Considering a Shotgun and reloading for it!

[Roger Ronas]

Considering getting a shotgun fo home defense.
Will be ordering a Lyman reloading manual for shotguns but thought I would ask a few questions here to get started.
1. what size buckshot should I consider?
2. 2 3/4 or 3"?
3. what shot hulls are recommeded, wads?
4. how many times can a shot hull be reloaded?
5. good price to pay for a once fired hull?
6. considering a #4 buckshot mould, should I coatthem and with what.
I'm sure I'll have more questions and I thank you guys in advance for any advice.
Roger






i would ask a few questions here.
1

[Hogtamer]

Slow down a bit! Get the shotgun first! If it's only going to sit around house for "just in case" situation, buy some inexpensive ammo, try it out and see what works for you.

[trapper9260]

Slow down a bit! Get the shotgun first! If it's only going to sit around house for "just in case" situation, buy some inexpensive ammo, try it out and see what works for you.

I am with you on that also.Also for what the OP ask get the manual it will let you know for alot of what you are asking too.

[DanishM1Garand]

Buck shot for home defense. Birdshot makes heinous looking wounds that do not stop the fight. 12 gauge with 3 inch shells will stop a fight right now. My kids are grown and gone so I don't worry about over penetration of the target. 20 gauge would work well for the recoil shy.

Get the Lyman manual or another manual. Ballistic Products sells buckshot, or cast your own. Lee makes a 00 buck mold others on here have used to great effect. After I cast my buckshot I tumble them with no media in a vibratory tumbler to even out the sprues and any other defects.

[Teddy (punchie)]

Sound like he is like the rest of us thinking ahead.

Shot gun a 12 ga. they are most common. But as stated 20 is easier on bones and wife (?) .

For me be an Remington 870 12 M. M is magnum and can handle the 3 " .


Reloader a Mec. 600 or 700 ( is an older model )


Powder , look at data and make up your mind. But for heavy loading, I would say blue dot.


Wads there again data . You should stay within the data, don't make up your own loads.


Size of shot, buckshot is for distance. Any load out of a 12 ga. for say first 20 yds is going to do damage. 4 shot or higher is going to do damage at 30 yds. or more. Even 4, 2 and then Buckshot sizes out to 40 yds. with the right choke . Distance an pattern are key.


Mold for buck shot ?? Larger the size would be easier to fill the case for the load.

Cases how many are you after, every case load data is different and you need to stay with the directions and follow them.


Price is range once fired is from free to 10 cent each. 3 inch your better off just getting new. That said all in what you can find. Any thing made after 1990 I'm not too up on shell casing (hulls) but would look at Federal, Remington and Cheddite .

[Petrol & Powder]

I'm with hogtamer, slow down a bit.

A 12 ga, pump action shotgun is an outstanding tool for home defense. I agree that commercial ammunition is probably the way to go to start with.

If you want to reload shot shells at a later time that's fine but I would walk before I ran.

As for how many times a shotgun hull can be reloaded? That's one of those, " It Depends " kind of questions. Using a conventional folded crimp, you can reload the hull until it fails to crimp. When will the crimp fail, "It depends..." . You can get several reloading cycles out of a hull but I can't say how many. Roll crimps are a bit less forgiving but sometimes you can get one more cycle out of folded crimp hull by cutting it and using a roll crimp on that last cycle.

I wouldn't buy used hulls. I would buy loaded ammunition and save the hulls.

2 3/4" vs 3" - For home defense it doesn't matter. The 3" shell gives you a slightly larger payload (more shot) and the 2 3/4" shell may allow a one more shell in the magazine. At 20' or less I don't think a few more pieces of 00 buck are going to make even the slightest bit of difference. 8 or 9 pellets vs. 15 at living room distance is not a critical factor.

I actually prefer slugs for serious social issues.

[toallmy]

Loading shot shells gets a little complicated with all the combinations of hull , wad , powder , and primer so the Lyman shootshell reloading handbook is a good place to start . After some research you will kind of figure out what components seam to be the most useful in the loads you are interested in . The gage , and action of the shotgun is a lot to think about to start with , the above statement about starting with factory buckshot to get will take the pressure off of your need to hurry . It is possible to have a room full of components and still not have what you need to load the shells you want to . In this matter I would suggest going slower in deciding on components to start with , will in the end be much faster . Have a blast .

