Poll: Which Shotgun rounds to stock up on?

[manakiah]

I have some money to stock up on ammo for the shotgun for SHTH. What would be the best way to spend the cash? Birdshot, Buckshot, Slugs? I want to get your ideas. Thanks Jason

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[NuthinFancy]

IMO bird shot has more uses than buckshot, and slugs are asking a shotgun to do your rifle's job.

YMMV

 

[nubus]

If I had to pick one it would be bird shot.
Very effective as a 2 legged deterrent.
Very effective for feeding yourself.
Some diversity is always good.

But you will get the most rounds for your buck with bird shot.

 

[The Cheese]

I like to mix it up. I like killing my particle board targets and various gourds so the Buck shot is kind of mandatory. Get some slugs because I hear zombies are allergic to slugs. And I get the bird shot because I like to upland game bird hunt as well as go blasting clays. So basically I am saying you need have a diverse ammunition portfolio when it comes to the shotgun. I would say start with the buck shot for HD stuff and work your way out from there. I don't have a ton of shotgun rounds as its not a primary weapon for anything, and frankly I like shooting other guns a bit better. That said I will probably be picking up a bunch more bird shot because this will be the year that I will learn to lead a clay and destroy it. Probably get more buck shot too.

 

[Nwcid]

I would say mostly bird too.

I do keep some buck and some slug around but are not what I normally use. I would say 65% bird, 25% buck and 10% slug........

 

[cyborg]

I think shotguns are great for closeup defense...like greeting people kicking in your door and such. Nothing quite like 8 or 9 lead balls to turn them off like a light switch. I think of my shotgun as a poor mans submachine gun and plan to use it as such. Of course since they are great for bird hunting they will have a role for that as well.

I stock approx 50% heavy bird loads(Can work as a light buckshot of sorts if needed) about 40% Buckshot and 10% Slugs and other specialty rounds. I dont have much use for slugs but having a small amount on hand can be useful for a load. If you are using a shotgun it would be nice to have one or two in your ammo bandoleer in case you have an immediate need for deep penetration of a target and dont have a rifle on you, it could help. I like the idea of having some of the door buster rounds on hand as well to blow hinges apart.

 

[Izzy]

12ga: I stock up on all three.
20ga: I stock up on bird & slugs
.410: just bird (4 shot)

I didn't vote!

 

[donovan]

for really close quarters ( 5-7 yards) I would use birdshot but I think you have overlooked a good round in your poll, a really good all around round to use is #4 buck, in 2 3/4" shells it holds 16 pellets and has a moderate spread at close range and can still reach out and touch if needed. price is generally a little less than standard 00 buck.

 

[Martini_Up]

for really close quarters ( 5-7 yards) I would use birdshot but I think you have overlooked a good round in your poll, a really good all around round to use is #4 buck, in 2 3/4" shells it holds 16 pellets and has a moderate spread at close range and can still reach out and touch if needed. price is generally a little less than standard 00 buck.

Agreed. #4 is my favorite all around 12ga shell.

 

[huntpotter]

SHTF, I'm eating birds.

 

[Silver Fox]

I voted for buckshot. If there is another Obama scare and every one runs to the store... bird shot will still be found. I think buck shot was harder to get than .308 during the last scare. Also it is more likely some crack pot will use buckshot over bird shot and then the politicians will argue diameter size blah blah blah should be banned from such destructive devices as shotguns. The stores I frequented during the scare seemed to have birdshot in the large boxes of gun club ammo.

England had similar arguments until there shotguns were banned out right.

SF-

 

[Sun195]

The benefit of shotguns is their versatility - so, I keep a variety of ammo around. However, I'd keep them loaded with buck for self defense & not rely on bird shot for that purpose.

 

[bnr32gtr]

I like buck as SilverFox stated it will be harder to come by if there is another "scare".

What I learned from my LEO friends growing up was to alternate in the mag tube, buck, slug, buck, slug, etc. with buck being the first two rounds.

My small stash includes bricks of LE132 low recoil with flight control wad from Federal and a good mix of Winchester slugs and full power buck.

The argument saying slugs are asking a shotgun to do a rifles work to me are not really valid. What if you don't have a rifle at the ready and need to take down a bear or some other large game?

Also, in states where one can only use shotguns to hunt with, slugs are a very valuable part of the tool kit.

 

[spider]

isn't that if you're in Alaska? For bears and if you miss the last round was for your dome?

I like buck as SilverFox stated it will be harder to come by if there is another "scare".

What I learned from my LEO friends growing up was to alternate in the mag tube, buck, slug, buck, slug, etc. with buck being the first two rounds.

My small stash includes bricks of LE132 low recoil with flight control wad from Federal and a good mix of Winchester slugs and full power buck.

The argument saying slugs are asking a shotgun to do a rifles work to me are not really valid. What if you don't have a rifle at the ready and need to take down a bear or some other large game?

Also, in states where one can only use shotguns to hunt with, slugs are a very valuable part of the tool kit.

 

[NuthinFancy]

What if you don't have a rifle at the ready

The context of the question was stocking up for a SHTF scenario. If you don't have a rifle at the ready when you are WROL, you have bigger problems to worry about than the type of ammo in your shotgun.

and need to take down a bear

If you intend to take down a bear with a shotgun slug, be sure to carry lots of salt and pepper on your person... you want to be nice and tasty for Mr. Bear when he eats you.

 

[Dell_dude]

Personally I would lean more on birdshot for food purposes, but also some slugs for use as a "master key".

 

[spider]

My boy told me to go for the eyes, if its still charging lay it in the face, if its still charging , put one into your head, since you'll more then likely be alive while its nibbling your stomach in half.

 

[dario541]

The shotgun is very versatile and a person should have a selection of different loads. I picked bird shot on the poll because I'll probably use more of it overall. Also the price is fairly low for birdshot. However, I also have an assortment of buckshot for more serious use. And, I have some rifled slugs, but I believe that you get better accuracy with slugs if you have a shotgun with rifle sights. All in all, get a good assortment and DO IT NOW!!!.

 

[toddt36]

someone I forget what brand has a slug buckshot combo round which is pretty sweet on paper, have not tested it personally. But Rem 3" copper sabot slugs are awesome firepower. Thats for sure!

 

[Stomper]

If I had to choose only one: OO-Buck for SHTF, because if it gets "that bad" and I have 00-Buck I "can get" bird shot, slugs, food, gold, and more bullets...


That being said, I keep my Mossberg-500 loaded with 00-Buck alternating with 1-oz. rifled slugs for 8 rnds. of incredible CQC destructive goodness.