No 4 buckshot for home defense?

I can tell you that one of the departments I worked for issued #4 Buckshot. I had cause to use it against a man one time. I arrived at a silent alarm at a pizza store. I took the rear of the building, my partner the front. A male with a handgun exited the back of the building and started moving across the parking lot away from me. I ordered him to stop, he walked to approx. 35 yards away from me, then turned and pointed a handgun at me. I fired one shotgun blast of #4 and he turned, jumped into a car and drove off. Later, we found that only one pellet had struck him. I am a big fan of #4 buck inside a house. so your dad is right there, but outside, or at any range over 25-35 yards? no, I'll take 00 buck or a slug.

If it helps, my personal pump shotgun that I use for home defense is loaded like this: empty chamber, safety off, trigger pulled..first round up #7 bird shot, next 2 up #4 buck, next 2 up oo buck, last 2 up are 1oz slugs. with combo I can address any situation.

good question, I'm giving you a star

shoot safe

No.4 buck is one of the best if not the best choice for any defense. Some branches of our government use No.4.

No.4 in a 3 inch magnum will put the load at somewhere around 1500 to 1600 feet per second. That's twenty-seven 24 caliber bullets going down range at high speed.

I have penetrated thru a 4x4 foot 3/4" plywood at 20 yards with this load. That means this load will rip a person to shreds.

If I had my choice between an Uzi and a Remington 870 full of No.4. The choice would always be the shotgun.

Your Dad is a wise man.

Saftey is paramount.

Number 4 buck is about .24 caliber and in a 2 ¾ inch 12 ga shell there are about 27 of those 4 buck balls. An intruder in a home is usually less than 30 feet from you at that distance one round of 4 buck will kill him if he has no ballistic vest on. 4 buck does not over penetrate like the 00, 000 and 0000 buck shot can so its safer for home defense.

To put it more clearly; I shot a buck deer with #4 buck shot at 20 yards with a 12 ga shotgun and it went down right where I shot him. The buckshot went into its brain, and made it into the spine of its neck. Dropped it like a sack of rocks. That was a 160 lb deer. I also shot a wild hog with 4 buck shot at about 15 yards, dropped it in its tracks also. The hog weighed over 300 lbs.

So I would say that a man shot at room distance in the chest with 4 buck is one dead fellow.

By the way its very good on coyotes at close range, never had any go anywhere after that!

Detroit police shooting study indicates number 3 or number 4 shot is as effective as the OO or OOO for most uses, maybe better against basic body to extreme- beyond 75 meter - range. OO or OOO advantage is in close to moderate shooting through vehicle doors or house doors and fire suppression at longest range- over 75 meters where the individual pellet energy can still be dangerous. Second consideration advantage- slight- is smaller shot inside building wouldn't penetrate some wall , less chance of collateral damage. Energy transfer of 20 pellets hitting body is about the same as 9 larger balls hitting body- but shock effect of more wounds even if smaller seems to be greater on body. What range are you talking about? Remember deer hunters in New Jersey and some Florida swamp areas are restricted to buckshot only and have been using both large and small buck for years and getting meat both ways.

I have been finding that with a Winchester Defender 18in barrel that I most times won't even find a hole on the target with 9 pellet buck at anything that I would consider past inside your home conditions. I have been testing 2 different brands. I have with a longer barrel and 15 pellet seen it do devastating damage at the same rage with a longer "hunting barrel". The results have really upset me because for years it sat in the corner as my first line of defense and in a rural setting it was not a good outside choice. The pattern is just too wide!!

High brass, low brass, doesn't make any difference. Hasn't for several years.

A 12 guage with sand loaded in the shell will stop just about anybody. Too much power is the issue. Unless you have a really big house, your shooting will seldom exceed 5 yards.

If you live alone in the country 00 buck would be fine, but if you have others in your home and your neighbor's house is 20 feet away, do not use shot larger than 6. One layer of sheetrock will stop the shot that misses the intended target. Another consideration would be if you have a narrow hallway, can you turn the gun around in the hallway with it level. If not, get a shorter gun.

"Will 12 ga high brass no 4 buckshot drop a man in his tracks."

Police Chief Tommy Britt shot a robber that had a shotgun leveled on him at about 20 yards. The robber was killed. At least one of the shot that missed went through one wall of a metal building and through both doors of a Chevrolet pickup inside. You don't need that kind of penetration in a home defense situation.

I ve observed that in my guns any choke tighter than improved cylinder results in lousy patterns with any size of buckshot; irregular, wide & filled with "holes". I ve always supposed that it was due to facetal flattening of the large pellets sides. To the "Frisbee Effect."

I like #4 buck because the patterns, while about the same size at any given range with all buckshot patterns, are denser. I use rifles for deer. The buckshot is for household needs.

a lot of people agree with your dad and are choosing #4 buckshot as a mix between pattern density, penetration and lack of overpenetration.

No load is best, every load is a comprimise between differing factors

Note, many people who talk about #4 are talking about regular #4 aka #4 bird, which is much different than #4 buck

In a close quarters self defense situation, #4 duck load will be extremely effective. I would acutally recommend it over a #3 or #2 buckshot.

Number 4 high brass is fine. I personally dont use it because I like to stock up on cheap ammo.. I've got a stock pile of 2 3/4 lead 00 buck that was cheap as it gets and low recoil considering the effectiveness of the round. That's what I use.. but number 4 high brass is perfectly fine if your not looking to stock shelves.