[Artful]

You want home a defense shotgun - Ask yourself some questions about your building -
Will it stop your pellets/slugs from leaving your "safe space" or will you be endangering
innocents next door.

Do you want a manual operation or a semi-auto?

My choice


Remington 870 - 12 ga 2 3/4 - with low recoil buck or slugs - I have defined my shooting lanes so that it won't get to my neighbors.
extended 2 shot magazine tube to match length of 20" barrel - side saddle carrier for reloads - Surefire Flashlight forearm to ID
target - fiber optic sight - change from wood to plastic buttstock with good recoil pad. Ability to mount sling and I still have my
old buttstock ammo carrier from 3 gun shooting that I can put on buttstock. This shotgun has been fired thousands of rounds -
I have an 1100 semi-auto but prefer my corn shucked manual.

[toallmy]

I prefer a pump as well , I love shooting a auto , but the pump always works when I want it to .

[Ballistics in Scotland]

If it is going to lie untouched for years, you need a gun which functions exactly the same way as others you habitually use. You will most likely have to wait several lifetimes before needing this gun, but if you do, it will be in a state of extreme nervous tension. When I didn't touch my Winchester 1200 for several years, then did under totally undemanding circumstances, it took me a good quarter minute to remember the little unlocking tab beside the trigger-guard. You may not have a quarter minute. If you never touch anything but bolt-actions, you don't lose much with a bolt-action 12ga. For the non-firearms enthusiast, Jeff Cooper recommended a double hammer gun with adhesive take over the muzzles to keep out nest-building insects. It can sit there till the year 2050 with no springs tensioned.

As long as it isn't vehicle defence, you don't need very short barrels. A 24in. barrel held level at the hip isn't much of an encumbrance in a house you know well, and whether or not you consider this a quixotic desire, a poke in the solar plexus may let you out of shooting a teenager who may well be unarmed. He will also be overwrought, and if he just might have a knife or tool, "Don't come within arm's reach" may not get through to him.

A gun spotlight in your own home is just a target. More useful is a device we don't often hear of, switches to turn on the lights in any room while you are outside in the dark, or even a light or noise in another part of the house altogether.

[dverna]

Agree with getting a pump. Mossberg 500 or Remington 870 are two proven ones.

Best 12 ga hulls are Remington STS. No problem getting 5 loads out of them. There are plenty of once fired hulls for sale---I must have 10,000 of the things if you need some. (Trap shooting tends to accumulate the little beggar's)

Agree with Artful...no need for 3" or Magnum loads. You are close and personal. Low recoil is the better option; allows faster repeat shots and do not beat you up when practicing...yes you need to practice. But a lot of practice can be done with less expensive promo shells like Top Guns using bird shot and shooting at cans etc.

Disagree with adding a light. Just one more thing to fool with when you are pissing your pants in fear. Plus it makes you a good target when you turn it on.

I live in the boonies. No close neighbors. I have low recoil 000 buckshot loaded and as Artful shows in his picture, a few low recoil slugs in the side carrier. In a built up area, I would load #4 buck and not add the slugs in the carrier.

Casting buckshot is a pain but for home defense they do not need to be perfect (probably better if not perfect---LOL). You will not be shooting at more than a few yards. Slugs are easier to cast and the Lee 7/8 oz is a good one. I believe the Lee data is for "full powder" loads. Look at data for 7/8 oz target loads using shot. Pressure with a slug will be less than with shot so you should be safe with shot load data. If they do not crimp perfectly, adding a card wad in the 12 ga cup wad is an option.

After reading BinS's post, he makes a good point about the lowly double barrel shotgun. Before my gf started shooting trap, we had my coach gun in the bedroom. It is dead nuts simple if a bit slow to reload. Ours had been worked over for Cowboy shooting so it had a plus and a minus. Plus.... it was easy to open and stayed open to ease reloads and the chamber openings had been slightly beveled. Minus.... the ejectors were deactivated but for a gun for HD leave the ejectors working. Not a bad choice for an inexperienced shooter who does not practice. Add one of those round carriers that slip over the stock.

One last thing. A shotgun fired indoors will mess up your hearing. Place a set of electronic muffs by the gun. They will let you hear the BG's and protect your ears.

