12 Gauge MAGNUM Buckshot....Best loads, and why?

Pietro Beretta

Pietro Beretta

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I always see 12GA buckshot loads used for LE/Combat or personal protection, and they always use lighter loads, with less pellets....why?

12GA 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot - 9 Pellet ...now why would you use that, when you can use:
12GA 2 3/4" 00 Buckshot - 12 pellet (Magnum)

Doesn't make sense to me. I'd rather be throwing out more pellets. Some 00 Buckshot loads are even 8 pellets,

I've shot many different shotgun loads on large white paper to see shot patterns at different distances, and by far, the most impressive I've found was a 12GA 2 3/4" Magnum 00Buck 12 Pellets. They pattern very well, and only 3 pellets less then the 3" Magnum loads, which you wouldn't use due to excessive recoil and less shells in the mag tub.

Federal Premium 12GA 2 3/4" Magnum - 12 Pellets (copper plated Premium Buckshot) @ 1300 FPS
Remington Express Magnum 00 Buckshot - 12 Pellets @ 1290 FPS

Those are my two favorite buckshot loads 2 3/4" Magnum loads that can hold 5 in magazine, 1 in chamber, and 4 in SpeedFeed stock. 10 shells in my 14" M590A1. Either Magnum 00Buck 12 pellets, or 1oz. Rifled slugs.


Anybody use or like those lighter payload buckshot loads for hunting or sporting target practice ? Just doesn't make sense to me....same shell length, same load, just instead of 12 pellets...you have 9 or 8. If you're gonna have 8 Pellets, make it a 000 Buckshot load 2 3/4" Magnum load.

Hmmmm......???
 
recoil and control for follow up shots. Then there is price to consider.

Go ahead and shoot whatever you like though. I dunno, this is Canada. When I shoot a pistol at the range I stuff it full of cheap ball ammo. Same idea applies to a shotgun to me. If you hunt with buckshot then this becomes important but for most of us it isn't something that keeps us up at night.
 
My favorite 12 gauge "magnum" load is 16 pellet #1 buckshot @ 1200+ fps, while not advertised as a magnum load, it's almost there.
 
For shooting at the range I use the bulk can of Federal 2 3/4". For game like Coyotes I use Hornady Magnum Coyote which is a 3" 00 Buck nickel plated 1 1/2oz lead shot @ 1300 FPS. It does pack a wallop though! :)
 
Good points...but I still dont get why the standard tactical Federal 00Buck load in 2 3/4" shells is 9 Pellet, when in the same shell length, you can select Magnum 00Buck in 12 Pellet loads.

To me, its a no brainer...Id select the Magnum 00Buck - 12 Pellet load.

Ive fired both loads extensively and the recoil is relatively the same, and for soldiers in combat, theyre all jacked up on adrenaline and are trained and well practiced....Im sure the recoil isnt nothing to worry about.

Federal Premium 12GA 2 3/4" Magnum 00 Buckshot - 12 Pellets (copper plated) is the Ultimate choice. Also, same exact load...but in 4 Buck - 34 Pellets (copper plated) Amazing PP load or general varmint hunting.

A crazy load I use alot is Federal Premium 12GA 3" Magnum 4Buck - 41 Pellet (copper plated) Wow...a true scatter gun, with muscle & penetration.

I love shotguns because theyre so versitile, ammunition selection is HUGE. I when I started testing different loads, I used EVERYTHING, and have came to select my favorites, and stock my ammo safe, full of my fav loads.

12GA 3" Magnum BB Shot 1 5/8 oz hi brass Heavy Magnum lead (almost 2.oz of BB shot)
12GA 3" Magnum 4 Buckshot - 41 Pellet (copper plated)
12GA 3" Magnum 00 Buckshot - 15 Pellet & 000 Buckshot - 10 Pellet (copper plated)
12GA 3" Magnum 1oz. Rifled slug & 1875 FPS ( If I remember correctly lol)

12GA 2 3/4" Magnum 00 Buckshot - 12 Pellets
12GA 2 3/4" Magnum 4 Buckshot - 34 Pellets
12GA 2 3/4" Power Point 1oz Rifled slug
12GA 2 3/4" Sluggers 7/8 oz Hi Velocity

There loads are all you need for versitile selection.
 
