Uses For 00 Buckshot

[Andy54Hawken]

Its meant to be shot.

200 rounds is good practice with your shotgun.
Which in turn means that you will be a better shot and get a better understanding of how your shotgun shoots with a specific load , at various ranges.

Or maybe they could make good trade bait for a load that you do like or want to use in your shotgun.

I really wouldn't worry over much 'bout "shelf life" of cartridges...like mentioned above , I too , have shot ammo from WWII and the "Cold War" era...and it does just fine....
Andy

 

[KKG]

I've fired .45ACP ammo with a 1917 Head Stamp and Steel Cases stout that fired just fine!

 

[Pete F]

I had my first possible age related ammo problem the other day. Shooting my 1973 Walther PPK/S with ammo from the 80's. It was Cascade ammo out of Centralia. I had two targets, 8x11 side by side. I fired 5 rounds and hit both targets from 15 feet. The gun has always been a shooter and I was left scratching my head until my friend showed me the empties with carbon covering them. Unburned powder was left in the magwell. I switched to new HSTs and made a fist size pattern without trying.

The ammo was always kept dry, so I don't have a clue. Maybe it was bad to begin with, but I have never had ammo do that. I have WWII .45 ACP ammo that shoots just fine. The carry ammo that I typically used was Federal HPs and about the same age and shot reasonably - left in the magazines for about 20 years.

 

[thorborg]

Up till the late fifties, for Christmas, my dad used 00 to bring down the mistletoe from the high oak branches.
That usually only took one round unless he was feeling frisky or we had relatives with their hand out for some too. Even then, with a waste not attitude, it was two rounds at best so you'll still have 198 rounds left.

 

[P7M13]

Nice friend you have there. Does he have a sister?

I understand gunpowder has a shelf life, but maybe as long as it is kept in a dry place it has far more than ten years?

I have some old Hodgdon H870 gunpowder that was made in the 60's and packaged in paper sacks. It still works and produces velocities near where it's supposed to.
This is Zippy's acquaintance, Shelf-life:

 

[KKG]

...Cascade ammo...

I've seen lots of problems with the Cascade Ammo most of it has been just what you are talking about. I simply won't spend my money on it and I can't recommend it to anyone else.

 

[G8rHunter]

I had my first possible age related ammo problem the other day. Shooting my 1973 Walther PPK/S with ammo from the 80's. It was Cascade ammo out of Centralia. I had two targets, 8x11 side by side. I fired 5 rounds and hit both targets from 15 feet. The gun has always been a shooter and I was left scratching my head until my friend showed me the empties with carbon covering them. Unburned powder was left in the magwell. I switched to new HSTs and made a fist size pattern without trying.

The ammo was always kept dry, so I don't have a clue. Maybe it was bad to begin with, but I have never had ammo do that. I have WWII .45 ACP ammo that shoots just fine. The carry ammo that I typically used was Federal HPs and about the same age and shot reasonably - left in the magazines for about 20 years.

Well, there you go! Ammo from WW II still works!

 

[G8rHunter]

I've fired .45ACP ammo with a 1917 Head Stamp and Steel Cases stout that fired just fine!

Holy cow, Batman! WW I!

 

[titsonritz]

Clearing streets.

 

[DLS]

Not even close when it comes to flesh at even close hunting distance .
They payload is 9 33 cal pellets each weighing 53 or so grains traveling average of 1400 FPS giving each pellet about 220 lbs of energy at the muzzle . So 40 yards out after they spread some it's not like getting hit with a once slug.
For reference a 55 grain projo from a 223 traveling at 3000fps has 1100 lbs of energy .

+1

The OP's rounds are 3-inch, so there would be 12 pellets in a standard loading. Everything else is spot on in your post. In fact, you don't have to go 40 yards for the spread to be wide enough that it will not act like a slug. 10 yards is sufficient, and maybe even less depending on choke and any barriers encountered by the shot string.

 

[G8rHunter]

Clearing streets.

And leaving no freaking prisoners!!!

 

[DLS]

I wouldn't use it for HD unless you live out in the sticks...

It will go thru your house and visit any neighbor in a 100 yard radius-possibly. Especially a 3" shell.

00 buck will penetrate 8 layers of 1/2 inch sheetrock compared to the oft recommended #4 buck's 6 layers.

Realize that these tests have the gun firing perfectly perpendicular to the sheetrock, and the sheetrock is rigidly supported and spaced usually in 1 inch increments. The space between the layers is empty air space.

In a real situation it would be rare that you would hit a wall square on, and that the shot would not hit an obstacle like a stud, pipe or wiring. Insulation has a strong ability to slow down the shot as well. After the first barrier is penetrated, the now squashed pellets will be impacted by aerodynamics as it flies across the room, further slowing. There is little time for drag to slow pellets in the typical test scenario.

So in real terms the main worry with overpenetration is just into the next room or rarely a third room. Both the 00 and #4 will do this, so it's more of a choice of higher pellet count than penetration when choosing between the two. Personally I opt for #4 because it's a tad less "punchy" and more importantly I like more pellets in the shot string, but I would not hesitate (and have in the past) to load up 00 for my HD shotgun.

 

[jrd541280]

Shoot some of them and see if they shoot and cycle in your gun. If they do, you have arguably no better defensive load available. Pretty much, every time you pull the trigger, you have just emptied a fully loaded 9mm.
No matter what you shoot, or at with it, it's gonna be more worried about getting away from you, or not worried any more.