Don Verna

[Roger Ronas]

Thank you everyone. Good info in every post

ROGER

[mcdaniel.mac]

On the light, it's a matter of learning how to use it. Pulse it on for a moment to see what's there, then off. Momentary press switches are good for this, and you can use the Insight units that replace the forend or a Surefire G2-style light in a 1" ring attached to the forend. If things attached to the gun are too much for you fiddle with, then you haven't spent enough time practicing with it. I always preach lights, as Murphy will see to it that you miss the bad guys and kill an innocent in the dark. $50 for a light and mount and a few hours to make sure you can hit the buttons with your thumb when you want to is worth not killing the wrong person, especially if you have time for earmuffs.

2.75" shells are the beat option, something between a #1 and #4 is my preference as long as you're going with 12ga. With 20ga, often the receivers are lighter, so it's questionable whether you gain much in terms of recoil reduction. A 2.75" load of 16 #1 buckshot travelling around 1100FPS is plenty for anything this side of a bear. Unless you're intending on 40yd+ shots, you don't really need to extra velocity.

I used the XS ghost ring sights for years on a 590 and liked them. Very quick, easy to see. If you're not going to shell out for an optic (and frankly if you are, we should talk about a rifle instead) that's the most I would spend on sights. I've also had good luck with the HiViz clamp-on beads. Haven't tried to Burris Speedbead rig yet, but I don't really have a reason to.

The double-barrel is not a terrible choice, if not a great one. Mossberg and Steger both offered "tactical" versions with shorter barrels and rails for a light. About the same price as a 500.

On guns, don't overlook the Maverick 88. I've paid as little as $95 for a Maverick or a butchered Western Field, which is just a Mossberg under license, and they're sturdy enough.

For side-saddles, I have always used a shotgun card (HSGI, SOE, and ESSTAC all make good ones) that attach by velcro to the gun. No drilling holes and no messing with internals!

As the old saw goes, the gun you can operate blindfolded, and the gun you can hit every time with is a good place to start. My dear mother tried an AR but the noise was just too much even with ear protection. 10/22 in .22 Mag works better for her, and she practices by murdering critters in the yard. My partner uses a Glock in a RONI pistol chassis because it's easier to handle. Just had a neighbor who swore by a 16" Rossi .45LC with a light mounted to the barrel. There are very few wrong answers to the question, other than Remington.

[GhostHawk]

A Shotgun is a great choice for home defense. I keep mine loaded with Birdshot. I prefer not to injure or kill someone 2-3 rooms over or across the yard.

1. what size buckshot should I consider?

I like #1 buck, it is bigger than #4, heavier, more penitration. But easier to load than OO.
I can stack 3 stacks of 3 in a 2 3/4 hull add buffer if I choose, overshot card, and get a really good solid crimp with no swelling of the hull. I consider this more of a lighter tactical load. But I have no question about if it will kill.

2. 2 3/4 or 3"?

No need to go for 3" IMO. Good for hunting. Not really needed IMO for defense.

3. what shot hulls are recommeded, wads?

I have been buying the Rio primed, skived, ready to load hulls at 9 cents each. At that price I can use them once and not bother picking them up. Crimps are super solid, look like factory.
For wads I am mostly using BPI's Pt 12 ga wads, they have several with minor differences in lengths. PT 12 15 is my main choice, 12 05's for slugs as they are short, don't have to trim pedals. PT 12 20 or 12 32 for bigger loads. 9$ for 250.

4. how many times can a shot hull be reloaded?
Depends on both the starting hull, and the load. But after 3-4 you will start losing some.

5. good price to pay for a once fired hull?

Considering I can get a brand new hull PRIMED for 9 cents I don't think I'd pay a nickle for a fired hull. Certainly no more. But suspect those selling feel differently.

6. considering a #4 buckshot mould, should I coatthem and with what.

I have not coated mine, yet. I am considering giving some a try with a thin layer of Ben's Liquid Lube. Heck that stuff is gold, works on everything else.

If you already own a shotgun that is fine. Me I lean to pumps, specifically Rem 870 Wingmasters.

Shorter barrel is better for home defense.

Your asking smart questions. Keep looking. But for starters go to walmart and buy 100 rounds of federal or winchester birdshot. Preferably in 7.5's.

Better than nothing and always can be used to put meat on the table.

[Artful]

A gun spotlight in your own home is just a target.

Your ignorance is showing on this subject, Training of light discipline and tactics are important.

More useful is a device we don't often hear of, switches to turn on the lights in any room while you are outside in the dark, or even a light or noise in another part of the house altogether.

