Quoted: I know that low recoil is all the rage but 12 gauge 3" magnum #4 buck with 41 pellets is my choice. MIKE.
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U da' man!
When #1 Buck was recommended to me, I started looking for sources. A good friend said it is what the guides used to use in the African hunts to drop or finish off big cats. In my search I came across some in 3". That would have to be effective!
As I kept searching I found some of the higher quality loads with buffered shot, plated shot, and/or both. The buffer offers better groups. The plated shot shows little or no deformation in the game I have killed with it, and it penetrates much deeper. Of course I'm talking about birdshot, but I'm trying to draw a parallel here. Plated shot in Buckshot might be the way to go to increase penetration with the smaller shot like #4 Buck. I haven't done any penetration tests yet, but plan to in order to see how much of an edge the plated gives versus the non plated.
What I have witnessed is a deer being dropped dead in its tracks at 75 yards with Winchester Reduced Recoil 00 Buck from a 28" Winchester 12gauge with modified choke. That same gun dropped a dog at 35 yards; the ammo that time was Remington 3" Nitro Mags in buffered #4 birdshot. At the other end of the spectrum, I would absolutely
NEVER ever use any birdshot load for self defense for any reason whatsoever! I shot a rogue dog at 25 yards with birdshot and it just about ate me alive before I got him down. I will never forget that.
The difference in the two rogue dog shootings is the one-shot-kill was from a safe distance on the second floor of the house. If something went wrong, nobody would have been hurt. The funny thing is the shooter was trying to pull off slightly just to burn the dog. It rolled the dog over and he was dead before the carcass came to rest. My experience was with my feet on the ground. After the shot, I had the muzzle of the gun pressed firmly against the dogs head holding him off of me. The gun had the spent shell in the chamber, and there was a multitude of other things working against me. When the dog quit pushing, I was able to get another shell chambered and put a huge smoking hole in his forehead (point blank). I didn't get hurt and I didn't pee myself, but that was a first hand, realtime lesson that has changed me forever.
Birdshot is for birds. Buck shot is for everything else.
As far as #4 Buck goes, there is a great thread in the forum somewhere
ak47.net/forums/topic.html?b=6&f=1&t=185055Read the whole thing. The book to reference is "Point Man, by James Watson and Kevin Dockery". From what I gathered, Mr. Watson used #4Buck exclusively in the line of duty in Vietnam. It worked well and keep in mind, this was jungle not in a house. I need to get that book and read it for myself. Knowledge is power.
2guntom
2guntom.com454 Casull