Home defense: Bird shot, Buck shot or Slugs ?

[stratotrev]

I generally keep the magazine loaded with 00 buck for home use, however my side saddle is loaded with slugs just in case a situation escalates and it becomes necessary to move on to something heavier.

[dharbert]

I keep the mag tube loaded with 00 buckshot, I keep the rear saddle (5-rounds) loaded with slugs, and I keep the side saddle (6-rounds) loaded with a mixture of less-than-lethal rounds. Generally a mixture of flashbang, CS/pepper rounds, and either hornets nest or rubber slugs. You never know what you're gonna need.

[Synchronizor]

I use 00 buck in my home defense shotgun, but I think #4 buck would work. These were shot out of this 870

For close-up work where you don't expect to shoot through supstantial barriers like car bodies or multiple heavy walls, #4 buckshot is a good choice. I prefer #4B for HD in my one-room apartment, and I switch to 00B for protection in the woods or on the road. For folks who want a higher petllet count, but don't feel comfortable with something as small as #4B, #1B is another good choice if you can find it. Even 0B will let you get a 12-pellet load without magnum-level recoil (actually, a lot of stuff marketed as 00B is 0B or smaller anyway, so that the pellets can fit inside a shot cup).

The overall wounding potential (in terms of pattern size & penetration) of a 12ga #4B load is close-as-makes-no-difference to that of a 20ga #3B load. That #3B load is the standard defensive choice for the 20ga, and no one worth listening to would put down the usefulness of the 20ga for HD.

What choke were you shooting with there?

[Synchronizor]

I keep the mag tube loaded with 00 buckshot, I keep the rear saddle (5-rounds) loaded with slugs, and I keep the side saddle (6-rounds) loaded with a mixture of less-than-lethal rounds. Generally a mixture of flashbang, CS/pepper rounds, and either hornets nest or rubber slugs. You never know what you're gonna need.

Keeping ammo for different roles in different locations is smart, but you might want to simplify your less-lethal ammo to one effective load. Pain-compliance stuff like rubber buckshot seems to be the popular way to go for law enforcement. Flash-bangs just sound like a good way to disorient everyone, and salt/pepper shells are a joke unless your steak is bland.

[DaveC]

Life in the big city/ Indoors: Federal No. 4 buckshot
Outdoors: Winchester winlite or Federal low recoil 00 buck in the 870. Remington No.1 buckshot with 16 pellets in the S&W/Howa 3000 police gun.

[navyshooter]

I use 00 buck in my home defense shotgun, but I think #4 buck would work. These were shot out of this 870

What choke were you shooting with there?

18 1/2" barrel with a fixed-cylinder-choke