You mean like a 10X remote control system - I find it better to use night lights which give enough to show a person/shape, that way your powerful light works for you, instead of turning on room lights and blinding yourself as well as any intruder. Depending upon the lay of the house you can install a motion detection activated light inside the house.
Mac is correct you must have light to see who you are shooting at.
- Flash subject,
ID friend or foe,
decided shoot or no shoot,
Turn the light off and
Move to new location.

But I agree with you and cooper that if your facing one to two a double barrel hammer is a good choice, problem is you never know how many you may have to face.

Birdshot is for the birds not 2 legged vermin
If you are strong of stomach you can google pictures
https://www.google.com/search?q=surv...e9AQoQ_AUIBigB

[Master24149]

Roger, something to consider is the wall construction of your home, a 22LR will penetrate multiple walls as well as most center fire rounds. So buckshot(any size) will not be a good choice.. Additionally consider if there are friendlies to protect as a precision shot to a a suspect holding a family member hostage is a risky proposition at best, even at CQB distances. Also if defense is the proposition I would stick to factory loads. Having said that the shotgun is a formidable weopan, my first was over 35 years ago; Mossberg 500 in 20ga. At the time Itoo choose it for home defense, loaded with factory #4 buckshot, it would cover a human size target at 12 yds. Great for eliminating threats but not for hostage situations and again, over penetration is always a concern. Just food for thought.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

[Ballistics in Scotland]

Buckshot makes a big difference in the chances of harming a neighbour ten yards beyond your plasterboard and aluminium siding. But for an interior wall with a family member's bed up against the far side, an ounce and a quarter is an ounce and a quarter.

There might be legal advantages in the sort of gun and ammunition which doesn't shout "My owner waited all these years to get his burglar". In fact you don't even want the first attending officer saying "I noticed he had put in earplugs." Legal predicaments and even being branded a vigilante in your neighbourhood, like accidents, don't often arise from one big cause. They come when a lot of circumstances, survivable one by one, conjoin. Others might be the intruder being an unarmed kid far younger and more innocent-looking that you thought, or seeking private conversation with your daughter like Romeo did with Juliet. Or your drink-befuddled neighbour whom the builders accidentally gave a keyed-alike lock. If you feel you must have buckshot, try for a deer or some competitive event one year. If you feel BBs are right, learn a bit about the nearest geese.

While drugs play a big part in the motivation for crime, burglars actually too drugged-up or psyched-up to care about a birdshot wound are a minority, even nowadays. Probably so are burglars who work in groups, with groups ready to provide dangerous target number two being a minority of a minority. Rational people would burgle elsewhere on the mere suspicion that a muzzle-loading blunderbuss is somewhere around. The balance of probabilities which seems most convincing for you, comes down to guesswork.

[dbosman]

Something I knew about but hadn't looked at is
http://www.hodgdonreloading.com/ for shotgun. Some buck shot data is there, too.

I was amazed at the number of combinations offered. If they have actually pressure tested all they offer, Lyman will have to up their game for their next shot shell manual.

[Mike H]

Considering getting a shotgun fo home defense.
Will be ordering a Lyman reloading manual for shotguns but thought I would ask a few questions here to get started.
1. what size buckshot should I consider?
2. 2 3/4 or 3"?
3. what shot hulls are recommeded, wads?
4. how many times can a shot hull be reloaded?
5. good price to pay for a once fired hull?
6. considering a #4 buckshot mould, should I coatthem and with what.
I'm sure I'll have more questions and I thank you guys in advance for any advice.
Roger






i would ask a few questions here.
1

What a load of nonsense,most likely it will never be used,first of all maintain your external security,then any firearm that you are familiar with will be all you ever need.

[fecmech]

I WOULD NOT recommend a pump gun unless you are someone who shoots one all the time. Inexperienced people with pumps generally get of 1 shot and that's it. We see it all the time on the skeet and sporting clays fields when the only pressure is 2 thrown birds. People forget to pump or short shuck the forearm and jam up the gun. Imagine the pressure of a home invasion or a robbery and now you've picked up the gun for the first time in months or possibly longer and you're going to 1st remember to pump and second not short shuck it. Good luck with that scenario. If a shotgun is what you want for home defense and you plan on shooting it at least once a month IMO a pump would be ok. If you're going to buy it ,shoot it a bit and put it in the closet, get a decent auto.