 

[Joe13]

00 buck will penetrate 8 layers of 1/2 inch sheetrock compared to the oft recommended #4 buck's 6 layers.

Realize that these tests have the gun firing perfectly perpendicular to the sheetrock, and the sheetrock is rigidly supported and spaced usually in 1 inch increments. The space between the layers is empty air space.

In a real situation it would be rare that you would hit a wall square on, and that the shot would not hit an obstacle like a stud, pipe or wiring. Insulation has a strong ability to slow down the shot as well. After the first barrier is penetrated, the now squashed pellets will be impacted by aerodynamics as it flies across the room, further slowing. There is little time for drag to slow pellets in the typical test scenario.

So in real terms the main worry with overpenetration is just into the next room or rarely a third room. Both the 00 and #4 will do this, so it's more of a choice of higher pellet count than penetration when choosing between the two. Personally I opt for #4 because it's a tad less "punchy" and more importantly I like more pellets in the shot string, but I would not hesitate (and have in the past) to load up 00 for my HD shotgun.

I've shot thru 2x4's with 2 3/4" 00 buck...

You do what you want but almost everyone agrees 00 buck isn't a good idea in an urban environment.

Larger pellets have more mass and will travel further then smaller shot.

Studs are 16" apart and most pipes don't run along outside walls. There isn't enough wire to even count that imo and I am an electrician so I have a pretty good idea what a house looks like without Sheetrock.

Also there are windows in the house your shooting in and the houses around you.

Bottom line I don't think it's a smart idea to tell a brand new shooter to use 3" 00 buckshot in town.

 

[DLS]

I read that ammunition manufacturers advise using ammunition within ten years, but maybe that is a disclaimer? I understand gunpowder has a shelf life, but maybe as long as it is kept in a dry place it has far more than ten years? Are you privy to information that it's okay to store it long-term? Just curious!

As already mentioned, I too have powder from the '60s that is doing just fine and a couple of years ago I finished up some old '06 ammo that had 1920 head stamps. The rounds were very dingy and beginning to corrode (not enough to worry me about damage to the gun) and they all fired just fine.

 

[DLS]

I've shot thru 2x4's with 2 3/4" 00 buck...

You do what you want but almost everyone agrees 00 buck isn't a good idea in an urban environment.

Larger pellets have more mass and will travel further then smaller shot.

Studs are 16" apart and most pipes don't run along outside walls. There isn't enough wire to even count that imo and I am an electrician so I have a pretty good idea what a house looks like without Sheetrock.

Also there are windows in the house your shooting in and the houses around you.

Bottom line I don't think it's a smart idea to tell a brand new shooter to use 3" 00 buckshot in town.

Hi Joe,

You and I are not really that far apart in thinking. A couple more thoughts however.

The main point I was getting at is that the difference between 00 and #4 Buck is really not that much when it comes to penetration. So while many (I disagree with "almost everybody") will say don't use 00 in urban environs, they go on to say use #4 Buck … and to me that may be a problem. You really are not solving the over penetration "problem" by doing this.

I agree there are a lot of 'soft' barricades in a house (such as windows you mention) so there is always the danger of over penetration when shooting in your home but it's all relative, and related to how the pellet hits the obstacle. Like you, I have mowed down studs with 00, but it was done from a close enough range to have the entire shot string hit the stud, and shot perfectly square to the target. Next time you are out and about with the chance to do it, try hitting that 2x4 on even a slight angle and see what happens, it's interesting. The FBI has film on this that used to be available on YouTube, but I have not seen it in a while. Perhaps it's still around.

Glass is pretty interesting too … since it flexes before it shatters it really impacts the directionality of the shot string and does an amazing job distorting pellets. So the range after hitting glass is much abbreviate. The series of FBI films covered this (and more) as well.

Good discussion!

 

[oli700]

+1

The OP's rounds are 3-inch, so there would be 12 pellets in a standard loading. Everything else is spot on in your post. In fact, you don't have to go 40 yards for the spread to be wide enough that it will not act like a slug. 10 yards is sufficient, and maybe even less depending on choke and any barriers encountered by the shot string.

You sir are a much better reader than I , I know better than to skim and post .

 

[jrd541280]

Lead "blobs" at shotgun velocity loose energy very quickly. Also, it is every firearms fire-er to know what their target is and what's beyond it.

 

[Rudedog]

I used it for varmint. Also killed a deer once. It has lots of uses but 3" is for hunting. I use 2 3/4" mostly. It will kill cow elk. Keep some , trade some.

 

[Certaindeaf]

A friend just gave me a case of 00 buckshot (200). I checked the search on this forum and there's not much, nor is it clear to me. It appears that it is more of a home defense type of ammo, and it is illegal to use for deer in Oregon. Besides, it sounds like 00 buckshot obliterates whatever is shot. So, anything to be eaten should be a slug or switch to a rifle? Buckshot for coyotes? bear? cougar? varmints? Dang what a problem to have! I just don't see going through 200 shells very soon. Maybe target practice. To be clear: they are 3" 00 buckshot shells, so I am guessing it will be close to the recoil energy of 3" slugs?

There's a recall on that because it'll burn a hole in your pocket.