside walls. Big diff from home alone [ with wife at your side] to a house full of people.
 
Jmac00

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it depends on where I am in the RV. In the bedroom I go with either the Glock 22, 40cal, or the shockwave 12ga
In the front of the RV, I have a fully loaded LEGAL almost everywhere A-15, its NOT LEGAL in New Yorkistan ( sux to be you guys ) I also have the 410 with 00 buck in the closet by the door
 
Cooolone

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My SIG229 .357Sig that I shoot driving tacks, let alone when measured in feet, not yards!

Simple rule...

But yeah, lots of options now outside NY Borders. 300Blk a very doable option in a suppressed SBR!

Could go for an Old Tommy Gun with Drum too... Lots of $$$, someday just might say Fuck it!

But honestly, could get a 9mm kit for the 229 and suppress that too. Why wake the neighbors and lose some hearing should the need ever arise? Lol

Or one of these!!!

Origin 12 Short Barrel Shotgun – Fostech, Inc.

fostech.com fostech.com
 
Podmonkey

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64gr .223 Gold Dots. I bought 2000 of em back when PSA was selling them for a paltry 40 cents a round. 20240423_072424.jpg
I keep 124gr +P HST in my handuns like the Glock there
 
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dwa12479

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I've got Federal Flite Control #1 on hand for HD shotgun rounds. 15 thirty cal pellets in a special wad that keeps them very tight. The pellets are brass too, so they deform slightly when rattling together and stay more on target, rather than scattering like billiard balls on break. Put that load on target and you've got 15 different wound channels finding their way through the bad guy.

Side note. I HATE the pistol grip setup on the Mossberg . It forces you to completely let go of the grip to run the tang safety on top of the receiver. I had one and went back to the Magpul SGA stock. The Remington 870 cross bolt safety is a better setup for a pistol grip stock on a SG. Just my own personal opinion.
 
S&W Fan

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I believe The op was asking specifically about preferences for shotgun rounds . OO buck is definitely the way to go if you are going to use a shotgun for home defense as it is the best round for relatively quick stopping power. As another poster mentioned though, you should if and when possible, have a family emergency plan in place. ( and practice it)
If you are concerned about over penetration with the OO buck shot I personally wouldn’t go with anything less than #2 shot. In my opinion #4 is too weak for such a purpose unless it’s all that you have on hand.
 
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Shitzhispzntz once said all you need is a double bbl shotgun. Add 2's or 4's and let'r rip. Oh... only 2 shots, best to have a back up.
 
Xae289

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Yea, #4 looks to be just about the perfect balance of penetration and decisively ending a fight to me. I wouldn't feel undergunned with #5 turkey loads either.

No. 4 buck is what I have stashed for a theoretical home defense shotgun. I say "theoretical" because my home defense long gun is a 16" barreled .300 Blackout AR loaded up with Hornady 110 gr VMaxes. When I get an 18.5" barrel for my Rem 870, I might replace it in that role. The handgun is a Glock 23 with 180 gr Federal HSTs.
 
Podmonkey

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Ah, yes shotgun loads.......... well I know a lot of LE agencies both local and federal favor #1 buck and I've often read that #1 is optimal for defense as it has similar penetration to 00 yet with more pellets. #1 buck loads don't seem to be commonly available though for some reason. #4 bucks commonly stated to be the go to SD load I'd ove rpenetration is a concern however I think that overpenetratuon as it pertains to self defense is something of a nothing burger. Sure it exists but show me one documented instance of a defensesive shooting in which a bullet/pellet struck an attacker, continued straight through AND harmed an innocent on the other side.
00 buck can be had everywhere and has a long record of being extremely effective.
 
spat

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Realistically, at the 10 yards or less range of home defense, it's almost irrelevant what the shotgun is loaded with.

The wad is barely going to open. If you get hit with an ounce of lead in a little plastic cup going 1500fps, it doesn't really matter what size balls the ounce of lead is divided into.

A slug and #8 bird shot are both going to blow a 1 inch hole in that drywall across the room and whatever is behind it.

Sure, the terminal effect will be different, with the shot expanding much more "hollow point like", but it's not like a 12ga slug is lacking in stopping power.
 
Sargepug

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Nevar said:
Actually an excellent Question. To be honest it really depends on how you trained your Family and dogs to what and where they do and go!. When they hear you use A code word to "STAY" . With respect any Ammo from .22 on up will penetrate inside walls. Big diff from home alone [ with wife at your side] to a house full of people.
Click to expand...
That's a tough one, because I have a pretty big house and all depends on where the breach occurs.
 
Sargepug

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Podmonkey said:
Ah, yes shotgun loads.......... well I know a lot of LE agencies both local and federal favor #1 buck and I've often read that #1 is optimal for defense as it has similar penetration to 00 yet with more pellets. #1 buck loads don't seem to be commonly available though for some reason. #4 bucks commonly stated to be the go to SD load I'd ove rpenetration is a concern however I think that overpenetratuon as it pertains to self defense is something of a nothing burger. Sure it exists but show me one documented instance of a defensesive shooting in which a bullet/pellet struck an attacker, continued straight through AND harmed an innocent on the other side.
00 buck can be had everywhere and has a long record of being extremely effective.
Click to expand...

