shotgun ammo questions

[goo]

i have a norinco model 97 trench gun but i don't really know squat about shotguns.
i got it on a whim.
it seems to be made well enough.
i took it to the range once a few years ago.
don't remember what kind of shells i shot. (wasn't slugs).

my question is, what kind of ammo would the military or law enfocement use?

what are slugs used for (i'm guessing deer), anything else?

i'm also guessing you don't use a shotgun much outside 50 yards. zat right?

also, what's best for home defense?

thx, gents.

goo

[4F4Nam]

goo;
The all time standard 12ga load for military & law enforcement is 00 buck in a 2 3/4 inch shell, 9 pellet load. Now days there are any of a multitude of loads in 2 3/4" & 3", not to mention 3 1/2" shells. 000 has become popular of late. Less pellets, but more energy.
My favorite for defense would be 4buck. Smaller pellets, but a whole bunch more of them. Just my 2cents.
You are correct that slugs are used for deer in states that do not allow the use of rifles. Slugs would also be good for defense but they do have quite a bit of penetration.
Yes, buckshot is good to about 50 yds, and slugs are effective beyond 100yds.
All being considered, the 12ga is a pretty darned good choice for a home defense weapon.
Hope this helps.

Ed

[gwp]

This page is a good start in selecting defensive shotgun shells:

http://www.ar15.com/content/page.html?id=176

[Weasel]

Goo, #8 target or #7 1/2 high brass is good for home defense. Use those because it is less likely to cause collateral damage if you miss but if hit at close range it will shred the target up real nice at close range. Buck shot can travel a good distance through several house walls even going out side to a neighbors home were small shot is less likely to do so. You can buy a P17 bayonet to put on it, if nothing else it just might scare the he!! out of them. I don't totally agree with ar15 but what do I know.

[goo]

joo say bayo?



looks like the m-97 is smooth bore. when do you use rifled ammo?

[n64atlas]

A rifled slug is mainly for Dear out to 100yrds. It is hot thru smooth bore shotguns. The Sabot shotcun shells are for rifled shotgun barrels. You would use slugs for longer
distances. You will need to find which slug shots best in your shotgun.

[seagoatami]

i have a norinco model 97 trench gun but i don't really know squat about shotguns.
i got it on a whim.
it seems to be made well enough.
i took it to the range once a few years ago.
don't remember what kind of shells i shot. (wasn't slugs).

my question is, what kind of ammo would the military or law enfocement use?

what are slugs used for (i'm guessing deer), anything else?

i'm also guessing you don't use a shotgun much outside 50 yards. zat right?

also, what's best for home defense?

thx, gents.

goo

it can also be used on long pig who come into your house uninvited

[emmagee1917]

All of us in my little group of WW2 Trench Gun shooters ( original Winchesters and Stevens as well as Norincos ) use the Federal LE-132-00 . It is a standard law enforcement tactical load of 9 nine OO pellets at 1145 fps. It is real world effective without beating up either your shoulder or these old guns.
Chris

[kcw]

"Rifled" slugs are meant for use in smoothbore barrels. The purpose of the "rifling" on the outside of such slugs is to promote the swaging down of those soft lead slugs as they pass through choked bird barrels. The rifling provides little, if any , spin to the slug. Rifled slugs (ie. Foster design) are meant to fly more like a dart. Of course you can use a rifled slug in a rifled shotgun barrel. I've seen some rounds that were very accurate in certain rifled barrels but shotgun barrels can be VERY picky when it comes to finding the most accurate slug, you have to do some experimentation with various brands & designs. A drawback to using rifled lead slugs in a rifled barrel is that leading of the bore is common. Then there are "sabot" type slugs, primarily designed for use in rifled shotgun barrels. Such slugs rely upon the rifling imparting spin on them has a means of stabilization in flight. You can safely use them in smoothbores, but they'll commonly "keyhole" at 25 yds. Generally, the best thing to do is to use the appropriate type slug in the appropriately designed barrel.
I'd stick with something like a light load of eight shot for home defense, if only to avoid taking out the neighbor's house. I WELL recall how, when my buddy was unloading his 16ga Model 12 in the attached garage of his parents home, when it went off. The charge of "high brass" six's penetrated the tongue & groove wood exterior sheathing (which was commonly used before plywood became popular) of the house, blew through the "rockwool" insulation in the wall and the interior wall board; then across the living room and through the next wall, into a bedroom, across that room into the sliding wooden panel doors of the walk-in closet and on into the closet wall behind . About a dozen pellets even made it through that wall, into the bedroom behind it! The total distance was about 30'.

[goo]

all this is excellent info and for that i thank you, gents.

goo

oh, yeah...

is there ammo that should only be shot through smooth bores and and ammo that should only be shot through rifled bores?