From: barry@uts.amdahl.com (Barry Needham)
Newsgroups: rec.guns
Subject: Re: Shotgun ammo sequence.
Date: 6 Nov 92 20:01:31 GMT
Article-I.D.: amdahl.6ebx03xvb8LK00
Organization: Amdahl Corporation, Sunnyvale CA


#In article <1992Nov5.133744.2960@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu> evore@magnus.acs.ohio-state.edu (Eric J Vore) writes:
#
#     As these discussions of armed encounters are common on the net, similarly,
#you may find it the topic of conversation when a bunch of gun enthusiasts get 
#together to shoot.  My topic revolves around a debate I have been participating
#in for years now; in defending your home with a shotgun, is there any "best" 
#combination or sequence of ammo which would be optimal?
#
#     3. 00 buck, 00 buck, 00 buck, etc..  A series of very nasty loads designed
#to stop the intruder, since you would never fire a gun at a person otherwise.
#     4. slug, slug, slug, etc..  If you could get the shots off accuratly, this
#would stop even quicker than idea 3.
#
#     There are, of course, an infinite number of combinations, but these seem 
#to be what I hear the most.  Does anyone out there have any other ideas?
#
#E. Vore...

One of the great advantages that shotguns have is the versatility, given all
to different loading available for them, that they provide.  Of course, this
is one of the disadvantages as well.

It really depends on what problem you want to solve and what your personal
preferences are in terms of gage and recoil control.  My wife and I both
prefer 12 gage shotguns.  She prefers a Remington 870, 20 inch barrel, rifle
sights with 3 dot white outline Trijicom inserts, a 7 round extended magazine
and 1 inch shortened stock.  I prefer a Benelli M1, 21 inch barrel, ghost ring
sights with 1 dot white outline Trijicom front sight, 7 round magazine and
Sure-Fire flashlight fore-end.  With that as background the problems that I
have given some serious thought to break into two areas:

   1) For self defense in a suburban environment (Single family residence,
      frame construction, on a quarter acre lot.) with an operating envelope
      of 40 meters and a most likely engagement range of less than 10 meters,
      both shotguns are set up in the following configuration:

	 * Chamber empty
	 * One round #1 buck, 2-3/4 inch magnum.
	 * Five rounds #00 buck, copper plated, 2-3/4 inch magnum.
	 * Three rounds #00 buck, copper plated, 2-3/4 inch magnum, in
	   side-saddle.
	 * Three rounds, 50 caliber, 500 grain, discarding sabot, hollow point
	   slugs, 3 inch magnum, in side saddle

   2) For self defense in a semi rural environment (Single family residence,
      frame construction, on a 8 acre lot.) with an operating envelope of 125
      meters and a most likely engagement range of either less than 10 meters
      or 40 to 60 meters, they are set up like this:

	 * Chamber empty.
	 * Three rounds #00 buck, copper plated, 2-3/4 inch magnum.
	 * Three rounds, 50 caliber (as above).
	 * Three rounds #00 buck, copper plated, 3 inch magnum, in
	   side-saddle.
	 * Three rounds, 50 caliber (as above) in side-saddle.

If I was faced with a very dense urban environment I would consider using #4
buck, copper plated, 2-3/4 inch magnums for the first three rounds, otherwise
everything else the same as the suburban environment.

These solutions attempt to optimize several considerations.  Six rounds in the
magazine will not fully compress a seven round spring resulting in a reduced
chance of fatigue or failure.  The #1 and #00 loads will provide adequate
penetration on large people or people wearing heavy clothing.  The #00 rounds
will also perform adequately against auto glass and sheet metal.  

The high velocity/energy slugs (1750 FPS and 3400 ft/lbs) are readily
available if required.  Using these slugs I can put five out of five on an
IPSC target at 100 meters in 15 seconds shooting standing with a sling.  That
doubles the effective range of a shotgun.

Regards,
  Barry.


-- 
Barry Needham          barry@uts.amdahl.com          USA (408) 992-2527