What's your go to load for home defense and why?

[Joe13]

Thought I would dredge up the age old question of what do you use for home defense and why?

Personally number four buck because I live in the suburbs and everything I've seen online shows it has good penetration without a lot of over penetration.

I also keep a Bandelier next to the shotgun with more number four buck buck, and some slugs just in case, you never know

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[Nick Burkhardt]

12G 21 pellet #4 Buck for our house in a subdivision. Enough get the job done without over penetrantion, but light for my wife and 14 year old to control.

 

[oremike]

deleted. To keep the cat herders happy.

 

[smkjrose]

00 buckshot.
In the handguns, I'm still fat with a few hundred rounds of the old POW-r-ball stuff. Which I have always been impressed with.

 

[MTpockets]

Hornady 12 Gauge TAP ENTRY is designed to fit a variety of mission applications including entry (limited penetration), breaching, and training. Featuring a ¾ ounce frangible sintered slug, this round produces wound cavities similar to a 308 WIN, yet minimizes the potential for over-penetration. In most cases, a breacher must transition to an alternate weapon before entering a building, TAP ENTRY provides the capability to breach a door and make entry utilizing the same weapon. TAP ENTRY also provides the ability to train on steel silhouettes without concerns for ricochets, since the slug disintegrates upon impact, making this an extremely versatile round.

TAP® ENTRY - Hornady Law Enforcement

Designed to fit a variety of mission applications including entry (limited penetration), breaching, and training.

www.hornadyle.com

In another thread, I mentioned that I am very unlikely to experience a Crimmie breaching my living space...but in the chance that it did happen...It is very important that I do my part to keep the projectiles from wandering through walls, doors, etc.

 

[Nosferatu]

Hornady subsonic 30-30. Because it's less than sonic.

 

[Stomper]

Thought I would dredge up the age old question of what do you use for home defense and why?

Personally number four buck because I live in the suburbs and everything I've seen online shows it has good penetration without a lot of over penetration.

I also keep a Bandelier next to the shotgun with more number four buck buck, and some slugs just in case, you never know

My load requires a mop & bucket after it's all over.














I mean, 00-buck makes one hell of a mess after all!

 

[nammac]

Currently a J frame replete with Crimson Trace grips and 135 gr Law Enforcement Gold Dots. Also keep a few reloads nearby.

 

[ilikegunspdx]

20 round drum of 12ga filled with HESH rounds only:

FullSizeRender.MOV

• ilikegunspdx
• Jan 7, 2024

 

[CountryGent]

Scattergun? 00-buck, 2¾" shells.

 

[Sharkey]

Usually, it is what I got on sale. I am running some type of Federal 124gr JHP in the 9mm handguns. Hornady TAP rounds in 5.56 for the RDB and Aquila mini slugs for the KS7 shotgun.

I don't get too hung up on specific brands. For a handgun if it is a reputable JHP I am happy. Now if I shoot someone, I will get back to you on how it did.

 

[Andy54Hawken]

For my shotguns....
20 gauge 2 3/4 #3 buckshot

For my Colt Series '70...
.45 ACP , 230 Grain Jacket Hollow point , Speer Gold Dot

As for the why...
Both my guns and me shoot well with those loadings.
Andy

 

[fstdraw]

Sorry guys, sweet AK 47 with my (proudly) hand loads. This will also get the buddies in the car.

Sig P226 if needed.

 

[Old Dog]

Federal LE reduced recoil 00 in a Mossberg 590A1 Blackwater edition. No worries about overpenetration, no one else in the house (except dogs, normally in same room, but otherwise would be shooting over them unless we're seeing a home invasion by dwarves).

 

[huntpotter]

#4 buck. 3". Good enough for people and coyotes and raccoons. I've missed coyote at 35-40 yards with 00 buck. I figured the pellets spread enough to go all around him. But with #4 I feel I would have a better chance with more pellets. And at 10 yards, hallway length, pretty sure a wouldn't miss with any buck choice. Seems best to leave it loaded with the one universal round of #4.

 

[lucusloc]

My recommendation for new shooters, and what I use as my primary, is a .223 with good quality ~62gr expanding bullets. This give you a very controllable platform, basically the best modern ergonomics, 30+ rounds on tap, excellent terminal performance and minimal barrier penetration (which is a good thing in a home defense scenario where misses/pass throughs can endanger innocent people on the other side of walls).

12 gauge with smaller buck is fine if you are use to the recoil, but it still penetrates barriers better than a fragmenting .22 cal bullet, and it takes work to learn to manage the recoil, something that a lot of new shooters (especially the smaller ones) will need a lot of practice in. A .223 simply does not have that learning curve for them to deal with.

A pistol is also not as good for home defense as it fires a weaker round with less control that also has worse barrier penetration characteristics (meaning it goes through walls better) unless you get very specialized ammo. Even if you upgrade to a PCC for better control you still have to deal with the weaker rounds and over-penetration compared to the small fast bullet from the .223.

Over all cartridges like the .223 (with proper bullet selection!) simply offer the optimum balance for personal home defense for the average person. Some people might have good reason to use something else (and yes "I am good with it" and "I like it" are perfectly valid and good reasons) but for Joe Average there is little reason to consider anything else.

 

[AshWilliams]

Federal LE reduced recoil 00 in a Mossberg 590A1 Blackwater edition. No worries about overpenetration, no one else in the house (except dogs, normally in same room, but otherwise would be shooting over them unless we're seeing a home invasion by dwarves).

Same l: 590-A1 with 00 buck. S.O.E. side saddle with Brenneke slugs

I think it was the late James Yeager who said, "No one will argue the lethality of a shotgun."

And a person of far less consequence once said, "Shotgun ain't no joke." - Ash Williams

 

[Dungannon]

Federal HST or Win Silvertip in 9mm. Just the wife and I at home. She's on the phone, and both of us hunkered behind the king-size waterbed. In a darkened house, a bullet will hit within the bright center of the weapon mounted light [inside 10 yds, based on my brief testing with both loads]. Otherwise Remington 12g 00 in a zombie or tweaker mob scenario.

 

[Old Dog]

It's great that everyone is providing their preferred handgun loads (or AR) for home defense... in the Shotgun Discussion forum -- in response to a question about preferred shotgun loads for home defense....

Of course, like most here, I've ALSO got an AR (6920) at bedside (w/Surefire Scout Light, 62 grain green tips) as well as two pistols (one 9mm SIG P226 Legion w/WML on the wife's bedside and a .45 ACP FNX-45 w/WML-laser on my nightstand).

 

[lucusloc]

It's great that everyone is providing their preferred handgun loads (or AR) for home defense... in the Shotgun Discussion forum -- in response to a question about preferred shotgun loads for home defense....

Of course, like most here, I've ALSO got an AR (6920) at bedside (w/Surefire Scout Light, 62 grain green tips) as well as two pistols (one 9mm SIG P226 Legion w/WML on the wife's bedside and a .45 ACP FNX-45 w/WML-laser on my nightstand).

In my defense I got here from the "new posts" feed and the title says nothing about shotguns. I just ran with it. If you were expecting anything more than disappointment from my laziness, well all I have is more disappointment for you.