I am actually talking about a potential missed shot, no concern if target hit.
 
Saltwater60

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My 20 gauge is loaded with solid brass buck shot and my two dog 365’s are loaded with federal HST with one mag of critical duty for barrier penetration. I have 5 mags for each sig.
 
Podmonkey

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Sargepug said:
I am actually talking about a potential missed shot, no concern if target hit.
Click to expand...
Well, 00 buck when fired at close range absolutely can tear straight through a human but the chance the shot actually continues on to hit something else sensitive, and with enough energy to do meaningfully damage, is probably vanishingly low.
In the event of a complete miss tge smaller the shot the less it will penetrate and tge lower the chance your wayward shot hits something you really don't want it too so you balance that with the effectiveness of the shot. This is why some advocate for #4 buck or even tge heavier birds hot loads such as BB shot.
I say a #1 buck load is the best overall for self defense if you can find it. I don't know if Federal or Hornady offers a #1 buck load with their flite control wad cups but if they did tge number and mass of tge pellets combined with the tight spread would make an ideal defensive load. As it is either of the Federal or Hornady controlled spread loads are excellent options though a very pricey one. Hornady's Critical Defense buckshot load is readily available in stores too.
 
Podmonkey

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Saltwater60 said:
My 20 gauge is loaded with solid brass buck shot and my two dog 365’s are loaded with federal HST with one mag of critical duty for barrier penetration. I have 5 mags for each sig.
Click to expand...
I read a short article once warning people that select a 20 guage for defensive use to then not go out and pick the heaviest, nastiest 20ga load they can find whose payload and velocity exceed the typical 12ga load and defeating the purpose of using a 20ga in the first place. I thought it was interesting that there are actually 20ga loads that out power midrange 12ga loads out there.
 
spat

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Podmonkey said:
Well, 00 buck when fired at close range absolutely can tear straight through a human but the chance the shot actually continues on to hit something else sensitive, and with enough energy to do meaningfully damage, is probably vanishingly low.
In the event of a complete miss tge smaller the shot the less it will penetrate and tge lower the chance your wayward shot hits something you really don't want it too so you balance that with the effectiveness of the shot. This is why some advocate for #4 buck or even tge heavier birds hot loads such as BB shot.
I say a #1 buck load is the best overall for self defense if you can find it. I don't know if Federal or Hornady offers a #1 buck load with their flite control wad cups but if they did tge number and mass of tge pellets combined with the tight spread would make an ideal defensive load. As it is either of the Federal or Hornady controlled spread loads are excellent options though a very pricey one. Hornady's Critical Defense buckshot load is readily available in stores too.
Click to expand...
Ballistically, a single shot of 00 buck is essentially a mag dump from a 9mm.

The individual pellets will have similar penetration and will continue on in a similar fashion.

So, load up your Siaga-12 with a 20rd drum of 00, and you'll have to dispose of the bodies with a mop after a mag dump.
 
Podmonkey

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spat said:
Ballistically, a single shot of 00 buck is essentially a mag dump from a 9mm.

The individual pellets will have similar penetration and will continue on in a similar fashion.

So, load up your Siaga-12 with a 20rd drum of 00, and you'll have to dispose of the bodies with a mop after a mag dump.
Click to expand...
There will be variances of course but the typical 00 buckshot pellet is .33" diameter, around 53gr in weight moving at around 1,150 fps in a typical 2 3/4oz load. This means a single pellet has about 155ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. This closely compares to a .32ACP.
If each pellet in a 9 shot load were equal to tge most common 9mm load of 115gr at 1,250fps that would be more than double the power and the recoil would probably break your shoulder.
 
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Podmonkey

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The........... "teeth" I guess you could call them, under the gel block are 1" wide.
 
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spat

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Podmonkey said:
There will be variances of course but the typical 00 buckshot pellet is .33" diameter, around 53gr in weight moving at around 1,150 fps in a typical 2 3/4oz load. This means a single pellet has about 155ft-lbs of energy at the muzzle. This closely compares to a .32ACP.
If each pellet in a 9 shot load were equal to tge most common 9mm load of 115gr at 1,250fps that would be more than double the power and the recoil would probably break your shoulder.
Click to expand...
Ok, you're right, 000 buck is closer to 9mm (it is .360"), 00 is more like .32acp (.330")

000 buck is 70gr pellet (a bit light, but close to the right diameter).

I will admit that a 70gr bullet at 1250fps would be an anemic 9mm round, maybe more like a .380acp if you really wanted to be a stickler. But it's certainly within the range of what you could encounter.

And this is main stream commercial ammo, far from the limits of what the caliber is capable of, and certainly not going to break anyone's shoulder.

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