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Pietro Beretta said:
Good points...but I still dont get why the standard tactical Federal 00Buck load in 2 3/4" shells is 9 Pellet, when in the same shell length, you can select Magnum 00Buck in 12 Pellet loads.
Click to expand...

because of recoil and follow up shots. This is really and truly the reason why a standard 00buck load is what it is. There is a difference in recoil when you increase projectile weight while keeping velocity the same or higher. There is no such thing as free lunch....

The cool thing as you have discovered is that you can choose whatever you like. So there is nothing to argue about. You know what you like, you don't notice the recoil and life is good :) Just don't forget about the 120lb Police Officer who needs to qualify with a shotgun, or the fact that control for rapid follow up shots is an important consideration to those who train to use a shotgun for serious things.
 
The last 6'6"+ cop that was hired on the basis of liking to fight was BUM;), since then police shotgun loads have become lighter. Lighter loads pattern tighter, a generality, but if you pattern a given shotgun with a 3" 15 pellet 00 load then pattern the same gun with the law enforcement buckshot load, you'll see quite a difference when both patterns are fired from the same barrel and compared at the same range.

Last year there was a tragic bear attack on a young lady at the other end of our street, and once again I've become interested in the correct choice of buckshot loads for use in town. So recently I patterned my 590 at 5, 10 and 15 yards with two different 3" buckshot loads, 15 pellet 00 Winchesters and 12 pellet 00 HeviShot. The HeviShot loads generally patterned better, meaning there was better pellet distribution within the pattern, both loads patterned well within the the 1" spread per yard of range parameter. At 10 yards the Winchesters produced a doughnut, the pellets formed a perfect ring that would leave a small softball size target, like a bear's brain, untouched. So now I'm contemplating getting the barrel fitted for threaded chokes and getting a Pattern Master IC tube.

From the point of view of a home defense load, in the Thunder Ranch Shotgun video, Clint Smith relates the best stop from a single round that he ever saw while working as a cop, was when a homeowner shot a violent burglar in the side of the face with a #71/2 skeet load out of his over-under. He said that the burglar survived, but the fight was over then and there. Clint favors light loads for self defense, particularly for people who would be intimidated by the recoil of 3" 12 gauge rounds. He sees a return to the shotgun in many US police cars as a result of the availability of law enforcement ammo, combined with the knowledge that shorter LOPs provide better recoil control, where there had been a general move towards arming those cars with AR-15 style carbines.

Now due to my firearms background and knowledge of terminal ballistics, if I was a cop armed with a shotgun, who was on highway patrol, or worked out of a rural detachment, I'd probably want to have a few full powered buckshot or slug loads with me. In a case where livestock or a wild animal was injured on the roadway and had to be euthanized, law enforcement buckshot leaves something to be desired. Should I need to engage a bad guy who was firing at me from inside his vehicle, full powered loads, either buckshot or slug, would have a better chance of penetrating auto glass or sheet metal and getting the job done with fewer shots fired. But for the urban police officer, or a homeowner, a shotgun loaded with law enforcement ammo is a fearsome weapon to wield within the close quarters of a home or apartment building.
 
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I find it a bit of a chore to shoot a lot of magnum buckshot loads within a short period of time, I have no problems with slugs but for whatever reason the buckshot loads can start to become uncomfortable if my shooting form is not perfect.

I've had it where I've shot hundreds of standard buck and slugs within a single day without issues, but a handful of magnum buckshot towards the end bruised my shoulder...

Shot to shot times are noticeably longer using magnums as well.

I love the effect of 3" 15 pellet 00 or those 3" 12 pellet Winchester Supremes @ 1450 fps, but typically I'll stick to regular 2.75" 8 pellet 000, or go with 16 pellet #1B if I want more pellets of an effective size.
 
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